Isaiah 38

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¹About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’” ✦ ²When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ✦ ³“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. ✦ ⁴Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: ⁵“Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, ✦ ⁶and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city. ✦ ⁷“‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: ✦ ⁸I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps. ✦ ⁹When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem: ✦ ¹⁰I said, “In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?” ✦ ¹¹I said, “Never again will I see the Lord God while still in the land of the living. Never again will I see my friends or be with those who live in this world. ✦ ¹²My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over. ✦ ¹³I waited patiently all night, but I was torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over. ✦ ¹⁴Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!” ✦ ¹⁵But what could I say? For he himself sent this sickness. Now I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt. ✦ ¹⁶Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live! ✦ ¹⁷Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins. ✦ ¹⁸For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can no longer hope in your faithfulness. ✦ ¹⁹Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next. ✦ ²⁰Think of it—the Lord is ready to heal me! I will sing his praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the Lord. ✦ ²¹Isaiah had said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover.” ✦ ²²And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the Lord?” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

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.

Where this chapter connects

Ps 119 ·6 Ps 116 ·5 Ps 102 ·5 2 Kgs 20 ·5 Ps 30 ·5 2 Chr 32 ·4 Isa 37 ·4 Eccl 9 ·4

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

★ Start hereCommentaryThe Book of Isaiah (NICOT)John N. Oswalt · Paid · evangelical
The standard evangelical commentary on Isaiah — thorough and devotionally warm.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 38YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Isaiah 38David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Isaiah 38Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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