Isaiah 38-40
Legacy Standard Bible
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
38 (A)In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And (B)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘(C)Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh 3 and said, “(D)Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have (E)walked before You in truth and with a (F)whole heart and (G)have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah (H)wept [a]greatly.
4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add (I)fifteen years to your [b]life. 6 And I will (J)deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’
7 “Now this shall be the (K)sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do this word that He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will (L)cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the (M)sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and [c]recovery:
10 I said, “(N)In the middle of my [d]life
I am to enter the (O)gates of Sheol;
I am to be (P)deprived of the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will not see Yah,
Yah (Q)in the land of the living;
I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world.
12 Like a shepherd’s (R)tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;
As a (S)weaver I (T)rolled up my life.
He (U)cuts me off from the loom;
From (V)day until night You make an end of me.
13 I soothed my soul until morning.
(W)Like a lion—so He (X)shatters all my bones;
From (Y)day until night You make an end of me.
14 (Z)Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirped;
I (AA)moan like a dove;
My (AB)eyes look wistfully to the heights;
O Lord, I am oppressed, be my (AC)security.
15 “(AD)What shall I say?
[e]Indeed, He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will (AE)wander about all my years because of the (AF)bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, (AG)by these things men live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
[f](AH)O restore me to health and (AI)let me live!
17 Behold, for my own well-being I had great bitterness;
But it is You who has [g](AJ)held back my soul from the pit of [h]nothingness,
For You have (AK)cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 For (AL)Sheol cannot thank You;
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down (AM)to the pit cannot keep watch for Your truth.
19 It is the (AN)living, the living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A (AO)father makes known to his sons about Your truth.
20 Yahweh is here to save me;
So we will (AP)play my songs on stringed instruments
(AQ)All the days of our life (AR)at the house of Yahweh.”
21 Now (AS)Isaiah had said, “Let them take up a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may live.” 22 Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the (AT)sign that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh?”
Hezekiah Shows His Treasures to Babylon
39 (AU)At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and was growing stronger. 2 And Hezekiah was (AV)glad about these things and showed them all his treasure house, the (AW)silver and the gold and the spices and the good oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the (AX)prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far (AY)country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the (AZ)word of Yahweh of hosts, 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when (BA)all that is in your house and all that your fathers have treasured up to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says Yahweh. 7 ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, (BB)will be taken away, and (BC)they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8 (BD)Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is good.” For he said, “For there will be peace and truth (BE)in my days.”
The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed
40 “(BF)Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “(BG)Speak to the heart of Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [i](BH)warfare has been fulfilled,
That her [j](BI)iniquity has been removed,
That she has received from the hand of Yahweh
(BJ)Double for all her sins.”
3 (BK)A voice [k]is calling,
“(BL)Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 [l]Then the (BM)glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
And (BN)all flesh will see it together;
For the (BO)mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [m]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
(BP)All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.
7 The (BQ)grass [n]withers, the flower fades,
[o]When the (BR)breath of Yahweh blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass [p]withers, the flower fades,
But (BS)the word of our God stands forever.
9 Get yourself up on a (BT)high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of (BU)good news,
Raise up your voice powerfully,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the (BV)cities of Judah,
“(BW)Behold your God!”
10 Behold, Lord Yahweh will come (BX)with strength,
With His (BY)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His (BZ)reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will (CA)shepherd His flock;
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has (CB)measured the [q]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And [r]encompassed the heavens by the [s]span,
And [t]calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13 (CC)Who has [u]encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,
Or as His (CD)counselor has informed Him?
14 (CE)With whom did He take counsel and who (CF)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And made Him know the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the (CG)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are counted as a speck of (CH)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its (CI)beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (CJ)All the nations are as nothing before Him;
They are counted by Him as non-existent and utterly formless.
18 (CK)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the (CL)graven images, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith (CM)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution
Chooses a (CN)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman
To [v]prepare a graven image that (CO)will not be shaken.
21 (CP)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood (CQ)from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who [w]inhabits above the [x](CR)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like (CS)grasshoppers;
It is He who (CT)stretches out the heavens like a (CU)curtain
And spreads them out like a (CV)tent to inhabit.
23 It is He who reduces (CW)rulers to nothing,
Who (CX)makes the [y]judges of the earth utterly formless.
24 [z]Scarcely have they been planted;
[aa]Scarcely have they been sown;
[ab]Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they [ac]wither,
And the (CY)storm carries them away like stubble.
25 “(CZ)To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26 (DA)Lift up your eyes on high
And see (DB)who has created these stars,
The (DC)One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the (DD)greatness of His vigor and the [ad]strength of His power,
(DE)Not one of them is missing.
27 (DF)Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is (DG)hidden from Yahweh,
And the (DH)justice due me passes by (DI)my God”?
28 (DJ)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The (DK)Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is (DL)unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the (DM)weary,
And to him who lacks vigor He (DN)increases might.
30 Though (DO)youths grow weary and tired,
And choice (DP)young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who hope in Yahweh
Will (DQ)gain new power;
They will [ae](DR)mount up with [af]wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:3 Lit great weeping
- Isaiah 38:5 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:9 Lit he lived after his illness
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:15 DSS and Targum And what shall I say for He
- Isaiah 38:16 Lit You will
- Isaiah 38:17 As in some versions; Heb loved
- Isaiah 38:17 Or destruction
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hard service
- Isaiah 40:2 Or penalty of iniquity has been accepted as paid off
- Isaiah 40:3 Or of one calling out
- Isaiah 40:5 Or In order that the
- Isaiah 40:6 Or I said
- Isaiah 40:7 Or dries up, cf. 42:15; Ps 90:5-6
- Isaiah 40:7 Or Because
- Isaiah 40:8 Or dries up, cf. 42:15; Ps 90:5-6
- Isaiah 40:12 DSS waters of the sea
- Isaiah 40:12 Or measured, marked off
- Isaiah 40:12 A span was approx. 9 in. or 23 cm
- Isaiah 40:12 Lit contained, comprehended
- Isaiah 40:13 Or measured, marked off
- Isaiah 40:20 Or set up
- Isaiah 40:22 Or is enthroned
- Isaiah 40:22 Or vault
- Isaiah 40:23 Or leaders
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or dry up, cf. 42:15; Ps 90:5-6
- Isaiah 40:26 As in DSS and ancient versions; M.T. strong
- Isaiah 40:31 Or sprout wings
- Isaiah 40:31 Or pinions
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.