Hezekiah’s Life Extended

38 In athose days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: b‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, c“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a 1loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your dsight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and eI will defend this city.” ’ 7 And this is fthe sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.

9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10 I said,

“In the prime of my life

I shall go to the gates of Sheol;

I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”

11 I said,

“I shall not see 2Yah,

The Lord gin the land of the living;

I shall observe man no more 3among the inhabitants of 4the world.

12 hMy life span is gone,

Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;

I have cut off my life like a weaver.

He cuts me off from the loom;

From day until night You make an end of me.

13 I have considered until morning—

Like a lion,

So He breaks all my bones;

From day until night You make an end of me.

14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;

iI mourned like a dove;

My eyes fail from looking upward.

O 5Lord, I am oppressed;

6Undertake for me!

15 “What shall I say?

7He has both spoken to me,

And He Himself has done it.

I shall walk carefully all my years

jIn the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things men live;

And in all these things is the life of my spirit;

So You will restore me and make me live.

17 Indeed it was for my own peace

That I had great bitterness;

But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,

For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

18 For kSheol cannot thank You,

Death cannot praise You;

Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,

As I do this day;

lThe father shall make known Your truth to the children.

20 “The Lord was ready to save me;

Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments

All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”

21 Now mIsaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”

22 And nHezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

The Babylonian Envoys

39 At athat time 1Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 bAnd Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”

So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a cfar country, from Babylon.”

4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”

So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming dwhen all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your esons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”

8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, f“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”

God’s People are Comforted

40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”

Says your God.

2 “Speak 1comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,

That her warfare is ended,

That her iniquity is pardoned;

aFor she has received from the Lord’s hand

Double for all her sins.”

3 bThe voice of one crying in the wilderness:

c“Prepare the way of the Lord;

dMake straight 2in the desert

A highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted

And every mountain and hill brought low;

eThe crooked places shall be made 3straight

And the rough places smooth;

5 The fglory of the Lord shall be revealed,

And all flesh shall see it together;

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”

And 4he said, “What shall I cry?”

g“All flesh is grass,

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But hthe word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come 5with a strong hand,

And iHis arm shall rule for Him;

Behold, jHis reward is with Him,

And His 6work before Him.

11 He will kfeed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

And carry them in His bosom,

And gently lead those who are with young.

12 lWho has measured the 7waters in the hollow of His hand,

Measured heaven with a 8span

And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?

Weighed the mountains in scales

And the hills in a balance?

13 mWho has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has taught Him?

14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,

And ntaught Him in the path of justice?

Who taught Him knowledge,

And showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,

And are counted as the small dust on the scales;

Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,

Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before Him are as onothing,

And pthey are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom then will you qliken God?

Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

19 rThe workman molds an image,

The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,

And the silversmith casts silver chains.

20 Whoever is too impoverished for such 9a contribution

Chooses a tree that will not rot;

He seeks for himself a skillful workman

sTo prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 tHave you not known?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

Who ustretches out the heavens like a curtain,

And spreads them out like a vtent to dwell in.

23 He 1brings the wprinces to nothing;

He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,

Scarcely shall they be sown,

Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,

When He will also blow on them,

And they will wither,

And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To xwhom then will you liken Me,

Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high,

And see who has created these things,

Who brings out their host by number;

yHe calls them all by name,

By the greatness of His might

And the strength of His power;

Not one is missing.

27 zWhy do you say, O Jacob,

And speak, O Israel:

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

28 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

aHis understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who bwait on the Lord

cShall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Israel Assured of God’s Help

41 “Keep asilence before Me, O coastlands,

And let the people renew their strength!

Let them come near, then let them speak;

Let us bcome near together for judgment.

2 “Who raised up one cfrom the east?

Who in righteousness called him to His feet?

Who dgave the nations before him,

And made him rule over kings?

Who gave them as the dust to his sword,

As driven stubble to his bow?

3 Who pursued them, and passed 1safely

By the way that he had not gone with his feet?

4 eWho has performed and done it,

Calling the generations from the beginning?

‘I, the Lord, am fthe first;

And with the last I am gHe.’ ”

5 The coastlands saw it and feared,

The ends of the earth were afraid;

They drew near and came.

6 hEveryone helped his neighbor,

And said to his brother,

2“Be of good courage!”

7 iSo the craftsman encouraged the jgoldsmith; 3

He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,

Saying, 4“It is ready for the soldering”;

Then he fastened it with pegs,

kThat it might not totter.

8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,

Jacob whom I have lchosen,

The descendants of Abraham My mfriend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,

And called from its farthest regions,

And said to you,

‘You are My servant,

I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 nFear not, ofor I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you

Shall be pashamed and disgraced;

They shall be as nothing,

And those who strive with you shall perish.

12 You