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saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah 38:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB and said, “Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.” Hezekiah wept bitterly.
  • KJV 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.
  • NKJV and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
  • NASB and said, “Please, Lord, just remember how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept profusely.
  • NLT “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

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 pleads his faithful walk before God and weeps bitterly. He appeals to a life lived in sincere devotion.

Overview

The king asks God to remember how he has walked in truth with a whole heart, and he weeps deeply. He is not claiming sinless perfection but a life of genuine covenant faithfulness. His tears and appeal show honest, fervent prayer that lays the heart bare before God, who hears such cries.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 35

  • Heb 5:7During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
  • Heb 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
  • Ps 18:20–27The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
  • Neh 13:14Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my deeds of loving devotion for the house of my God and for its services.
  • 2 Chr 31:20–21So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.
  • 2 Cor 1:12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
  • Deut 6:18Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may be well with you and that you may enter and possess the good land that the LORD your God swore to give your fathers,
  • Neh 13:22Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this as well, O my God, and show me mercy according to Your abundant loving devotion.
  • John 1:47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
  • Neh 5:19Remember me favorably, O my God, for all that I have done for this people.
  • Ps 6:8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
  • 1 Chr 29:19And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”
  • Ps 119:80May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.
  • Ps 32:2Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
  • Ps 102:9For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears
  • Hos 12:4Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
  • 1 Jn 3:21–22Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God,
  • Ezra 10:1While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
  • 2 Sam 12:21–22“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.”
  • 1 Chr 29:9And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly.
  • 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
  • Gen 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
  • Job 23:11–12My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.
  • Ps 16:8I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
  • Neh 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
  • 2 Chr 25:2And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.
  • Gen 6:9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
  • Ps 26:3For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.
  • Ps 101:2I will ponder the way that is blameless—when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart.
  • 2 Kgs 18:5–6Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.
  • Gen 5:22–23And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
  • Ps 20:1–3For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
  • Neh 13:31I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, with favor.
  • 1 Kgs 2:4and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
  • 1 Kgs 15:14The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 38:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 38:3 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.