Isaiah 38:1-6

1 In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death; and Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, entered to him, and said to him, The Lord saith these things, Dispose thy house, for thou shalt die, and thou shalt not live. (In those days Hezekiah was sick unto the death; and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, went to him, and said to him, The Lord saith these things, Set thy affairs in order, for soon thou shalt die, and thou shalt not live.)
2 And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed the Lord,
3 and said, Lord, I beseech; have thou mind, I beseech, how I went before thee in truth, and in perfect heart, and I did that that was good before thine eyes. And Hezekiah wept with great weeping. (and said, Lord, I beseech thee; remember, I beseech thee, how I went before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and I did what was good before thine eyes. And Hezekiah wept with a great weeping.)
4 And the word of the Lord was made to Isaiah, and said,
5 Go thou, and say to Hezekiah, The Lord God of David, thy father, saith these things, I have heard thy prayer, and I saw thy tears. Lo! I shall add on(to) thy days fifteen years;
6 and I shall deliver thee and this city from the hand of the king of Assyrians, and I shall defend it.

Isaiah 38:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 38

This chapter gives an account of Hezekiah's sickness, recovery, and thanksgiving on that account. His sickness, and the nature of it, and his preparation for it, as directed to by the prophet, Isa 38:1, his prayer to God upon it, Isa 38:2,3 the answer returned unto it, by which he is assured of living fifteen years more, and of the deliverance and protection of the city of Jerusalem from the Assyrians, Isa 38:4-6, the token of his recovery, the sun going back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz, Isa 38:7,8, a writing of Hezekiah's upon his recovery, in commemoration of it, Isa 38:9, in which he represents the deplorable condition he had been in, the terrible apprehensions he had of things, especially of the wrath and fury of the Almighty, and his sorrowful and mournful complaints, Isa 38:10-14, he observes his deliverance according to the word of God; expresses his faith in it; promises to retain a cheerful sense of it; owning that it was by the promises of God that he had lived as other saints did; and ascribes his preservation from the grave to the love of God to him, of which the forgiveness of his sins was an evidence, Isa 38:15-17, the end of which salvation was, that he might praise the Lord, which he determined to do, on stringed instruments, Isa 38:18-20, and the chapter is closed with observing the means of curing him of his boil; and that it was at his request that the sign of his recovery was given him, Isa 38:21,22.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.