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.
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Hezekiah's Illness and Prayer for Life

1
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. ​
2
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
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And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. ​
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Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,
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Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. ​
6
And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. ​
7
And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;
8
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. ​

Hezekiah's Song of Recovery

9
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: ​
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I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
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I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. ​
12
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. ​
13
I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
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Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
15
What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
16
O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
17
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. ​
18
For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. ​
19
The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
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The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

Narrative Conclusion and Postscript

21
For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. ​
22
Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD? ​

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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