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CHAP. XXXVIII.

1 Hezekiah hauing receiued a message of death, by prayer hath his life lengthened. 8 The Sunne goeth tenne degrees backward, for a signe of that promise. 9 His song of Thankesgiuing.

Hezekiah sicke,

¹ In those daies was Hezekiah sicke vnto death: and Isaiah the Prophet the sonne of Amoz came vnto him, and said vnto him; Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not liue.¹

² Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed vnto the Lord,

³ And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I haue walked before thee in trueth, and with a perfect heart, and haue done that which is good in thy sight: and Hezekiah wept sore.³

⁴ ¶ Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,

⁵ Goe and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Dauid thy father; I haue heard thy prayer, I haue seene thy teares: behold, I will adde vnto thy dayes fifteene yeeres.

⁶ And I will deliuer thee and this citie, out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this citie.

⁷ And this shall be a signe vnto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will doe this thing that he hath spoken.

⁸ Behold, I will bring againe the shadow of the degrees which is gone downe in the Sunne-diall of Ahaz ten degrees backward: so the Sunne returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone downe.⁸

⁹ ¶ The writing of Hezekiah king of Iudah, when he had bene sicke, and was recouered of his sicknesse:

¹⁰ I saide in the cutting off of my dayes; I shall goe to the gates of the graue: I am depriued of the residue of my yeeres.

¹¹ I said, I shal not see the Lord, euen the Lord in the land of the liuing: I shal behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.

¹² Mine age is departed, and is remoued from me as a shepheards tent: I haue cut off like a weauer my life: he will cut mee off with pining sicknesse: from day euen to night wilt thou make an end of me.¹²

His thankesgiuing.

¹³ I reckoned till morning, that as a Lyon so will hee breake all my bones: from day euen to night wilt thou make an end of me.

¹⁴ Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter; I did mourne as a doue: mine eyes faile with looking vpward: O Lord, I am oppressed, vndertake for me.¹⁴

¹⁵ What shall I say? hee hath both spoken vnto mee, and himselfe hath done it: I shall goe softly, all my yeeres in the bitternesse of my soule.

¹⁶ O Lord, by these things men liue: and in all these things is the life of my spirit, so wilt thou recouer me, and make me to liue.

¹⁷ Behold, for peace I had great bitternesse, but thou hast in loue to my soule deliuered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sinnes behinde thy backe.¹⁷

¹⁸ For the graue cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that goe downe into the pit cannot hope for thy trueth.

¹⁹ The liuing, the liuing, hee shall praise thee, as I doe this day: the father to the children shall make knowen thy trueth.

²⁰ The Lord was ready to saue me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments, all the dayes of our life, in the house of the Lord.

²¹ For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lumpe of figges, and lay it for a plaister vpon the boile, and he shall recouer.

²² Hezekiah also had said, what is the signe, that I shall goe vp to the house of the Lord ?

Isaiah Chapter 38 Sidenote References (from Original 1611 KJV Bible):

¹ 2.Kin. 21. 2.chron. 32.24. , Hebr. giue charge concerning thy house.
³ Hebr. with great weeping.
⁸ Hebr. degrees by, or with the Sunne.
¹² Or, From the thrum.
¹⁴ Or, ease me.
¹⁷ Or, on my peace came great bitternesse. , Hebr. thou hast loued me from the pit.

* Courtesy of Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania