Isaiah

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.

1Around that time Hezekiah got so sick that he was going to die. Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, came to him with a message from the LORD: "Put your house in order. You are going to die. You will not get well."

2Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,

2Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed to the LORD.

3And 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.

3He said, "Please, LORD, remember how I have lived before you. I have been faithful, with my whole heart, and I did what you call good." And Hezekiah cried hard.

4Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

4Then the LORD gave Isaiah a message. He said:

5Go, 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.

5"Go and tell Hezekiah: This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says. I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. I am going to add fifteen years to your life.

6And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

6I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will protect this city.

7And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;

7Here is the sign the LORD will give you, showing that he will do what he said:

8Behold, 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.

8Look at the shadow on the stairway that King Ahaz built. It has been moving down the steps. I will make it go back ten steps." So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had already come down.

NoteThe KJV says "sun dial" and "degrees," but this was a stairway. A shadow moved down its steps as the day went on, so people could tell the time by it. The "degrees" are steps.

9The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:

9This is what Hezekiah, king of Judah, wrote after he was sick and got well again:

10I 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.

10I said, "My life is being cut short. I have to walk through the gates of the grave. The rest of my years are being taken from me."

11I 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.

11I said, "I will never see the LORD again here among the living. I will never again look at another human being on this earth.

12Mine 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.

12My life has been pulled up and carried off, the way a shepherd folds up his tent. I rolled up my days like a weaver rolling up cloth, and he cut me loose from the loom. From morning to night you were bringing me to an end.

13I 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.

13I made myself stay calm until morning. But like a lion he broke all my bones. From morning to night you were bringing me to an end.

14Like 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.

14I made thin little sounds, like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes grew tired from looking up. LORD, I am crushed. Please stand up for me."

Note"Undertake for me" in the KJV does not mean start a project. It means step in on my side, like someone who agrees to pay another person's debt.

15What 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.

15What can I say? He spoke to me, and he himself did this to me. I will walk slowly and quietly all my years, because of this deep hurt inside me.

Note"I shall go softly" means walking slowly and humbly, not walking quietly to avoid noise.

16O 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.

16LORD, things like these are what people live by. My spirit finds its life in them. You made me well again, and you let me live.

17Behold, 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.

17Look: all that bitter pain turned out to be for my good. In your love you pulled me back from the pit of death, and you threw all my sins behind your back.

18For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

18The grave cannot thank you. Death cannot sing your praise. People who go down into the pit cannot hope for you to keep your word.

19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

19The living, only the living, can thank you, as I am doing today. Fathers will tell their children that you keep your word.

20The 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.

20The LORD is the one who saves me. So we will sing my songs with stringed instruments, all our lives, at the LORD's house.

21For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.

21Earlier, Isaiah had said, "Take a lump of pressed figs and lay it on the sore, and the king will get well."

NoteA "plaister" is a soft lump of something laid on a sore, held in place to help it heal. We would call it a poultice.

22Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?

22And Hezekiah had asked, "What is the sign that I will go up to the LORD's house again?"