Chapter 38

¹ And it came to pass at that time, that Ezekias was sick even to death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amos came to him, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Give orders concerning thy house: for thou shalt die, and not live. ² And Ezekias turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, ³ Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth, with a true heart, and have done that which was pleasing in thy sight. And Ezekias wept bitterly. ⁴ And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Ezekias, ⁵ Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, and seen thy tears: behold, I will add to thy time fifteen years. ⁶ And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians: and I will defend this city. ⁷ And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that God will do this thing; ⁸ behold, I will turn back the shadow of the degrees of the dial by which ten degrees on the house of thy father the sun has gone down--I will turn back the sun the ten degrees; so the sun went back the ten degrees by which the shadow had gone down.

⁹ The Prayer of Ezekias king of Judea, when he ¹had been sick, and was recovered from his sickness.

¹⁰ I said in the end of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I shall part with

873

the remainder of my years. ¹¹ I said, I shall no more at all see the salvation of God in the land of the living: I shall no more at all see the salvation of Israel on the earth: I shall no more at all see man. ¹² My life has failed from among my kindred: I have parted with the remainder of my life: it has gone forth and departed from me, as one that having pitched a tent takes it down again: my breath was with me as a weaver's web, when she that weaves draws nigh to cut off the thread. ¹³ In that day I was given up as to a lion until the morning: so has he broken all my bones: for I was so given up from day even to night. ¹⁴ As a swallow, so will I cry, and as a dove, so do I mourn: for mine eyes have failed with looking to the height of heaven to the Lord, who has delivered me, and removed the sorrow of my soul. ¹⁶ Yea, O Lord, for it was told thee concerning this; and thou hast revived my breath; and I am comforted, and live. ¹⁷ For thou hast chosen my soul, that it should not perish: and thou hast cast all my sins behind me. ¹⁸ For they that are in the grave shall not praise thee, neither shall the dead bless thee, neither shall they that are in Hades hope for thy mercy. ¹⁹ The living shall bless thee, as I also do: for from this day shall I beget children, who shall declare thy righteousness, ²⁰ O God of my salvation; and I will not cease blessing thee with the psaltery all the days of my life before the house of God.

²¹ Now Isaiah had said to Ezekias; Take a cake of figs, and mash them, and apply them as a plaster, and thou shalt be well. ²² And Ezekias said, This is a sign to Ezekias, that I shall go up to the house of God.