Isaiah38

King Hezekiah fell mortally ill, and the prophet Isaiah delivered a divine message that he would die. Hezekiah prayed earnestly to the LORD, reminding Him of his faithful walk, and God heard his plea. The LORD then promised to add fifteen years to Hezekiah's life and deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians, confirming this with a miraculous sign of the sun's shadow receding ten degrees on a sundial. Following his recovery, Hezekiah composed a song of thanksgiving, praising God for his deliverance from death and the forgiveness of his sins.

Hezekiah's Illness and Prayer for Life

1
Around this time Hizkiyahu became ill to the point of death. Yesha'yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz, came and said to him, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not live.'" ​
2
Hizkiyahu turned his face toward the wall and prayed to ADONAI:
3
"I plead with you, ADONAI, remember now how I have lived before you truly and wholeheartedly, and how I have done what you see as good." And he cried bitter tears. ​
4
Then the word of ADONAI came to Yesha'yahu:
5
"Go and tell Hizkiyahu that this is what ADONAI, the God of David your ancestor, says: 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; therefore I will add fifteen years to your life. ​
6
Also I will rescue you and this city from the power of the king of Ashur; I will defend this city. ​
7
The sign for you from ADONAI that ADONAI will do what he said is
8
that I will cause the shadow of the sundial, which has started going down on the sundial of Achaz, to go backward ten intervals.'" So the sun went back ten intervals of the distance it had already gone down. ​

Hezekiah's Song of Recovery

9
After Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah had been ill and had recovered, he wrote the following: ​
10
"I once said: 'In the prime of life I am going off to the gates of Sh'ol. I am being deprived of living out the full span of my life.'
11
"I said, 'I will never again see Yah, Yah in the land of the living; I will look on human beings no more or be with those who live in this world. ​
12
My home is uprooted and taken away from me like a shepherd's tent. Like a weaver, I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom. Between day and night you could finish me off. ​
13
I try to be strong like a lion till morning, but still my illness breaks all my bones - between day and night you could finish me off.
14
I make little chattering sounds like a swallow, I moan aloud like a dove, My eyes are weary with looking upward. Adonai, I am overwhelmed; guarantee my life!'
15
"What is there that I can say? He has spoken to me and acted! I will go humbly all my years, remembering how bitter I was.
16
Adonai, by these things people live; in all these is the life of my spirit. You're restoring my health and giving me life
17
though instead of peace, I felt very bitter. You desired my life and preserved it from the nothingness pit; for you threw all my sins behind your back. ​
18
"Sh'ol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those descending to the pit cannot hope for your truth. ​
19
The living, the living - they can thank you, as I do today; fathers will make their children know about your faithfulness.
20
ADONAI is ready to save me; hence we will make our stringed instruments sound all the days of our life in the house of ADONAI."

Narrative Conclusion and Postscript

21
Then Yesha'yahu said, "Have them take a fig-plaster and apply it to the inflammation, and he will recover." ​
22
Hizkiyahu asked, "What sign will there be that I will be able to go up to the house of ADONAI?" ​

Study Notes for Isaiah 38

Verse 1

This account is paralleled in 2 Kings 20:1-11. The phrase 'Set thine house in order' is a command to prepare for death, including appointing a successor, reflecting the gravity of the illness.

Verse 3

Hezekiah appeals to his righteous conduct, particularly his faithfulness in removing idols and restoring temple worship (2 Kings 18). This reflects the theology of retribution common in the Old Testament, where physical blessing often followed obedience.

Verse 5

God grants Hezekiah 15 additional years, demonstrating divine sovereignty over the span of human life. The reference to 'David thy father' anchors the promise in the unconditional covenant made with David.

Verse 6

The promise of personal recovery is immediately linked to the safety of Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat. God’s intervention addresses both the king’s personal crisis and the national political crisis simultaneously.

Verse 8

The sign involving the 'sun dial of Ahaz' (likely a series of steps or a stepped sundial) is a powerful cosmological miracle, demonstrating God’s absolute control over time and creation to confirm his word.

Verse 9

This psalm (or 'writing') is a hymn of thanksgiving, reflecting the typical structure of laments in which the writer moves from despair and fear of death (vv. 10-14) to praise and commitment to worship (vv. 15-20).

Verse 11

This verse reflects the traditional Hebrew understanding of Sheol (the grave), where the dead are cut off from the active presence of God and the joy of worship 'in the land of the living.'

Verse 12

Hezekiah uses vivid metaphors for the suddenness and fragility of life: the temporary nature of a shepherd’s tent and a weaver’s thread being abruptly cut off before its intended length.

Verse 17

This verse presents a crucial theological insight: the suffering (bitterness) was used by God for good (peace). Hezekiah connects his physical healing to the forgiveness of sins, suggesting that his illness may have been perceived as divine chastisement.

Verse 18

The primary focus of religious life is defined by active praise and witness while alive. Since the dead cannot actively praise God, it reinforces the urgency and value of the life God restored.

Verse 21

This detail, often viewed as a narrative appendix, shows that divine healing does not preclude the use of natural means (medical treatment). The fig poultice was likely used to draw out the infection from the boil or tumor.

Verse 22

Hezekiah’s concern for the sign was specifically tied to his ability to return to public worship in the Temple ('go up to the house of the LORD'), underscoring the importance of communal praise.

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