Isaiah 39:8

8 Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, "Good. If God says so, it's good." Within himself he was thinking, "But surely nothing bad will happen in my lifetime. I'll enjoy peace and stability as long as I live."

Isaiah 39:8 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 39:8

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, good is the word of the Lord
which thou hast spoken
Hezekiah was at once convinced of his sin, acknowledged it and repented of it, and owned that the sentence pronounced was but just and right; and that there was a mixture of mercy and goodness in it, in that time was given, and it was not immediately executed: he said moreover, for there shall be peace and truth in my days;
or a confirmed peace, lasting prosperity, peace in the state, and truth in the church, plenty of temporal mercies, and the truth of doctrine and worship, which he understood by the prophet would continue in his days, and for which he was thankful; not that he was unconcerned about posterity, but inasmuch as it must be, what was foretold, and which he could not object to as unjust, he looked upon it as a mercy to him that there was a delay of it to future times; or it may be considered as a wish, "O that there were peace" F7


FOOTNOTES:

F7 (Mwlv hyhy yk) (genesyw de eirhnh) , Sept.; so the V. L. Syriac and Arabic versions; "O si fieret pax", Forerius; "precor ut sit pax", Vatablus; which is preferred by Noldius Ebr. Cocord. Part. p. 407. No. 1153.

Isaiah 39:8 In-Context

6 I have to warn you, the time is coming when everything in this palace, along with everything your ancestors accumulated before you, will be hauled off to Babylon. God says that there will be nothing left. Nothing.
7 And not only your things but your sons. Some of your sons will be taken into exile, ending up as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
8 Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, "Good. If God says so, it's good." Within himself he was thinking, "But surely nothing bad will happen in my lifetime. I'll enjoy peace and stability as long as I live."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.