I composed myself until the morning. Like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day until night You make an end of me.
Parallel translations
- WEB I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV I have considered until morning— Like a lion, So He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me.
- NASB “I composed my soul until morning. Like a lion—so He breaks all my bones, From day until night You make an end of me.
- NLT I waited patiently all night, but I was torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hezekiah likens his pain to a lion breaking his bones, day and night. His suffering felt relentless and overwhelming.
Overview
The king describes God's chastening as crushing, like a lion, with no relief from day to night. His raw lament does not hide the severity of his distress. Such honest prayer in suffering is welcomed by God, who invites his people to bring even their agony to him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 51:8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
- Dan 6:24At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
- 1 Kgs 13:24–26As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
- Ps 39:10Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
- Job 10:16–17Should I hold my head high, You would hunt me like a lion, and again display Your power against me.
- Hos 5:14For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.
- Ps 50:22Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
- 1 Cor 11:30–32That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
- Job 16:12–14I was at ease, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has set me up as His target;
- 1 Kgs 20:36Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 38:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.