Isaiah 38

1 At that time Hezekiah became deathly ill. Isaiah the prophet son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Give orders concerning your household, because you are going to die; you will not live.” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you in truth and with a true heart, and have done what pleased you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 The word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah: 5 This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will save you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will defend this city. 7 This will be the Lord’s sign to you that God will do this:

8 Look, I will turn back the shadow ten steps on the stairway of your father’s house—the steps the sun has already gone down. So the sun went back the ten steps the shadow had descended.” [a] 9 Hezekiah king of Judah’s prayer, when he had been ill and recovered from his illness: 10 “I said, ‘At the height of my days I will go to the gates of Hades and leave behind my remaining years.’ 11 I said, ‘I will no longer see God’s rescue on earth. I will no longer see a human being, [b] 12 one from my family. I left the remainder of my life. It went out and left me like someone who takes down a tent he pitched. My breath was like a weaver’s web when the weaver approaches to cut it. On that day I was handed over,

13 until morning, like someone handed to a lion. In this way he crushed my bones; I was handed over from day until night. 14 I cry like a swallow and mourn like a dove. My eyes have failed from looking up toward heaven—to the Lord, who rescued me. 15 He removed the pain from my soul. [c] 16 Lord, you were told about this, and you revived my breath. I was comforted and lived. 17 You chose my soul so it would not perish, and you threw all my sins behind me.

18 Those in Hades will not praise you, the dead will not bless you, and those in Hades will not hope for your mercy. 19 The living will bless you as I do. From today I will have children who will announce your righteousness, 20 Lord of my rescue, I will never stop blessing you with the harp all the days of my life before the house of God.” 21 Isaiah had said to Hezekiah, “Take a cake of figs, mash it, and apply it as a plaster; then you will recover.”

22 Hezekiah said, “This is the sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord God.”