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Text -- Isaiah 38:12-22 (NET)

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38:12 My dwelling place is removed and taken away from me like a shepherd’s tent. I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; from the loom he cuts me off. You turn day into night and end my life. 38:13 I cry out until morning; like a lion he shatters all my bones; you turn day into night and end my life. 38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp, I coo like a dove; my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. O sovereign master, I am oppressed; help me! 38:15 What can I say? He has decreed and acted. I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. 38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life; may years of life be restored to me. Restore my health and preserve my life.’ 38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. You delivered me from the pit of oblivion. For you removed all my sins from your sight. 38:18 Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks; death does not praise you. Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness. 38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks, as I do today. A father tells his sons about your faithfulness. 38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me, and we will celebrate with music for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” 38:21 Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 38:22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Hezekiah the son of Ahaz who succeeded him as king of Judah; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Ahaz; king of Judah,forefather of the prophet Zephaniah,an Israelite chief who signed the covenant to obey God's law
 · Isaiah a son of Amoz; a prophet active in Judah from about 740 to 701 B.C.,son of Amoz; a major prophet in the time of Hezekiah
 · Sheol the place of the dead


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Weaving, weavers | TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT | SHEOL | RESURRECTION | Psalms | Poetry | PSALMS, BOOK OF | PAPYRUS | Neginah | JOB, BOOK OF | Isaiah | ISAIAH, 8-9 | ISAIAH, 1-7 | Hezekiah | Herdsman | HEZEKIAH (2) | END | Complaint | BOIL (1) | Afflictions and Adversities | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable , Guzik

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Isa 38:13 - -- When I could not rest all the night even 'till morning, my thoughts were presaging that God would instantly break me to pieces, and the like thoughts ...

When I could not rest all the night even 'till morning, my thoughts were presaging that God would instantly break me to pieces, and the like thoughts followed me from morning 'till evening.

Wesley: Isa 38:16 - -- By thy promises, and thy performance of them; therefore it is not strange, that one word of God hath brought me back from the jaws of death.

By thy promises, and thy performance of them; therefore it is not strange, that one word of God hath brought me back from the jaws of death.

Wesley: Isa 38:18 - -- The dead are not capable of glorifying thy name among men upon earth. They cannot expect nor receive the accomplishment of thy promised goodness in th...

The dead are not capable of glorifying thy name among men upon earth. They cannot expect nor receive the accomplishment of thy promised goodness in the land of the living.

Wesley: Isa 38:20 - -- Was a present help.

Was a present help.

JFB: Isa 38:12 - -- Rather, as the parallel "shepherd's tent" requires habitation, so the Arabic [GESENIUS].

Rather, as the parallel "shepherd's tent" requires habitation, so the Arabic [GESENIUS].

JFB: Isa 38:12 - -- Is broken up, or shifted, as a tent to a different locality. The same image occurs (2Co 5:1; 2Pe 1:12-13). He plainly expects to exist, and not cease ...

Is broken up, or shifted, as a tent to a different locality. The same image occurs (2Co 5:1; 2Pe 1:12-13). He plainly expects to exist, and not cease to be in another state; as the shepherd still lives, after he has struck his tent and removed elsewhere.

JFB: Isa 38:12 - -- He attributes to himself that which is God's will with respect to him; because he declares that will. So Jeremiah is said to "root out" kingdoms, beca...

He attributes to himself that which is God's will with respect to him; because he declares that will. So Jeremiah is said to "root out" kingdoms, because he declares God's purpose of doing so (Jer 1:10). The weaver cuts off his web from the loom when completed. Job 7:6 has a like image. The Greeks represented the Fates as spinning and cutting off the threads of each man's life.

JFB: Isa 38:12 - -- God.

God.

JFB: Isa 38:12 - -- Rather, "from the thrum," or thread, which tied the loom to the weaver's beam.

Rather, "from the thrum," or thread, which tied the loom to the weaver's beam.

JFB: Isa 38:12 - -- That is, in the space of a single day between morning and night (Job 4:20).

That is, in the space of a single day between morning and night (Job 4:20).

JFB: Isa 38:13 - -- Rather, I composed (my mind, during the night, expecting relief in the "morning," so Job 7:4): for ("that" is not, as in the English Version, to be su...

Rather, I composed (my mind, during the night, expecting relief in the "morning," so Job 7:4): for ("that" is not, as in the English Version, to be supplied) as a lion He was breaking all my bones [VITRINGA] (Job 10:16; Lam 3:10-11). The Hebrew, in Psa 131:2, is rendered, "I quieted." Or else, "I made myself like a lion (namely, in roaring, through pain), He was so breaking my bones!" Poets often compare great groaning to a lion's roaring, so, Isa 38:14, he compares his groans to the sounds of other animals (Psa 22:1) [MAURER].

JFB: Isa 38:14 - -- Rather, "Like a swallow, or a crane" (from a root; "to disturb the water," a bird frequenting the water) [MAURER], (Jer 8:7).

Rather, "Like a swallow, or a crane" (from a root; "to disturb the water," a bird frequenting the water) [MAURER], (Jer 8:7).

JFB: Isa 38:14 - -- Twitter: broken sounds expressive of pain.

Twitter: broken sounds expressive of pain.

JFB: Isa 38:14 - -- Called by the Arabs the daughter of mourning, from its plaintive note (Isa 59:11).

Called by the Arabs the daughter of mourning, from its plaintive note (Isa 59:11).

JFB: Isa 38:14 - -- To God for relief.

To God for relief.

JFB: Isa 38:14 - -- Literally, "be surety for" me; assure me that I shall be restored (Psa 119:122).

Literally, "be surety for" me; assure me that I shall be restored (Psa 119:122).

JFB: Isa 38:15-20 - -- The second part of the song passes from prayer to thanksgiving at the prayer being heard.

The second part of the song passes from prayer to thanksgiving at the prayer being heard.

JFB: Isa 38:15-20 - -- The language of one at a loss for words to express his sense of the unexpected deliverance.

The language of one at a loss for words to express his sense of the unexpected deliverance.

JFB: Isa 38:15-20 - -- (Num 23:19). Both promised and performed (1Th 5:24; Heb 10:23).

(Num 23:19). Both promised and performed (1Th 5:24; Heb 10:23).

JFB: Isa 38:15-20 - -- No one else could have done it (Psa 98:1).

No one else could have done it (Psa 98:1).

JFB: Isa 38:15-20 - -- Rather, "on account of the bitterness"; I will behave myself humbly in remembrance of my past sorrow and sickness from which I have been delivered by ...

Rather, "on account of the bitterness"; I will behave myself humbly in remembrance of my past sorrow and sickness from which I have been delivered by God's mercy (see 1Ki 21:27, 1Ki 21:29). In Psa 42:4, the same Hebrew verb expresses the slow and solemn gait of one going up to the house of God; it is found nowhere else, hence ROSENMULLER explains it, "I will reverently attend the sacred festivals in the temple"; but this ellipsis would be harsh; rather metaphorically the word is transferred to a calm, solemn, and submissive walk of life.

JFB: Isa 38:16 - -- Namely, by God's benefits, which are implied in the context (Isa 38:15, "He hath Himself done it" "unto me"). All "men live by these" benefits (Psa 10...

Namely, by God's benefits, which are implied in the context (Isa 38:15, "He hath Himself done it" "unto me"). All "men live by these" benefits (Psa 104:27-30), "and in all these is the life of my spirit," that is, I also live by them (Deu 8:3).

JFB: Isa 38:16 - -- The Hebrew is imperative, "make me to live." In this view he adds a prayer to the confident hope founded on his comparative convalescence, which he ex...

The Hebrew is imperative, "make me to live." In this view he adds a prayer to the confident hope founded on his comparative convalescence, which he expressed, "Thou wilt recover me" [MAURER].

JFB: Isa 38:17 - -- Instead of the prosperity which I had previously.

Instead of the prosperity which I had previously.

JFB: Isa 38:17 - -- Literally, "bitterness to me, bitterness"; expressing intense emotion.

Literally, "bitterness to me, bitterness"; expressing intense emotion.

JFB: Isa 38:17 - -- Literally, "attachment," such as joins one to another tenderly; "Thou hast been lovingly attached to me from the pit"; pregnant phrase for, Thy love h...

Literally, "attachment," such as joins one to another tenderly; "Thou hast been lovingly attached to me from the pit"; pregnant phrase for, Thy love has gone down to the pit, and drawn me out from it. The "pit" is here simply death, in Hezekiah's sense; realized in its fulness only in reference to the soul's redemption from hell by Jesus Christ (Isa 61:1), who went down to the pit for that purpose Himself (Psa 88:4-6; Zec 9:11-12; Heb 13:20). "Sin" and sickness are connected (Psa 103:3; compare Isa 53:4, with Mat 8:17; Mat 9:5-6), especially under the Old Testament dispensation of temporal sanctions; but even now, sickness, though not invariably arising from sin in individuals, is connected with it in the general moral view.

JFB: Isa 38:17 - -- Consigned my sins to oblivion. The same phrase occurs (1Ki 14:9; Neh 9:26; Psa 50:17). Contrast Psa 90:8, "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, o...

Consigned my sins to oblivion. The same phrase occurs (1Ki 14:9; Neh 9:26; Psa 50:17). Contrast Psa 90:8, "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance."

JFB: Isa 38:18 - -- That is, the dead; Hades and its inhabitants (Job 28:22; see on Isa 38:11). Plainly Hezekiah believed in a world of disembodied spirits; his language ...

That is, the dead; Hades and its inhabitants (Job 28:22; see on Isa 38:11). Plainly Hezekiah believed in a world of disembodied spirits; his language does not imply what skepticism has drawn from it, but simply that he regarded the disembodied state as one incapable of declaring the praises of God before men, for it is, as regards this world, an unseen land of stillness; "the living" alone can praise God on earth, in reference to which only he is speaking; Isa 57:1-2 shows that at this time the true view of the blessedness of the righteous dead was held, though not with the full clearness of the Gospel, which "has brought life and immortality to light" (2Ti 1:10).

JFB: Isa 38:18 - -- (Psa 104:27). Their probation is at an end. They can no longer exercise faith and hope in regard to Thy faithfulness to Thy promises, which are limit...

(Psa 104:27). Their probation is at an end. They can no longer exercise faith and hope in regard to Thy faithfulness to Thy promises, which are limited to the present state. For "hope" ceases (even in the case of the godly) when sight begins (Rom 8:24-25); the ungodly have "no hope" (1Th 4:13). Hope in God's truth is one of the grounds of praise to God (Psa 71:14; Psa 119:49). Others translate, "cannot celebrate."

JFB: Isa 38:19 - -- Emphatic repetition, as in Isa 38:11, Isa 38:17; his heart is so full of the main object of his prayer that, for want of adequate words, he repeats th...

Emphatic repetition, as in Isa 38:11, Isa 38:17; his heart is so full of the main object of his prayer that, for want of adequate words, he repeats the same word.

JFB: Isa 38:19 - -- One generation of the living to another. He probably, also, hints at his own desire to live until he should have a child, the successor to his throne,...

One generation of the living to another. He probably, also, hints at his own desire to live until he should have a child, the successor to his throne, to whom he might make known and so perpetuate the memory of God's truth.

JFB: Isa 38:19 - -- Faithfulness to His promises; especially in Hezekiah's case, His promise of hearing prayer.

Faithfulness to His promises; especially in Hezekiah's case, His promise of hearing prayer.

JFB: Isa 38:20 - -- Not in the Hebrew; "Jehovah was for my salvation," that is, saved me (compare Isa 12:2).

Not in the Hebrew; "Jehovah was for my salvation," that is, saved me (compare Isa 12:2).

JFB: Isa 38:20 - -- I and my people.

I and my people.

JFB: Isa 38:20 - -- This song was designed, as many of the other Psalms, as a form to be used in public worship at stated times, perhaps on every anniversary of his recov...

This song was designed, as many of the other Psalms, as a form to be used in public worship at stated times, perhaps on every anniversary of his recovery; hence "all the days of our life."

JFB: Isa 38:20 - -- A round cake of figs pressed into a mass (1Sa 25:18). God works by means; the meanest of which He can make effectual.

A round cake of figs pressed into a mass (1Sa 25:18). God works by means; the meanest of which He can make effectual.

JFB: Isa 38:20 - -- Inflamed ulcer, produced by the plague.

Inflamed ulcer, produced by the plague.

JFB: Isa 38:22 - -- Hence he makes the praises to be sung there prominent in his song (Isa 38:20; Psa 116:12-14, Psa 116:17-19).

Hence he makes the praises to be sung there prominent in his song (Isa 38:20; Psa 116:12-14, Psa 116:17-19).

Clarke: Isa 38:12 - -- Mine age - is removed from me as a shepherd’ s tent - רעי roi is put for רעה roeh , say the rabbis (Sal. Den Melec on the place); bu...

Mine age - is removed from me as a shepherd’ s tent - רעי roi is put for רעה roeh , say the rabbis (Sal. Den Melec on the place); but much more probably is written imperfectly for ×¨×¢×™× roim , shepherds. See note on Isa 5:1

I shall be removed from this state to another, as a shepherd removes his tent from one place to another for the sake of his flock. Is not this a strong intimation of his belief in a future state

I have cut off like a weaver my life "My life is cut off as by the weaver" - קפדתי kippadti . This verb is rendered passively, and in the third person, by the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.

Clarke: Isa 38:13 - -- The last line of the foregoing verse ×ž×™×•× ×¢×“ לילה תשלימני miyom ad layelah tashlimeni , "In the course of the day thou wilt finish m...

The last line of the foregoing verse ×ž×™×•× ×¢×“ לילה תשלימני miyom ad layelah tashlimeni , "In the course of the day thou wilt finish my web; "or, as the common version has it, "From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me, "is not repeated at the end of this verse in the Syriac version; and a MS. omits it. It seems to have been inserted a second time in the Hebrew text by mistake

I reckoned till morning, etc. "I roared until the morning like the lion"- For שויתי shivvithi , the Chaldee has נהמית nihameith : he read ש×גתי shaagti , the proper term for the roaring of a lion; often applied to the deep groaning of men in sickness. See Psalm 22, Psa 32:3; Psa 38:9; Job 3:24. The Masoretes divide the sentence, as I have done; taking ×›×רי caari , like a lion, into the first member; and so likewise the Septuagint.

Clarke: Isa 38:14 - -- Like - a swallow "Like the swallow"- כסיס kesis ; so read two MSS., Theodot., and Hieron Mine eyes fail - For דלו dallu the Septuagint...

Like - a swallow "Like the swallow"- כסיס kesis ; so read two MSS., Theodot., and Hieron

Mine eyes fail - For דלו dallu the Septuagint read כלו calu , εξελιπον . Compare Psa 69:4; Psa 119:82, Psa 119:123; Lam 2:11; Lam 4:17, in the Hebrew and in the Septuagint

O Lord "O Lord"- For יהוה Jehovah , thirty MSS. and eight editions read ×דני Adonai

Undertake for me "Contend for me"- עשקה ashekah , with ש shin , Jarchi: this sense of the word is established by Gen 26:20 : "He called the name of the well עשק esek , because they strove with him:" התעשקו hithasseku , equivalent to יריבו yaribu , at the beginning of the verse.

Clarke: Isa 38:15 - -- I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul "Through the rest of my years will I reflect on this bitterness of my soul"- ×דדה e...

I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul "Through the rest of my years will I reflect on this bitterness of my soul"- ×דדה eddaddeh ; recogitabo , Vulg., reputabo , Hieron. in loc.

Clarke: Isa 38:16 - -- By these things men live "For this cause shall it be declared"- ΠεÏι αυτης Î³Î±Ï Î±Î½Î·Î³Î³ÎµÎ»Î· σοι, και εξηγειÏας μοÏ...

By these things men live "For this cause shall it be declared"- ΠεÏι αυτης Î³Î±Ï Î±Î½Î·Î³Î³ÎµÎ»Î· σοι, και εξηγειÏας μου την πνοην, Sept. They read in their copies עליה יחוו לך ותחיי רוחי not very different from the present text, from which all the ancient Versions vary. They entirely omit two words, ולכל בהן ulecol bahen ; as to which there is some variation in the MSS. One MS. has ובכל ubechol , and in all; two others וכל vechol , and all, and ten MSS. have ×‘×”× bahem , in them, in the masculine gender

Taking this as in the common Version, we may observe, it is not an unfrequent case, that afflictions, and especially such as tend to a speedy death, become the means, not only of saving the soul, but also of lengthening the life

Make me to live "Hast prolonged my life"- A MSS. and the Babylonish Talmud read ותחיני vetachayeni , and so the ancient Versions. It must necessarily be in the second person.

Clarke: Isa 38:17 - -- For peace I had great bitterness "My anguish is changed into ease"- מר לי מר mar li mar , " mutata mthi est amaritudo ."Paronomasia; a figur...

For peace I had great bitterness "My anguish is changed into ease"- מר לי מר mar li mar , " mutata mthi est amaritudo ."Paronomasia; a figure which the prophet frequently admits. I do not always note it, because it cannot ever be preserved in the translation, and the sense seldom depends upon it. But here it perfectly clears up the great obscurity of the passage. See Lowth on the place

Thou hast rescued - חשכת chashachta , with כ caph , instead of ק koph ; so the Septuagint and Vulgate; Houbigant. See Chappelow on Job 33:18

Clarke: Isa 38:17 - -- From perdition - משחת בלי mishshachath beli , ἱνα μη αποληται, Sept. ut non periret , "that it may not perish."Vulg. Perhaps...

From perdition - משחת בלי mishshachath beli , ἱνα μη αποληται, Sept. ut non periret , "that it may not perish."Vulg. Perhaps inverting the order of the words. See Houbigant

Clarke: Isa 38:17 - -- Thou hast in love to my soul - חשקת chashakta , "thou hast lovingly embraced"or kissed "my soul out of the pit of corruption."

Thou hast in love to my soul - חשקת chashakta , "thou hast lovingly embraced"or kissed "my soul out of the pit of corruption."

Clarke: Isa 38:19 - -- Thy truth - ×ל ×מתך el amittecha . A MS. omits ×ל el ; and instead of ×ל el , an ancient MS. and one edition read ×ת eth . The sa...

Thy truth - ×ל ×מתך el amittecha . A MS. omits ×ל el ; and instead of ×ל el , an ancient MS. and one edition read ×ת eth . The same mistake as in Psa 2:7.

Clarke: Isa 38:21 - -- Let them take a lump of figs, etc. - God, in effecting this miraculous cure, was pleased to order the use of means not improper for that end " Folia...

Let them take a lump of figs, etc. - God, in effecting this miraculous cure, was pleased to order the use of means not improper for that end

" Folia, et, quae non maturuere, fici, strumis illinuntur omnibusque quae emollienda sunt discutiendave ."- Plin. Nat. Hist. 23:7

" Ad discutienda ea, quae in corporis parte aliqua coierunt, maxime possunt-ficus arida ,"etc. - Celsus, 5:11

See the note on 2Ki 20:7 (note). Philemon Holland translates the passage as a medical man: "The milke or white juice that the figge tree yieldeth is of the same nature that vinegre: and therefore it will cruddle milke as well as rennet, or rendles. The right season of gathering this milkie substance is before that the figs be ripe upon the tree; and then it must be dried in the shadow: thus prepared, it is good to break impostumes, and keepe ulcer open."

Calvin: Isa 38:12 - -- 12.My dwelling === is departed. He proceeds in his complaints, by painting his life under a beautiful metaphor; for he compares it to a shepherd’...

12.My dwelling === is departed. He proceeds in his complaints, by painting his life under a beautiful metaphor; for he compares it to a shepherd’s tent. Such indeed is the condition of human life in general; but he does not relate so much what happens to all universally as what has befallen himself as an individual. The use of tents is more common in those countries than in ours, and shepherds often change their residence, while they drive their flock from one place to another. He does not therefore say absolutely that men dwell in a frail lodginghouse, while they pass through the world, but that, after he had dwelt at ease in a royal palace, his lot was changed, just as if “a shepherd’s tent†were pitched for two days in one field and afterwards removed to another.

===I have cut off, as a weaver, my life It is worthy of observation, that he indiscriminately ascribes the cause of his death, sometimes to himself, and sometimes to God, but at the same time explains the grounds; for when he speaks of himself as the author, he does not complain of God, or remonstrate that God has robbed him of his life, but accuses himself, and acknowledges deep blame. His words are equivalent to the proverbial saying, “I have cut this thread for myself, so that I alone am the cause of my death.†And yet it is not without reason that he soon afterwards ascribes to God what he had acknowledged to have proceeded from himself; for although we give to God grounds for dealing severely with us, yet he is the judge who inflicts punishment. In our afflictions, therefore, we ought always to praise his judgment; because he performs his office when he chastises us as we deserve.

From lifting up he will cut me off Some translate מדלה (middallah) “through leanness,†or “through sickness,†and others translate it “by taking away.†The former derive this noun from דלל (dalal) which means “to diminish,†and the latter from דלה (dalah) which means “to carry off by lifting up.†But let my readers consider if the word “lifting up†be not more appropriate; for Hezekiah appears to complain that his life, while it tended to advance farther, was suddenly east down; just as if God should cause the sun to set, while it was still ascending in the sky.

From day even to night He now adds that in a short space of time he was brought down; and by this circumstance again expresses the severity of God’s wrath; because he consumes men by the breath of a moment; for to be laid low in a single day means that men die very rapidly.

Calvin: Isa 38:13 - -- 13.I reckoned till the dawn Others translate it “I determined,†or “I laid down.†Here it means what we express by the ordinary phrase, (Je ...

13.I reckoned till the dawn Others translate it “I determined,†or “I laid down.†Here it means what we express by the ordinary phrase, (Je fasoye mon compte,)†I laid my account.†From this verse it may be inferred that Hezekiah labored two days at least under the disease; for in the preceding verse he pronounced its severity to be so great that he expected immediate death. And now, when one day was past, he still waited till the dawn, and again, from day even to night, so that he said that he would die every moment. The meaning therefore is, that though he reached “the dawn,†still through constant tossings he was hastening to death, because, having been struck by a terrible judgment of God, he cared nothing about his life; and as the Greeks, when they intended to say that nothing is more vain than man, said that he was (á¼Ï†á½µÎ¼ÎµÏον) “an ephemeral animal,†that is, “the creature of a day,†so Hezekiah means by “the life of a day†that which is fading and has no duration.

As a lion, so hath he broken my bones The comparison of God to a lion ought not to be reckoned strange, though God is naturally “gracious, merciful, and kind.†(Exo 34:6.) Nothing certainly can more truly belong to God than these attributes; but we cannot be aware of that gentleness, when we have provoked him by our crimes and urged him to severity by our wickedness. Besides, there is no cruelty and fierceness in wild beasts that is fitted to strike such terror as we feel from the bare mention of the name of God, and justly; for the Lord’s chastisements must have sufficient power to humble and cast us down to hell itself, so that we shall be almost destitute of consolation and regard everything as full of horror. In like manner also, we see that David has described these terrors, when he says that “his bones are numbered, his couch is moistened with tears, his soul is troubled, and hell is opened.†(Psa 6:3.) Thus must the godly be sometimes terrified by the judgment of God, that they may be more powerfully excited to desire his favor.

Calvin: Isa 38:14 - -- 14.As a crane, or a swallow Hezekiah cannot satisfy himself in explaining the severity of his anguish. He now says that he was reduced so low that he...

14.As a crane, or a swallow Hezekiah cannot satisfy himself in explaining the severity of his anguish. He now says that he was reduced so low that he could not utter an articulate voice, but muttered some confused sound, like persons who are almost at the point of death. Hence it is evident that his distress was excruciating; for the severity of the pain took away his voice, and his voice, he says, stuck in his throat; nothing was heard but indistinct groans.

Such is the import of these metaphors of “the crane and the swallow,†which the Prophet employs. Still it is certain that this indistinct sound of the voice is nevertheless heard by God; though all our senses are oppressed by pain, and our throat is choked by grief, still God beholds our hearts and listens to godly sighs, 85 which will be even more powerful than plain and direct words, provided that the Spirit is present, who produces in us those “groanings that cannot be uttered,†of which Paul speaks. (Rom 8:26.) There is no believer who does not feel that in prayer, when his heart is oppressed by any heavy sorrow, he either stammers or is almost dumb.

My eyes were lifted up on high These words are translated by some, “My eyes are weakened;†but that would not agree with the phrase, “on high.†86 On this account we must adopt a simpler meaning, that, although Hezekiah’s eyes were nearly worn out with weakness, so that he almost fainted, yet. he did not cease to lift up his eyes to heaven; and that he never was stupified to such a degree as not to know that he ought to ask assistance from God. Let us therefore learn by the example of Hezekiah to lift up our eyes to heaven, when our hearts are afflicted and troubled; and let us know that God does not demand from us great eloquence.

O Lord, it hath oppressed me; 87 comfort me. He confirms the sentiment already expressed, by immediately directing his discourse to God and imploring his aid. Being oppressed by the violence of disease, he desires that God would be present to assist him. Some render the words, “Be surety for me;†88 and the verb ערב (gnarab) is often used in this sense; but it is more appropriate to say, “Comfort me,†or “Cheer me.†Or perhaps it will be thought preferable to translate, as some have done, “Cause me to rest.†Undoubtedly he asks comfort from God, that he may not sink under the violence of disease; and we ought to be assured of this, that the greater the weight of afflictions that oppresses us, the more will God be ready to give us assistance.

Calvin: Isa 38:15 - -- 15.What shall I say? This is generally supposed to be an exclamation, such as frequently bursts forth in a season of joy, as if he congratulated hims...

15.What shall I say? This is generally supposed to be an exclamation, such as frequently bursts forth in a season of joy, as if he congratulated himself on having already obtained his wish. But I think differently. Hezekiah appears to proceed in his complaints; for he speaks as men commonly do when they are overcome by grief; “What shall I say? for he who said it hath also done it;†that is, “life and death are in his hand; it is useless for me to argue or contend with him; it is useless for me to complain.†In the book of Job also words and sayings of this sort are often found. (Job 7:4.) I think that this is the true meaning; for Hezekiah previously looked around on all sides to see if any assistance appeared, and now, when he sees that he is about to die, and that God has threatened it, he concludes that he ought no longer to resist but to obey.

Yet we ought to mark the emphatic statement, that God hath actually fulfilled what he had threatened by his word. They who explain it to mean simply, “what God said to me by the Prophet he hath fulfilled,†express a part of the truth, but. not the whole; for Hezekiah does not coldly relate that he has perceived the effect of the word, but, by bringing forward the power of God, he cuts off every occasion to murmur or complain. Thus also David says, “I am dumb, because thou hast done it.†(Psa 39:9.) We never cease to complain until we are restrained by the fear of the power of God. Thus also Job, considering that he has to deal with God, says, “I will lay my finger on my mouth,†(Job 40:4,) and “I will humbly make supplication to my judge.†(Job 9:15.) Hezekiah, therefore, enjoins silence on himself on this ground, that it is useless to contend with God.

At the same time, he means that he has no hope of life, because the Lord gives actual demonstration that it was a serious threatening; and hence he infers that he gains nothing, because there are no means of evasion. This sentiment, it is true, proceeds from despair; because in this manner, thinking that God is his enemy, he shuts the door against his prayers. But that in very severe distresses words of this kind should escape our lips, which deter us from confidence in prayer, is neither new nor strange, provided that, on the other hand, we rely on that calling upon God which the views of the flesh pronounce to be of no avail. There is reason to believe that the pious king labored under such perplexity that he fainted through weakness; but that he chiefly considered what I have said, that there was nothing preferable to silence, because that it would serve no purpose to dispute with God, will appear more clearly from what immediately follows.

I shall walk trembling 89 all my life. Hence we may infer that he now holds out to his view the dreadful power of God, in order to dispose himself to true humility. As דדה (dadah) sometimes signifies “to move,†and sometimes “to walk softly,†×דדה (eddaddeh) is translated by some commentators, “I shall be moved,†or “I shall be troubled,†and by others, “I shall walk softly.†For my own part, I have no doubt that it denotes a trembling and feeble step; for Hezekiah had been reduced to so great weakness that he despaired of ever afterwards recovering his former strength. This trembling must be attributed to fear, for it immediately follows, in bitterness; which means, that the sorrow which he had endured was so deeply rooted in his heart, that it could never be removed. Hence arose that weakness which he mentioned.

×דדה (eddaddeh) is translated by the Vulgate, “I will call to remembrance,†on which account this passage has been tortured by Papists to support auricular confession, but so absurdly that even old wives can laugh at it. But the plain meaning is, that Hezekiah does not speak of calling to remembrance, but of that agitation and trembling with which he says that he will be struck during the whole period of his life.

Calvin: Isa 38:16 - -- 16.O Lord, even to all who shall live after them The concise style of the Prophet has given rise to various interpretations. The interpretation most ...

16.O Lord, even to all who shall live after them The concise style of the Prophet has given rise to various interpretations. The interpretation most commonly received is “O Lord, they shall live beyond those years, 90 †that is, “they shall lengthen their life.†This is equivalent to saying, “When thou shalt have lengthened my life, thou wilt grant that others also shall enjoy the same favor.†But that meaning does not agree with the text, and I look upon it as forced. I rather think that Hezekiah’s meaning was this †O Lord, whosoever shall live beyond those years, to them also will the life of my spirit be known.†We must therefore supply the relative ×שר , (asher,) who, as the Hebrew writers frequently do, and there will be nothing forced in this interpretation; for there can be no doubt, and nobody denies it, that he speaks of the years which the Lord had lengthened out to him. Thus he means that, this favor will be acknowledged not only by the men of that age, but also by posterity.

And didst cause me to sleep, and didst make me alive In this way he magnifies the greatness of the favor, because it will also be well known to a future age, and will continue to be engraven on the remembrance of all, even when Hezekiah himself is dead, and not only so, but will be reckoned to be a kind of resurrection. By the word sleep he means death, as the Scriptures frequently do. (1Co 11:30; 1Th 4:14; 2Pe 3:4.) Thus he compares this mortal disease to death; for he was so near death that he utterly despaired of life.

Calvin: Isa 38:17 - -- 17.Lo, in peace ray bitterness was bitter 91 Again, another circumstance aggravates the severity of the distress; for sudden and unexpected calamitie...

17.Lo, in peace ray bitterness was bitter 91 Again, another circumstance aggravates the severity of the distress; for sudden and unexpected calamities disturb us more than those which come upon us in a gradual manner. The grievousness of the disease was the more insupportable, because it seized him suddenly while he enjoyed ease and quietness; for nothing was farther from his thoughts than that he was about to depart from this life. We know also that the saints sometimes rely too much on prosperity, and promise to themselves unvarying success, which David too acknowledges to have happened to himself, “In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved; but thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.†(Psa 30:6.)

Nothing more distressing, therefore, could happen to Hezekiah than to be taken out of life, especially when the discomfiture and ruin of his enemy left him in the enjoyment of peace; for I think that Hezekiah fell into this disease after the defeat of Sennacherib, as has been already said. Amidst that joy and peace which smiled upon him, lo, a heavy sickness by which Hezekiah is fearfully distressed and tormented. This warns us that, since nothing is solid or lasting in this life, and since all that delights us may be speedily taken away, we ought not to grow sluggish in prosperity, but, even while we enjoy peace, we ought to think of war, and adversity, and afflictions, and, above all, to seek that peace which rests on God’s fatherly kindness, on which our consciences may safely repose.

And thou hast been pleased (to rescue) my soul from the pit This part of the verse admits of two meanings. Since the verb חשק (chashak) signifies sometimes “to love,†and sometimes “to wish,†that meaning would not be unsuitable, “It hath pleased thee to deliver my soul.†But if nothing be understood, the style will be equally complete, and will flow not less agreeably, “Thou, O God, didst embrace my soul with favor and kindness, while it was lying in the grave.†92 It is well known that “soul†means “life;†but here the goodness of God is proclaimed, in not ceasing to love Hezekiah, even when he might be regarded as dead. In this way the copulative particle must be translated But.

For thou hast cast behind thy back all my sins By assigning the reason, he now leads us to the fountain itself, and points out the method of that cure; for otherwise it might have been thought that hitherto he had spoken of nothing else than the cure of the body, but now he shews that he looks at something higher, namely, that he had been guilty before God, but by his grace had been forgiven. He affirms, indeed, that life has been restored to him, but reckons it of higher value that he has been reconciled to God than a hundred or a thousand lives. And, indeed,

“it would have been better for us never to have been born†(Mat 26:24)

than by living a long life to add continually new offenses, and thus to bring down on ourselves a heavier judgment. He therefore congratulates himself chiefly on this ground, that the face of God smiles cheerfully upon him; for to enjoy his favor is the highest happiness.

At the same time he declares that all the distresses which God inflicts upon us ought to be attributed to our sins, so that they who accuse God of excessive severity do nothing else than double their’ guilt; and he does not only condemn himself for one sin, but confesses that he was laden with many sins, so that he needed more than one pardon. If, then, we sincerely seek alleviation of our distresses, we must begin here; because when God is appeased, it is impossible that it can be ill with us; for he takes no pleasure in our distresses. It often happens with us as with foolish and thoughtless persons, when they are sick; for they fix their attention on nothing but (συμπτώματα) symptoms or accidental circumstances, and the pains which they feel, and overlook the disease itself. But we ought rather to imitate skillful physicians, who examine the causes of disease, and give their whole attention to eradicate those causes. They know that outward remedies are useless, and even hurtful, if the inward cause be unknown; for such remedies drive the whole force of the disease inward, and promote and increase it, so that there is no hope of cure.

Hezekiah therefore perceived the cause of his distress, that is, his sins; and when he had received the forgiveness of them, he knew that punishment also ceased and was remitted. Hence we see how absurd is the distinction of the Papists, who wish to separate the remission of punishment from the remission of guilt. But Hezekiah here testifies that punishment has been remitted to him, because guilt has been remitted.

We ought carefully to observe the form of expression which Isaiah employs, thou hast cast behind thy back; for it means that the remembrance of them is altogether effaced. In like manner, a Prophet elsewhere says that God

“casteth them into the depths of the sea.†(Mic 7:19.)

It is likewise said in another passage, that he casteth them away

“as far as the east is distant from the west.â€
(Psa 103:12.)

By these modes of expression God assures us that he will not impute to us the sins which he has pardoned; and if, notwithstanding of this, he chastise us, he does it not as a judge, but as a father, to train his children and keep them in the discharge of their duty. Papists are mistaken in dreaming that punishments contain some kind of satisfaction, 93 as if God exacted vengeance, because he would not bestow a free pardon. But when God chastises his people, he promotes their future advantage.

Calvin: Isa 38:18 - -- 18.For hell shall not confess thee 94 When he says that he would not have celebrated the praises of God, if his life had been taken away, he promises...

18.For hell shall not confess thee 94 When he says that he would not have celebrated the praises of God, if his life had been taken away, he promises that he will be thankful and will keep it in remembrance, and at the same time declares that the highest and most desirable advantage that life can yield to him is, that he will praise God. But although it is a sign of true piety to desire life for no other reason than to spend it in the unceasing praises of God, yet Hezekiah appears to employ language which is too exclusive; for the death of believers declares the glory of God not less than their life, and, being after death perfectly united to God, they do not cease to proclaim his praises along with the angels. Again, another question arises, “Why was Hezekiah so eager to avoid death and so earnestly desirous of an earthly life?†And though even this second question were answered, still the reader will likewise call to remembrance, that this terror was not produced by death alone, for the same Hezekiah, when his life was ended, did not resist, but willingly yielded to God; but that the pious king, when he had been struck by God’s wrath, grieved only on this account, that by his sins he had excluded himself from life, as if he would never afterwards enjoy any favor or blessing.

On this also depends the answer to the first question; for we need not wonder if the pious king, not only supposing that he must depart out of life, but thinking that death is the punishment of sins and the vengeance of God, groan and weep that he is condemned as unworthy of devoting himself to the advancement of the glory of God. All who have been struck by this thunderbolt are unable, either living or dead, to celebrate the praises of God, but, being overwhelmed with despair, must be dumb. In the same sense also David says,

“In death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall praise thee?†(Psa 6:5.)

And the whole Church says,

“The dead shall not praise thee, nor those that go down into silence.†(Psa 115:17.)

The reason is, that they who are ruined and lost will have no ground of thanksgiving.

Yet it ought likewise to be observed that the saints, when they spoke in this manner, did not consider what kind of condition awaited them after death, but, under the influence of the pain which they now felt, looked only at the end for which they were created and preserved in the world. The chief object of life, as we said a little before, is that men should be employed in the service of God; and with the same design God protects his Church in the world, because it is his will that his name shall be celebrated. Now, he who sees himself cast down, because he does not deserve to be reckoned, or to hold a place, among the worshippers of God, does not calmly and attentively, consider what he shall do after death, but, under the darkening influence of grief, as if after death all the exercise of piety would cease, takes from the dead the power of praising God, because the glory of God appears to be buried along with the witnesses of it.

Calvin: Isa 38:19 - -- 19.The living, the living, he shall confess thee He does not include all men without exception; for many live, who yet extinguish the glory of God ...

19.The living, the living, he shall confess thee He does not include all men without exception; for many live, who yet extinguish the glory of God by their ingratitude, as far as lies in their power, and undoubtedly have nothing farther from their thoughts than that they were born to praise God. But he simply declares that men, so long as God supports them in this life, may justly be regarded as the lawful heralds of his glory, when he invites them, by his kindness, to the discharge of that office. And this contrast shews that the statement which he made a little before, that “in death or in the grave there is no remembrance of God,†is a general declaration, that they who would willingly be employed in praising God are deprived of this favor, when they are driven out of the world.

As I do this day He solemnly declares that he will be one of the witnesses of the glory of God, and thus gives a manifest indication of gratitude towards God; for he declares that he will not be forgetful, but will continually give thanks to God, and will make known the favor which he has received; and that not only to the men of his own age, but also to posterity, that they too may celebrate those praises and adore the author of so great a favor.

The father shall make known to the sons thy truth Hence we ought to learn a useful lesson, that children are given to men on the express condition, that every man, by instructing his children, shall endeavor, to the utmost of his power, to transmit the name of God to posterity; and, therefore, the fathers of families are chiefly enjoined to be careful in this respect, that they shall diligently mention the benefits which God has bestowed on them. By the word truth h e means that faithfulness which God exercises towards his people, and all the testimonies of his grace by which he proves that he is true.

Calvin: Isa 38:20 - -- 20.Jehovah to save me 95 He acknowledges that he was delivered, not by the aid or industry of men, but solely by the kindness of God. The rendering g...

20.Jehovah to save me 95 He acknowledges that he was delivered, not by the aid or industry of men, but solely by the kindness of God. The rendering given by some, “It belongs to the Lord to save me,†does not express enough, and appears to be more remote from the literal meaning; for he praises not only the power of God, but also the work by which he hath given an evident proof of it. In a word, he contrasts God’s keeping with the death to which he had been sentenced; because, having formerly dreaded him as a severe judge, he now avows him as his deliverer, and leaps with joy. 96

And we will sing our songs For the reason now stated, he not only prepares himself for singing in token of gratitude, but also calls on others to join and accompany him in this duty, and on this account mentions the Temple, in which the assemblies of religious men were held. Had be been a private individual and one of the common people, still it would have been his duty to offer a public sacrifice to God, that he might encourage others by his example. Much more then was the king bound to take care that he should bring others to unite with him in thanksgiving; especially because in his person God had provided for the advantage of the whole Church.

All the days of our life He declares that he will do his endeavor that this favor of God may be known to all, and that the remembrance of it may be preserved, not only for one day or for one year, but as long as he shall live. And indeed at any time it would have been exceedingly base to allow a blessing of God so remarkable as this to pass away or be forgot, ten; but, being forgetful, we continually need spurs to arouse us. At the same time, he takes a passing notice of the reason why God appointed holy assemblies. It was, that all as with one mouth might praise him, and might excite each other to the practice of godliness.

Calvin: Isa 38:21 - -- 21.And Isaiah said Isaiah now relates what was the remedy which he prescribed to Hezekiah. Some think that it was not a remedy, because figs are dan...

21.And Isaiah said Isaiah now relates what was the remedy which he prescribed to Hezekiah. Some think that it was not a remedy, because figs are dangerous and hurtful to boils; but that the pious king was warned and clearly taught by this sign that the cure proceeded from nothing else than from the favor of God alone. As the bow in the sky, 97 by which God was pleased to testify that mankind would never be destroyed by a flood, (Gen 9:13,) appears to denote what is absolutely contrary to this; (for it makes its appearance, when very thick clouds are gathering, and ready to fall as if they would deluge the whole world;) so they think that a plaster, which was not at all fitted for curing the disease, was purposely applied by the Prophet, in order to testify openly that God cured Hezekiah without medicines. But since figs are employed even by our own physicians for maturing a pustule, it is possible that the Lord, who had given a promise, gave also a medicine, as we see done on many other occasions; for although the Lord does not need secondary means, as they are called, yet he makes use of them whenever he thinks proper. And the value of the promise is not lessened by this medicine, which without the word would have been vain and useless; because he had received another supernatural sign, by which he had plainly learned that he had received front God alone that life of which he despaired.

Calvin: Isa 38:22 - -- 22.Now, Hezekiah had said Some explain this verse as if this also had been a sign given to Hezekiah, and therefore, view it as connected with the pre...

22.Now, Hezekiah had said Some explain this verse as if this also had been a sign given to Hezekiah, and therefore, view it as connected with the preceding verse, and look upon it as an exclamation of astonishment. But it is more probable that in this passage the order has been reversed, as frequently takes place with Hebrew writers, and that what was spoken last is related first. Isaiah did not at the beginning say that Hezekiah had asked a sign, though the sacred history (2Kg 20:8) attests it; and therefore he adds what he had left out at the proper place.

That I shall go up He means that it will be his chief object throughout his whole life to celebrate the name of God; for he did not desire life for the sake of living at ease and enjoying pleasure, but in order to defend the honor of God and the purity of his worship. Let us therefore remember that God prolongs our life, not that we may follow the bent of our natural disposition, or give ourselves up to luxury, but that we may cultivate piety, perform kind offices to each other, and frequently take part in the assembly of the godly and the public exercises of religion, that we may proclaim the truth and goodness of God.

Defender: Isa 38:20 - -- On the possibility that these songs of Hezekiah have been preserved in the book of Psalms, see notes on Psalms 120-134. The fifteen songs of degrees m...

On the possibility that these songs of Hezekiah have been preserved in the book of Psalms, see notes on Psalms 120-134. The fifteen songs of degrees may correspond to the fifteen years added to Hezekiah's life."

TSK: Isa 38:12 - -- is removed : Job 7:7; Psa 89:45-47, Psa 102:11, Psa 102:23, Psa 102:24 as a : Isa 1:8, Isa 13:20 have cut : Job 7:6, Job 9:25, Job 9:26, Job 14:2; Jam...

is removed : Job 7:7; Psa 89:45-47, Psa 102:11, Psa 102:23, Psa 102:24

as a : Isa 1:8, Isa 13:20

have cut : Job 7:6, Job 9:25, Job 9:26, Job 14:2; Jam 4:14

he will cut : Job 7:3-5, Job 17:1; Psa 31:22, Psa 119:23

with pining sickness : or, from the thrum

TSK: Isa 38:13 - -- as a lion : 1Ki 13:24-26, 1Ki 20:36; Job 10:16, Job 10:17, Job 16:12-14; Psa 39:10, Psa 50:22, Psa 51:8; Dan 6:24; Hos 5:14; 1Co 11:30-32

TSK: Isa 38:14 - -- a crane : Job 30:29; Psa 102:4-7 I did mourn : Isa 59:11; Eze 7:16; Nah 2:7 mine eyes : Psa 69:3, Psa 119:82, Psa 119:123, Psa 123:1-4; Lam 4:17 I am ...

a crane : Job 30:29; Psa 102:4-7

I did mourn : Isa 59:11; Eze 7:16; Nah 2:7

mine eyes : Psa 69:3, Psa 119:82, Psa 119:123, Psa 123:1-4; Lam 4:17

I am : Psa 119:122, Psa 143:7

undertake for me : or, ease me

TSK: Isa 38:15 - -- What : Jos 7:8; Ezr 9:10; Psa 39:9, Psa 39:10; Joh 12:27 I shall : 1Ki 21:27 in the : 1Sa 1:10; 2Ki 4:27; Job 7:11, Job 10:1, Job 21:25

TSK: Isa 38:16 - -- Isa 64:5; Deu 8:3; Job 33:19-28; Psa 71:20; Mat 4:4; 1Co 11:32; 2Co 4:17; Heb 12:10,Heb 12:11

TSK: Isa 38:17 - -- for peace I had great bitterness : or, on my peace came great bitterness, Job 3:25, Job 3:26, Job 29:18; Psa 30:6, Psa 30:7 in love to my soul deliver...

for peace I had great bitterness : or, on my peace came great bitterness, Job 3:25, Job 3:26, Job 29:18; Psa 30:6, Psa 30:7

in love to my soul delivered it from the pit : Heb. loved my soul from the pit, Psa 30:3, Psa 40:2, Psa 86:13, Psa 88:4-6; Jon 2:6

thou hast cast : Isa 43:25; Psa 10:2, Psa 85:2; Jer 31:34; Mic 7:18, Mic 7:19

TSK: Isa 38:18 - -- the grave : Psa 6:5, Psa 30:9, Psa 88:11, Psa 115:17, Psa 115:18; Ecc 9:10 they that : Num 16:33; Pro 14:32; Mat 8:12, Mat 25:46; Luk 16:26-31

TSK: Isa 38:19 - -- the living : Psa 146:2; Ecc 9:10; Joh 9:4 the father : Gen 18:19; Exo 12:26, Exo 12:27, Exo 13:14, Exo 13:15; Deu 4:9, Deu 6:7; Jos 4:21, Jos 4:22; Ps...

TSK: Isa 38:20 - -- therefore : Psa 9:13, Psa 9:14, Psa 27:5, Psa 27:6, Psa 30:11, Psa 30:12, Psa 51:15, Psa 66:13-15, Psa 145:2 to the stringed : Psa 150:4; Hab 3:19

TSK: Isa 38:21 - -- For Isaiah : 2Ki 20:7; Mar 7:33; Joh 9:6

For Isaiah : 2Ki 20:7; Mar 7:33; Joh 9:6

TSK: Isa 38:22 - -- What : 2Ki 20:8; Psa 42:1, Psa 42:2, Psa 84:1, Psa 84:2, Psa 84:10-12, Psa 118:18, Psa 118:19, Psa 122:1; Joh 5:14

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Isa 38:12 - -- Mine age - The word which is used here ( דור dôr ) means properly the revolving period or circle of human life. The parallelism seems...

Mine age - The word which is used here ( דור doÌ‚r ) means properly the revolving period or circle of human life. The parallelism seems to demand, however, that it should be used in the sense of dwelling or habitation, so as to correspond with the ‘ shepherd’ s tent.’ Accordingly, Lowth and Noyes render it, ‘ Habitation.’ So also do Gesenius and Rosenmuller. The Arabic word has this signification; and the Hebrew verb דור duÌ‚r also means "to dwell, to remain,"as in the Chaldee. Here the word means a dwelling, or habitation; that is, a tent, as the habitations of the Orientals were mostly tents.

Is departed - ( נסע nı̂ssa‛ ). The idea here is, that his dwelling was to be transferred from one place to another, as when a tent or encampment was broken up; that is, he was about to cease to dwell on the earth, and to dwell in the land of silence, or among the dead.

From me as a shepherd’ s tent - As suddenly as the tent of a shepherd is taken down, folded up, and transferred to another place. There is doubtless the idea here that he would continue to exist, but in another place, as the shepherd would pitch his tent or dwell in another place. He was to be cut off from the earth, but he expected to dwell among the dead. The whole passage conveys the idea that he expected to dwell in another state - as the shepherd dwells in another place when he strikes his tent, and it is removed.

I have cut off like a weaver my life - This is another image designed to express substantially the same idea. The sense is, as a weaver takes his web from the loom by cutting the warp, or the threads which bind it to the beam, and thus loosens it and takes it away, so his life was to be cut off. When it is said, ‘ I cut off’ ( קפדתי qipade tiy ), the idea is, doubtless, I AM cut off; or my life is cut off. Hezekiah here speaks of himself as the agent, because he might have felt that his sins and unworthiness were the cause. Life is often spoken of as a web that is woven, because an advance is constantly made in filling up the web, and because it is soon finished, and is then cut off.

He will cut me off - God was about to cut me off.

With pining sickness - Margin, ‘ From the thrum.’ Lowth, ‘ From the loom.’ The word דלה dalaÌ‚h means properly something hanging down or pendulous; anything pliant or slender. Hence, it denotes hair or locks Son 7:6. Here it seems to denote the threads or thrums which tied the web to the weaver’ s beam. The image here denotes the cutting off of life as the weaver cuts his web out of the loom, or as he cuts off thrums. The word never means sickness.

From day even to night - That is, in the space of a single day, or between morning and night - as a weaver with a short web accomplishes it in a single day. The disease of Hezekiah was doubtless the pestilence; and the idea is, that God would cut him off speedily, as it were in a single day.

Wilt thou make an end of me - Hebrew, ‘ Wilt thou perfect’ or ‘ finish’ me; that is, wilt thou take my life.

Barnes: Isa 38:13 - -- I reckoned - There has been considerable variety in interpreting this expression. The Septuagint renders it, ‘ I was given up in the morni...

I reckoned - There has been considerable variety in interpreting this expression. The Septuagint renders it, ‘ I was given up in the morning as to a lion.’ The Vulgate renders it, ‘ I hoped until morning;’ and in his commentary, Jerome says it means, that as Job in his trouble and anguish Isa 7:4 sustained himself at night expecting the day, and in the daytime waiting for the night, expecting a change for the better, so Hezekiah waited during the night expecting relief in the morning. He knew, says he, that the violence of a burning fever would very soon subside, and he thus composed himself, and calmly waited. So Vitringa renders it, ‘ I composed my mind until the morning.’ Others suppose that the word used here ( שׁוּיתי shı̂vı̂ythı̂y ), means, ‘ I made myself like a lion,’ that is, in roaring. But the more probable and generally adopted interpretation is, ‘ I looked to God, hoping that the disease would soon subside, but as a lion he crushed my bones. The disease increased in violence, and became past endurance. Then I chattered like a swallow, and mourned like a dove, over the certainty that I must die.’ Our translators, by inserting the word ‘ that,’ have greatly marred the sense, as if he had reckoned or calculated through the night that God would break his bones, or increase the violence of the disease, whereas the reverse was true. He hoped and expected that it would be otherwise, and with that view he composed his mind.

As a lion so will he break all my bones - This should be in the past tense. ‘ He (God) did crush all my bones.’ The connection requires this construction. The idea is, that as a lion crushes the bones of his prey, producing great pain and sudden death, so it was with God in producing great pain and the prospect of sudden death.

From day even to night ... - (See the note at Isa 38:12) Between morning and night. That is, his pain so resembled the crushing of all the bones of an animal by the lion, that he could not hope to survive the day.

Barnes: Isa 38:14 - -- Like a crane - The word used here ( סוּס suÌ‚s ) usually denotes a horse. The rabbis render it here ‘ a crane.’ Gesenius tra...

Like a crane - The word used here ( סוּס suÌ‚s ) usually denotes a horse. The rabbis render it here ‘ a crane.’ Gesenius translates it ‘ a swallow;’ and in his Lexicon interprets the word which is translated ‘ a swallow’ ( עגוּר 'aÌ„guÌ‚r ) to mean "circling,"making gyrations; and the whole phrase, ‘ as the circling swallow.’ The Syriac renders this, ‘ As the chattering swallow.’ The Vulgate, ‘ As the young of the swallow.’ The Septuagint simply reads: ‘ As the swallow.’ That two birds are intended here, or that some fowl is denoted by the word עגוּר 'aÌ„guÌ‚r , is manifest from Jer 8:7, where it is mentioned as distinct from the סוּס suÌ‚s (the crane) ועגוּר וסוּס ve suÌ‚s ve ‛aÌ„guÌ‚r . On the meaning of the words Bochart may be consulted (Hieroz. i. 2. p. 602). It is probable that the swallow and the crane are intended. The swallow is well known, and is remarkable for its twittering. The crane is also a well-known bird with long limbs made to go in the water. Its noise may be expressive of grief.

So did I chatter - Peep, or twitter (see the note at Isa 8:19). The idea here is doubtless that of pain that was expressed in sounds resembling that made by birds - a broken, unmeaning unintelligible sighing; or quick breathing, and moaning.

I did mourn as a dove - The dove, from its plaintive sound, is an emblem of grief. It is so used in Isa 59:11. The idea is that of the lonely or solitary dove that is lamenting or mourning for its companion:

‘ Just as the lonely dove laments its mate.’

Mine eyes fail - The word used here ( דלוּ dâllû ) means properly to hang down, to swing like the branches of the willow; then to be languid, feeble, weak. Applied to the eye, it means that it languishes and becomes weak.

With looking upward - To God, for relief and comfort. He had looked so long and so intensely toward heaven for aid, that his eyes became weak and feeble.

O Lord, I am oppressed - This was his language in his affliction. He was so oppressed and borne down, that he cried to God for relief.

Undertake for me - Margin, ‘ Ease me.’ The word ( ערב ‛aÌ‚rab ) more properly means, to become surety for him. See it explained in the the note at Isa 36:8. Here it means, be surety for my life; give assurance that I shall be restored; take me under thy protection (see Psa 119:122): ‘ Be surety for thy servant for good.’

Barnes: Isa 38:15 - -- What shall I say? - This language seems to denote surprise and gratitude at unexpected deliverance. It is the language of a heart that is overf...

What shall I say? - This language seems to denote surprise and gratitude at unexpected deliverance. It is the language of a heart that is overflowing, and that wants words to express its deep emotions. In the previous verse he had described his pain, anguish, and despair. In this he records the sudden and surprising deliverance which God had granted; which was so great that no words could express his sense of it. Nothing could be more natural than this language; nothing would more appropriately express the feelings of a man who had been suddenly restored to health from dangerous sickness, and brought from the borders of the grave.

He hath both spoken unto me - That is, he has promised. So the word is often used Deu 26:17; Jer 3:19. He had made the promise by the instrumentality of Isaiah Isa 38:5-6. The promise related to his recovery, to the length of his days, and to his entire deliverance from the hands of the Assyrians.

And himself hath done it - He himself has restored me according to his promise, when no one else could have done it.

I shall go softly - Lowth renders this, in accordance with the Vulgate, ‘ Will I reflect.’ But the Hebrew will not bear this construction. The word used here ( דדה daÌ‚daÌ‚h ) occurs in but one other place in the Bible Psa 42:4 : ‘ I went with them to the house of God;’ that is, I went with them in a sacred procession to the house of God; I went with a solemn, calm, slow pace. The idea here is, ‘ I will go humbly, submissively, all my life; I will walk in a serious manner, remembering that I am traveling to the grave; I will avoid pride, pomp, and display; I will suffer the remembrance of my sickness, and of God’ s mercy to produce a calm, serious, thoughtful demeanour all my life.’ This is the proper effect of sickness on a pious mind, and it is its usual effect. And probably, one design of God was to keep Hezekiah from the ostentatious parade usually attendant on his lofty station; from being elated with his deliverance from the Assyrian; from improper celebrations of that deliverance by revelry and pomp; and to keep him in remembrance, that though he was a monarch, yet he was a mortal man, and that he held his life at the disposal of God.

In the bitterness of my soul - I will remember the deep distress, the bitter sorrows of my sickness, and my surprising recovery; and will allow the remembrance of that to diffuse seriousness and gratitude over all my life.

Barnes: Isa 38:16 - -- O Lord, by these things men live - The design of this and the following verses is evidently to set forth the goodness of God, and to celebrate ...

O Lord, by these things men live - The design of this and the following verses is evidently to set forth the goodness of God, and to celebrate his praise for what he had done. The phrase ‘ these things,’ refers evidently to the promises of God and their fulfillment; and the idea is, that people are sustained in the land of the living only by such gracious interpositions as he had experienced. It was not because people had any power of preserving their own lives, but because God interposed in time of trouble, and restored to health when there was no human prospect that they could recover.

And in all these things - In these promises, and in the divine interposition.

Is the life of my spirit - I am alive in virtue only of these things.

So wilt thou recover me - Or so hast thou recovered me; that is, thou hast restored me to health.

Barnes: Isa 38:17 - -- Behold, for peace - That is, instead of the health, happiness, and prosperity which I had enjoyed, and which I hope still to enjoy. I had ...

Behold, for peace - That is, instead of the health, happiness, and prosperity which I had enjoyed, and which I hope still to enjoy.

I had great bitterness - Hebrew, ‘ Bitterness to me, bitterness;’ an emphatic expression, denoting intense sorrow.

But thou hast in love to my soul - Margin, ‘ Loved my soul from the pit.’ The word which occurs here ( חשׁקת chaÌ‚shaqtaÌ‚ ) denotes properly to join or fasten together; then to be attached to anyone; to be united tenderly; to embrace. Here it means that God had loved him, and had thus delivered his soul from death.

Delivered it from the pit of corruption - The word rendered "corruption"( בלי be lı̂y ), denotes consumption, destruction, perdition. It may be applied to the grave, or to the deep and dark abode of departed spirits; and the phrase here is evidently synonymous with sheol or hades. The grave, or the place for the dead, is often represented as a pit - deep and dark - to which the living descend (Job 17:16; Job 33:18, Job 33:24-25, Job 33:30; Psa 28:1; Psa 30:3; Psa 55:23; Psa 69:15; Psa 88:4; compare Isa 14:15, note, Isa 14:19, note).

For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back - Thou hast forgiven them; hast ceased to punish me on account of them. This shows that Hezekiah, in accordance with the sentiment everywhere felt and expressed in the Bible, regarded his suffering as the fruit of sin.

Barnes: Isa 38:18 - -- For the grave cannot praise thee - The Hebrew word here is sheol. It is put by metonymy here for those who are in the grave, that is, for the d...

For the grave cannot praise thee - The Hebrew word here is sheol. It is put by metonymy here for those who are in the grave, that is, for the dead. The word ‘ praise’ here refers evidently to the public and solemn celebration of the goodness of God. It is clear, I think, that Hezekiah had a belief in a future state, or that he expected to dwell with ‘ the inhabitants of the land of silence’ Isa 38:11 when he died. But he did not regard that state as one adapted to the celebration of the public praises of God. It was a land of darkness; an abode of silence and stillness; a place where there was no temple, and no public praise such as he had been accustomed to. A similar sentiment is expressed by David in Psa 6:5 :

For in death there is no remembrance of thee;

In the grave who shall give thee thanks?

In regard to the Jewish conceptions of the state of the dead, see the notes at Isa 14:15, Isa 14:19.

(See the Supplementary note at Isa 14:9; also the Prefatory Remarks by the Editor on the Author’ s exposition of Job. The ideas entertained by the Author on the state of knowledge among the ancient saints regarding a future world, cannot but be regarded as especially unfortunate. After the fashion of some German critics, the Old Testament worthies are reduced to the same level with the heroes of Homer and Virgil, as far as this matter is concerned at least.)

Cannot hope for thy truth - They are shut out from all the means by which thy truth is brought to the mind, and the offers of salvation are presented. Their probation is at an end; their privileges are closed; their destiny is sealed up. The idea is, it is a privilege to live, because this is a world where the offers of salvation are made, and where those who are conscious of guilt may hope in the mercy of God.

Barnes: Isa 38:19 - -- The living, the living - An emphatic or intensive form of expression, as in Isa 38:11, Isa 38:17. Nothing would express his idea but a repetiti...

The living, the living - An emphatic or intensive form of expression, as in Isa 38:11, Isa 38:17. Nothing would express his idea but a repetition of the word, as if the heart was full of it.

The father to the children - One generation of the living to another. The father shall have so deep a sense of the goodness of God that he shall desire to make it known to his children, and to perpetuate the memory of it in the earth.

Barnes: Isa 38:20 - -- The Lord was ready to save me - He was prompt, quick to save me. He did not hesitate or delay. Therefore we will sing my songs - That is,...

The Lord was ready to save me - He was prompt, quick to save me. He did not hesitate or delay.

Therefore we will sing my songs - That is, my family and nation. The song of Hezekiah was designed evidently not as a mere record, but to be used in celebrating the praises of God, and probably in a public manner in the temple. The restoration of the monarch was a fit occasion for public rejoicing; and it is probable that this ode was composed to be used by the company of singers that were employed constantly in the temple.

To the stringed instruments - We will set it to music, and will use it publicly (see the notes at Isa 5:12).

Barnes: Isa 38:21 - -- For Isaiah had said - In the parallel place in Kings the statement in these two verses is introduced before the account of the miracle on the s...

For Isaiah had said - In the parallel place in Kings the statement in these two verses is introduced before the account of the miracle on the sun-dial, and before the account of his recovery 2Ki 20:7-8. The order in which it is introduced, however, is not material.

Let them take a lump of figs - The word used here ( דבלה de bēlâh ) denotes "a round cake"of dried figs pressed together in a mass 1Sa 25:18. Figs were thus pressed together for preservation, and for convenience of conveyance.

And lay it for a plaster - The word used here ( מרח mârach ) denotes properly to rub, bruise, crush by rubbing; then to rub, in, to anoint, to soften. Here it means they were to take dried figs and lay them softened on the ulcer.

Upon the boil - ( משׁחין mashe chı̂yn ). This word means a burning sore or an inflamed ulcer Exo 9:9, Exo 9:11; Lev 13:18-20. The verb in Arabic means to be hot, inflamed; to ulcerate. The noun is used to denote a species of black leprosy in Egypt, called elephantiasis, distinguished by the black scales with which the skin is covered, and by the swelling of the legs. Here it probably denotes a pestilential boil; an eruption, or inflamed ulceration produced by the plague, that threatened immediate death. Jerome says that the plaster of figs was medicinal, and adapted to reduce the inflammation and restore health. There is no improbability in the supposition; nor does anything in the narrative prohibit us from supposing that natural means might have been used to restore him. The miracle consisted in the arrest of the shade on the sun-dial, and in the announcement of Isaiah that he would recover. That figs, when dried, were used in the Materia Medica of the ancients, is asserted by both Pliny and Celsus (see Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxiii. 7; Celsus, v. 2, quoted by Lowth.)

Barnes: Isa 38:22 - -- Hezekiah also had said - What evidence or proof have I that I shall be restored, and permitted to go to the temple? The miracle on the sun-dial...

Hezekiah also had said - What evidence or proof have I that I shall be restored, and permitted to go to the temple? The miracle on the sun-dial was performed in answer to this request, and as a demonstration that he should yet be permitted to visit the temple of God (see the note at Isa 38:7).

Poole: Isa 38:12 - -- Mine age is departed the time of my life is expired. As a shepherd’ s tent which is easily and speedily removed. I have cut off to wit, by m...

Mine age is departed the time of my life is expired.

As a shepherd’ s tent which is easily and speedily removed.

I have cut off to wit, by my sins, provoking God to do it. Or, I do declare, and have concluded, that my life is or will be suddenly cut off; for men are oft said in Scripture to do those things which they only declare and pronounce to be done; as men are said to pollute, and to remit and retain sins, and the like, when they only declare men and things to be polluted, and sins to be remitted or retained by God.

Like a weaver who cutteth off the web from the loom, either when it is finished, or before, according to his pleasure.

He the Lord, who pronounced this sentence against him.

With pining sickness with a consuming disease, wasting my spirits and life. Some render this word, from the thrum ; from those threads at the end of the web, which are fastened to the beam. So the similitude of a weaver is continued.

From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me: the sense is either,

1. This sickness will kill me in the space of one day. Or rather,

2. Thou dost pursue me night and day with continual pains, and wilt not desist till thou hast made a full end of me; so that I expect that every day will be my last day.

Poole: Isa 38:13 - -- When I was filled with pain, and could not rest all the night long, even till morning, my thoughts were working and presaging that God would instant...

When I was filled with pain, and could not rest all the night long, even till morning, my thoughts were working and presaging that God would instantly break me to pieces, and that every moment would be my last; and the like restless and dismal thoughts followed me from morning till evening. But he mentions only the time before morning, to aggravate his misery, that he was so grievously tormented, when others had sweet rest and repose.

Poole: Isa 38:14 - -- Like a crane or a swallow or, a crane and a swallow ; the conjunction and being here, as it is Hab 3:11 , and elsewhere, understood, as is manifes...

Like a crane or a swallow or, a crane and a swallow ; the conjunction and being here, as it is Hab 3:11 , and elsewhere, understood, as is manifest from Jer 8:7 , where it is expressed with these very words.

So did I chatter my complaint and cry was like to the noise of a swallow, quick and frequent; and like that of a crane, loud and frightful. And this very comparison is used of mourners, not only in Scripture, but in other authors; concerning which the learned reader may consult my Latin Synopsis.

I did mourn as a dove whose mournful tone is observed Isa 59:11 Eze 7:16 , and elsewhere.

Mine eyes fail with looking upward whilst I lift up mine eyes and heart to God for relief, but in vain.

I am oppressed by my disease, which like a serjeant hath seized upon me, and is haling me to the prison of the grave.

Undertake for me stop the execution, and rescue me out of his hands.

Poole: Isa 38:15 - -- What shall I say I want words sufficient to express my deep sense of God’ s dealings with me. He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath don...

What shall I say I want words sufficient to express my deep sense of God’ s dealings with me.

He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it he did foretell it by his word, and effect it by his hand. This clause and verse is either,

1. A continuance of his complaint hitherto described: God hath passed this sentence upon me, and hath also put it in execution, and to him I must submit myself. Or,

2. A transition or entrance into the thanksgiving, which is undoubtedly contained in the following verses. So the sense is, God hath sent a gracious message to me by his prophet, concerning the prolongation of my life; and he, I doubt not, will make good his word therein. And this sense seems the more probable,

1. Because here is mention of his years to come, whereas in his sickness he expected not to live to the end of a day.

2. Because the Chaldee paraphrast, and the LXX., and Syriac, and Arabic interpreters expound it so in their versions.

3. Because this suits best with the context and coherence of this verse, both with the former and with the following verse. For as he endeth the foregoing verse with a prayer to God for longer life, so in this verse he relates God’ s gracious answer to his prayer. And if this verse be thus understood, the next verse hath a very convenient connexion with this; whereas it seems to be very abrupt and incoherent, if the thanksgiving begin there.

I shall go softly I shall walk in the course of my life, either,

1. Humbly, with all humble thankfulness to God for conferring so great a favour upon so unworthy a person; or,

2. Easily and peaceably, with leisure, not like one affrighted, or running away from his enemy; or,

3. By slow and gentle paces, as men commonly spin out their days by degrees unto a just length, which is not unfitly opposed to his former state and time of sickness, wherein his days were swifter than a weaver’ s shuttle , and than a post , as Job complained upon the same occasion, Job 7:6 9:25 , and were cut off like a weaver’ s web, as he complained, Isa 38:12 .

In the bitterness of my soul arising from the remembrance of that desperate condition from which God had delivered me; for great dangers, though past, are ofttimes very terrible to those that reflect upon them. But the words may be rendered, upon or after (as this particle is rendered, Isa 18:4 ) the bitterness of my soul ; after the deliverance from this bitter and dangerous disease; which may be compared with Isa 38:17 , where he saith, for or after peace I had great bitterness, as here he presageth and assureth himself of the contrary, that he should have peace after his great bitterness. The Chaldee paraphrast renders the words, because of my deliverance from bitterness of soul; bitterness being put for deliverance from bitterness , as five is put for lack of five , as we render it, Gen 18:28 , and fat for want of fat , Psa 109:24 , and fruits for want of fruits , Lam 4:9 . And other such-like defects there are in the Hebrew, which is a very concise language.

Poole: Isa 38:16 - -- By these things by virtue of thy gracious word or promise, and powerful work; by thy promises, and thy performances of them, mentioned in the foregoi...

By these things by virtue of thy gracious word or promise, and powerful work; by thy promises, and thy performances of them, mentioned in the foregoing verse. This place may be explained by comparing it with Deu 8:3 , Man doth not live by bread, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord . The sense is, Not I only, but all men, do receive and recover, and hold their lives by thy favour, and the word of thy power; and therefore it is not strange that one word of God hath brought me back from the very jaws of death.

In all these things is the life of my spirit and as it is with other men, so hath it been with me in a special manner; for in these above all other things is the life of my spirit or soul , i.e. either the comfort (which is sometimes called life) of my spirit; or rather, that life which is in my body, from my spirit or soul united to it.

So wilt thou recover me, and make me to live or, and or for thou hast recovered me , &c., to wit, by these things.

Poole: Isa 38:17 - -- For peace I had great bitterness my health and prosperity was quickly changed into bitter sickness and affliction. Or, as others render it, my great...

For peace I had great bitterness my health and prosperity was quickly changed into bitter sickness and affliction. Or, as others render it, my great bitterness was unto peace ; was turned into prosperity, or became the occasion of my safety and further advantages; for that drove me to my prayers, and prayers prevailed with God for a gracious answer, and the prolonging of my life. In love to my soul ; in kindness to me, the soul being oft put for the man. This is an emphatical circumstance; for sometimes God prolongs men’ s days in anger, and in Order to their greater misery.

Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back thou hast forgiven those sins which brought this evil upon me, and upon that account hast removed the punishment of them; which showeth that thou didst this in love to me. The phrase is borrowed from the custom of men, who when they would accurately see and observe any thing, set it before their faces; and when they desire and resolve not to look upon any thing, turn their backs upon it, or cast it behind them.

Poole: Isa 38:18 - -- In this and the following verse, he declares God’ s design in delivering him, that he might praise him in his church, which if he had died he c...

In this and the following verse, he declares God’ s design in delivering him, that he might praise him in his church, which if he had died he could not have done.

The grave cannot praise thee the dead are not capable of glorifying thy name among men upon earth; which I desire and determine to do. See the like expressions, Psa 6:5 30:9 88:10 , &c. The grave is put for the persons lodged in it by a metonymy.

Cannot hope for thy truth they cannot expect nor receive the accomplishment of thy promised goodness in the land of the living.

Poole: Isa 38:19 - -- He shall praise thee they are especially obliged to it, and they only have this privilege. The father to the children shall make known thy truth th...

He shall praise thee they are especially obliged to it, and they only have this privilege.

The father to the children shall make known thy truth they shall not only praise thee whilst they live, but take care to propagate and perpetuate thy praise and glory to all succeeding generations.

Poole: Isa 38:20 - -- Was ready to save me was a present help to me, ready to hear and succour me upon my prayer in my great extremity. We both I and my people, who are ...

Was ready to save me was a present help to me, ready to hear and succour me upon my prayer in my great extremity.

We both I and my people, who are concerned in me, and for me will sing forth those songs of praise which are due especially from me, for God’ s great mercy to me.

Will sing my songs to the stringed instruments according to the custom of those times.

Poole: Isa 38:21 - -- This was rather a sign appointed by God, than a natural means of the cure; for if it had a natural faculty to ripen a sore, yet it could never cure ...

This was rather a sign appointed by God, than a natural means of the cure; for if it had a natural faculty to ripen a sore, yet it could never cure such a dangerous and pestilential disease, at least in so little time.

Poole: Isa 38:22 - -- Hezekiah also had said or, For Hezekiah had said ; had asked a sign, which is here added as the reason why Isaiah said what is related in the forego...

Hezekiah also had said or, For Hezekiah had said ; had asked a sign, which is here added as the reason why Isaiah said what is related in the foregoing verse, to wit, in answer to Hezekiah’ s question.

That I shall go up within three days, as is more fully related, 2Ki 20:5,8 ,

to the house of the Lord for thither he designed in the first place to go, partly that he might pay his vow and thanksgiving. to God, and partly that he might engage the people to praise God with him, and for him.

Haydock: Isa 38:14 - -- For me. He represents his disease, as an inexorable creditor.

For me. He represents his disease, as an inexorable creditor.

Haydock: Isa 38:18 - -- Truth. He speaks only of the body.

Truth. He speaks only of the body.

Haydock: Isa 38:22 - -- Lord. The answer is given, (4 Kings xx. 9.) which seems to evince that this is only an extract. (Calmet) --- The prophet prescribed the medicine, ...

Lord. The answer is given, (4 Kings xx. 9.) which seems to evince that this is only an extract. (Calmet) ---

The prophet prescribed the medicine, and the king asked for a sign before he sung the canticle. (Worthington)

Gill: Isa 38:12 - -- Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent,.... Or, my habitation k; meaning the earthly house of his tabernacle, his body; thi...

Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent,.... Or, my habitation k; meaning the earthly house of his tabernacle, his body; this was just going, in his apprehension, to be unpinned, and removed like a shepherd's tent, that is easily taken down, and removed from place to place. Some understand it of the men of his age or generation; so the Targum,

"from the children of my generation my days are taken away; they are cut off, and removed from me; they are rolled up as a shepherd's tent;''

which being made of skins, as tents frequently were, such as the Arabian shepherds used, were soon taken down, and easily rolled and folded up and carried elsewhere:

I have cut off like a weaver my life; who, when he has finished his web, or a part of it, as he pleases, cuts it off from the loom, and disposes of it: this Hezekiah ascribes to himself, either that by reason of his sins and transgressions he was the cause of his being taken away by death so soon; or this was the thought he had within himself, that his life would now be cut off, as the weaver's web from the loom; for otherwise he knew that it was the Lord that would do it, whenever it was, as in the next clause:

he will cut me off with pining sickness; which was now upon him, wasting and consuming him apace: or, "will cut me off from the thrum" l; keeping on the metaphor of the weaver cutting off his web from the thrum, fastened to the beam of his loom:

from day even tonight wilt thou make an end of me; he means the Lord by "he" in the preceding clause, and in this he addresses him; signifying that the affliction was so sharp and heavy upon him, which was the first day of it, that he did not expect to live till night, but that God would put a period to his days, fill them up, and finish his life, and dispatch him out of this world.

Gill: Isa 38:13 - -- I reckoned till morning,.... Or, "I set my time till the morning m"; he fixed and settled it in his mind that he could live no longer than to the morn...

I reckoned till morning,.... Or, "I set my time till the morning m"; he fixed and settled it in his mind that he could live no longer than to the morning, if he lived so long; he thought he should have died before the night came on, and, now it was come, the utmost he could propose to himself was to live till morning; that was the longest time he could reckon of. According to the accents, it should be rendered, "I reckoned till morning as a lion"; or "I am like until the morning as a lion"; or, "I likened until the morning (God) as a lion"; I compared him to one; which agrees with what follows. The Targum is,

"I roared until morning, as a lion roars;''

through the force of the disease, and the pain he was in: or rather,

"I laid my bones together until the morning as a lion; "so indeed as a lion God" hath broken all my bones n:''

so will he break all my bones; or, "it will break"; that is, the sickness, as Kimchi and Jarchi; it lay in his bones, and so violent was the pain, that he thought all his bones were breaking in pieces; such is the case in burning fevers, as Jerom observes; so Kimchi interprets it of a burning fever, which is like a fire in the bones. Some understand this of God himself, to which our version directs, who may be said to do this by the disease: compare with this Job 16:14 and to this sense the following clause inclines:

from day even tonight wilt thou make an end of me; he lived till morning, which was more than he expected, and was the longest time he could set himself; and now be reckoned that before night it would be all over with him as to this world. This was the second day of his illness; and the third day he recovered, and went to the temple with his song of praise.

Gill: Isa 38:14 - -- Like a crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter,.... Rather, "like a crane and a swallow", like both; sometimes loud and clamorous, like a crane o, when ...

Like a crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter,.... Rather, "like a crane and a swallow", like both; sometimes loud and clamorous, like a crane o, when the pain was very acute and grievous; and sometimes very low, through weakness of body, like the twittering of a swallow; or the moan he made under his affliction was like the mournful voices of these birds at certain times. Some think he refers to his prayers, which were quick and short, and expressed not with articulate words, but in groans and cries; at least were not regular and orderly, but interrupted, and scarce intelligible, like the chattering of the birds mentioned:

I did mourn as a dove; silently and patiently, within himself, for his sins and transgressions; and because of his afflictions, the fruit of them:

mine eyes fail with looking upwards; or, "on high"; or, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions express it, "to the height of heaven"; to the Lord there, whose Shechinah, as the Targum, is in the highest heavens: in his distress he looked up to heaven for help, but none came; he looked and waited till his eyes were weak with looking, and he could look no longer; both his eyes and his heart failed him, and he despaired of relief; and the prayer he put up was as follows:

O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me; or, "it oppresseth me p"; that is, the disease; it lay so heavy upon him, it bore him down with the weight of it, he could not stand up under it; it had seized him, and crushed him; it held him fast, and he could not get clear of it; and therefore entreats the Lord to "undertake" for him, to be his surety for good, as in Psa 119:122, he represents his disease as a bailiff that had arrested him, and was carrying him to the prison of the grave; and therefore prays that the Lord would bail him, or rescue him out of his hands, that he might not go down to the gates of the grave. So souls oppressed with the guilt of sin, and having fearful apprehensions of divine justice, should apply to Christ their surety, and take refuge in his undertakings, where only peace and safety are to be enjoyed. So Gussetius renders the words, "I have unrighteousness, be surety for me" q; and takes them to be a confession of Hezekiah, acknowledging himself guilty of unrighteousness, praying and looking to Christ the Son of God, and to his suretyship engagements, who, though not yet come to fulfil them, certainly would.

Gill: Isa 38:15 - -- What shall I say?.... In a way of praise and thankfulness, for the mercies promised and received; I know not what to say; I want words to express the ...

What shall I say?.... In a way of praise and thankfulness, for the mercies promised and received; I know not what to say; I want words to express the gratitude of my heart for the kindness bestowed. What shall I render to God for all his benefits? So the Targum,

"what praise shall I utter, and I will say it before him?''

for here begins the account of his recovery, and his thanksgiving for it:

he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it; the Lord had sent him a message by the prophet, and assured him that he should recover, and on the third day go up to the temple; and now he had performed what he had promised, he was restored, and was come to the house of God with his thank offering; whatever the Lord says, he does; what he promises, he brings to pass:

I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul; before he did not reckon of a day to live, now he speaks of his years, having fifteen added to his days, during which time he should "go softly", in a thoughtful "meditating" frame of mind r; frequently calling to remembrance, and revolving in his mind, his bitter affliction, and recovery out of it, acknowledging the goodness and kindness of God unto him: or leisurely,

step by step, without fear of any enemies, dangers, or death, having a promise of such a length of time to live: or go pleasantly and

cheerfully, after the bitterness of my soul s, as it may be rendered; that is, after it is over, or because of deliverance from it. So the Targum,

"with what shall I serve him, and render to him for all the years he hath added to my life, and hath delivered me from the bitterness of my soul?''

Gill: Isa 38:16 - -- O Lord, by these things men live,.... Not by bread only, but by the word of God: by the promise of God, and by his power performing it; and by his fav...

O Lord, by these things men live,.... Not by bread only, but by the word of God: by the promise of God, and by his power performing it; and by his favour and goodness continually bestowed; it is in him, and by his power and providence, that they live and move, and have their being, and the continuance of it; and it is his lovingkindness manifested to them that makes them live comfortably and go on cheerfully:

and in all these things is the life of my spirit; what kept his soul in life were the same things, the promise, power, and providence of God; what revived his spirit, and made him comfortable and cheerful, was the wonderful love and great goodness of God unto him, in appearing to him, and for him, and delivering him out of his sore troubles. Ben Melech renders and gives the sense of the words thus; "to all will I declare and say, that in these", in the years of addition (the fifteen years added to his days) "are the life of my spirit"; so Kimchi. The Targum interprets it of the resurrection of the dead,

"O Lord, concerning all the dead, thou hast said, that thou wilt quicken them; and before them all thou hast quickened my spirit:''

so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live; or rather, "and" or "for thou hast recovered t me, and made me to live"; for the Lord had not only promised it, but he had done it, Isa 38:15, and so the Targum,

"and hast quickened me, and sustained me.''

Gill: Isa 38:17 - -- Behold, for peace I had great bitterness,.... Meaning not that instead of peace and prosperity, which he expected would ensue upon the destruction of ...

Behold, for peace I had great bitterness,.... Meaning not that instead of peace and prosperity, which he expected would ensue upon the destruction of Sennacherib's army, came a bitter affliction upon him; for he is not now dwelling on that melancholy subject; but rather the sense is, that he now enjoyed great peace and happiness, though he had been in great bitterness; for the words may be rendered, "behold, I am in peace, I had great bitterness"; or thus, "behold my great bitterness is unto peace": or, "he has turned it into peace" u; it has issued in it, and this is my present comfortable situation: "but", or rather,

and thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: the grave, where bodies rot and corrupt, and are quite abolished, as the word signifies; see Psa 30:3 or "thou hast embraced my soul from the pit of corruption w"; it seems to be an allusion to a tender parent, seeing his child sinking in a pit, runs with open arms to him, and embraces him, and takes him out. This may be applied to a state of nature, out of which the Lord in love delivers his people; which is signified by a pit, or dark dungeon, a lonely place, a filthy one, very uncomfortable, where they are starving and famishing; a pit, wherein is no water, Zec 9:11 and may fitly be called a pit of corruption, because of their corrupt nature, estate, and actions; out of this the Lord brings his people at conversion, and that because of his great love to their souls, and his delight in them; or it may be applied to their deliverance from the bottomless pit of destruction, which is owing to the Lord's being gracious to them, and having found a ransom for them, his own Son, Job 33:24, and to this sense the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions seem to incline; "for thou hast delivered my soul that it might not perish": in love to their souls, and that they may not perish, he binds them up in the bundle of life, with the Lord their God; he redeems their souls from sin, Satan, and the law; he regenerates, renews, and converts them, and preserves them safe to his everlasting kingdom and glory; in order to which, and to prevent their going down to the pit, they are put into the hands of Christ, redeemed by his precious blood, and are turned out of the broad road that leads to destruction:

for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back; as loathsome and abominable, and so as not to be seen by him; for though God sees all the sins of his people with his eye of omniscience, and in his providence takes notice of them, and chastises for them, yet not with his eye of avenging justice; because Christ has took them on himself, and made satisfaction for them, and an end of them; they are removed from them as far as the east is from the west, and no more to be seen upon them; nor will they be any more set before his face, or in the light of his countenance; but as they are out of sight they will be out of mind, never more remembered, but forgotten; as what is cast behind the back is seen and remembered no more. The phrase is expressive of the full forgiveness of sins, even of all sins; see Psa 85:2, the object of God's love is the souls of his people; the instance of it is the delivery of them from the pit of corruption; the evidence of it is the pardon of their sins.

Gill: Isa 38:18 - -- For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee,.... That is, they that are in the grave, and under the power of death, they cannot cel...

For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee,.... That is, they that are in the grave, and under the power of death, they cannot celebrate the praises of God with their bodily organs; their souls may praise him in heaven, but they in their bodies cannot till the resurrection morn, or as long as they are under the dominion of the grave; so the Targum,

"they that are in the grave cannot confess before thee, and the dead cannot praise thee;''

in like manner the Septuagint and Arabic versions: this shows the design of God in restoring him from his sickness, and the view he himself had in desiring life, which was to praise the Lord; and which end could not have been answered had he died, and been laid in the grave:

they that go down to the pit cannot hope for thy truth: for the performance of promises, in which the truth and faithfulness of God appear; or for the Messiah, the truth of all the types of the former dispensation; those that go down to the pit of the grave, or are carried and laid there, can have no exercise of faith and hope concerning these things.

Gill: Isa 38:19 - -- The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day,.... Every one of the living, or such who are both corporeally and spiritually alive; a...

The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day,.... Every one of the living, or such who are both corporeally and spiritually alive; and therefore the word is repeated; none but such who are alive in a corporeal sense can praise the Lord in this world; and none but such who are spiritually alive can praise him aright, and such do under a true sense of the greatness of his mercies, and of their own unworthiness; and such a one was Hezekiah; for the words may be rendered, "as I am this day x"; that is, alive in both the above senses; and so did he praise God, in such a spiritual manner, even on the day he committed this to writing, and was now in the temple offering up this thanksgiving:

the father to the children shall make known thy truth: not meaning himself, for at this time he had no children; though, no doubt, when he had any, as he afterwards had, particularly Manasseh, he took care to acquaint him with the truth and faithfulness of God in the fulfilling of his promises to him; and which every religious parent would do, and so transmit the memory thereof to future ages.

Gill: Isa 38:20 - -- The Lord was ready to save me,.... Or, "the Lord to save me y"; he was at hand to save him; he was both able and willing to save him; he was a present...

The Lord was ready to save me,.... Or, "the Lord to save me y"; he was at hand to save him; he was both able and willing to save him; he was a present help in time of need; he arose for his help, and that right early; he very quickly delivered him out of his distress; he, who one day expected death every moment, was the next day in the temple praising God:

therefore will we sing my songs; which were made by him, or concerning him, or which he ordered to be sung, as he did the Psalms of David, 2Ch 29:30,

to the stringed instruments: which were touched with the fingers, or struck with a quill or bow; which distinguishes them from wind instruments, which were blown with the mouth; each of these were used in the temple service:

all the days of our life; he had before said "we will sing", meaning his family and his friends with him, his courtiers, princes, and nobles, or he and the singers of Israel; and this he determined to do as long as he and they lived; signifying, that the mercy granted would never be forgotten by him, as well as there would be new mercies every day, which would call for praise and thankfulness: and this he proposed to do

in the house of the Lord; in the temple; not only privately, but publicly; not in his closet and family only, but in the congregation of the people; that the goodness of God to him might be more known, and the praise and glory given him be the greater.

Gill: Isa 38:21 - -- For Isaiah had said,.... Before the above writing was made, which ends in the preceding verse; for this and the following are added by Isaiah, or some...

For Isaiah had said,.... Before the above writing was made, which ends in the preceding verse; for this and the following are added by Isaiah, or some other person, taken out of 2Ki 20:7. The Septuagint version adds, "to Hezekiah"; but the speech seems rather directed to some of his servants, or those that were about him:

let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover; which was done, and he did accordingly recover. Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and. Kimchi, all of them say, that this was a miracle within a miracle, since figs are hurtful to ulcers; and so say others; though it is observed by some, that they are useful for the ripening and breaking of ulcers; however, it was not from the natural force of these figs, but by the power of God, that this cure was effected; for, without that, it was impossible so malignant an ulcer and so deadly a sickness as Hezekiah's were could have been cured, and especially so suddenly; nor were these figs used as a medicine, but as a sign of recovery, according to the Lord's promise, and as a means of assisting Hezekiah's faith in it.

Gill: Isa 38:22 - -- Hezekiah also had said,.... Unto Isaiah, as in 2Ki 20:8, what is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? both of his health, and of h...

Hezekiah also had said,.... Unto Isaiah, as in 2Ki 20:8,

what is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? both of his health, and of his going up to the temple with thanksgiving for it; though the former is not here mentioned, as it is elsewhere; partly because it is supposed in the latter, for without that he could not have gone up to the temple; and partly because he was more solicitous for the worship and honour of God in his house, the for his health. The Syriac version transposes these verses, "Hezekiah had said, what is the sign? &c. and Isaiah had answered, let them take a lump of figs", &c. as if this latter was the sign; whereas it was that of the sun's going down ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz, Isa 38:7; see Gill on Isa 38:7, Isa 38:8.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 38:12 Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

NET Notes: Isa 38:13 Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

NET Notes: Isa 38:14 Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve ...

NET Notes: Isa 38:15 Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

NET Notes: Isa 38:16 The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understo...

NET Notes: Isa 38:17 Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”

NET Notes: Isa 38:18 The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.

NET Notes: Isa 38:20 Note that vv. 21-22 have been placed between vv. 6-7, where they logically belong. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.

NET Notes: Isa 38:21 If original to Isaiah 38, vv. 21-22 have obviously been misplaced in the course of the text’s transmission, and would most naturally be placed h...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:12 My age hath departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I ( i ) have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:13 I reckoned ( l ) 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. ( l ) Overnigh...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:14 Like a crane [or] a swallow, so I ( m ) chattered: I mourned as a dove: my eyes fail [with looking] upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. ...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:15 What shall I say? ( o ) he hath both spoken to me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go ( p ) softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. ( o...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:16 O Lord, ( q ) by these [things men] live, and in all these [things is] the life of my spirit: so wilt thou ( r ) restore me, and make me to live. ( q...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:17 Behold, for ( s ) 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 ...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:18 For ( u ) the grave cannot praise thee, death can [not] celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. ( u ) For as much a...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I [do] this day: the father to the ( x ) children shall make known thy truth. ( x ) All posterity wi...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:20 The LORD [was ready] to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of ( y ) our life in the house of the LORD. ...

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and ( z ) lay [it] for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. ( z ) Read (2Ki 20:7).

Geneva Bible: Isa 38:22 Hezekiah also ( a ) had said, What [is] the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD? ( a ) As in (Isa 38:7).

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Isa 38:1-22 - --1 Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened.8 The sun goes ten degrees backward, for a sign of that promise.9 Hi...

MHCC: Isa 38:9-22 - --We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving. It is well for us to remember the mercies we receive in sickness. Hezekiah records the condition he was in. He d...

Matthew Henry: Isa 38:9-22 - -- We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving-song, which he penned, by divine direction, after his recovery. He might have taken some of the psalms of his f...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 38:10-12 - -- Strophe 1 consists indisputably of seven lines: "I said, In quiet of my days shall I depart into the gates of Hades: I am mulcted of the rest ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 38:13-14 - -- In strophe 2 the retrospective glance is continued. His sufferings increased to such an extent, that there was nothing left in his power but a whin...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 38:15-17 - -- In strophe 3 he now describes how Jehovah promised him help, how this promise put new life into him, and how it was fulfilled, and turned his suffe...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 38:18-20 - -- In strophe 4 he rejoices in the preservation of his life as the highest good, and promises to praise God for it as long as he lives. "For Hades ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 38:21-22 - -- The text of Isaiah is not only curtailed here in a very forced manner, but it has got into confusion; for Isa 38:21 and Isa 38:22 are removed entire...

Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 38:21-22 - -- On Isa 38:21, Isa 38:22, see the notes at the close of Isa 38:4-6, where these two vv. belong.

Constable: Isa 7:1--39:8 - --III. Israel's crisis of faith chs. 7--39 This long section of the book deals with Israel's major decision in Isa...

Constable: Isa 36:1--39:8 - --C. The tests of Israel's trust chs. 36-39 Chapters 36-39 conclude the section of the book dealing with t...

Constable: Isa 38:1--39:8 - --2. The Babylonian threat chs. 38-39 The events in these chapters predate those in chapters 36-37...

Constable: Isa 38:9-22 - --Hezekiah's record of his crisis 38:9-22 The bulk of this section is a psalm of lamentation and thanksgiving that Hezekiah composed after his recovery ...

Guzik: Isa 38:1-22 - --Isaiah 38 - King Hezekiah's Life is Spared A. The mercy of God to Hezekiah. 1. (1) Isaiah's announcement to Hezekiah. In those days Hezekiah was s...

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: Isaiah (Book Introduction) ISAIAH, son of Amoz (not Amos); contemporary of Jonah, Amos, Hosea, in Israel, but younger than they; and of Micah, in Judah. His call to a higher deg...

JFB: Isaiah (Outline) PARABLE OF JEHOVAH'S VINEYARD. (Isa. 5:1-30) SIX DISTINCT WOES AGAINST CRIMES. (Isa. 5:8-23) (Lev 25:13; Mic 2:2). The jubilee restoration of posses...

TSK: Isaiah (Book Introduction) Isaiah has, with singular propriety, been denominated the Evangelical Prophet, on account of the number and variety of his prophecies concerning the a...

TSK: Isaiah 38 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Isa 38:1, Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened; Isa 38:8, The sun goes ten degrees backward, f...

Poole: Isaiah (Book Introduction) THE ARGUMENT THE teachers of the ancient church were of two sorts: 1. Ordinary, the priests and Levites. 2. Extraordinary, the prophets. These we...

Poole: Isaiah 38 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 38 Hezekiah in his sickness receiveth from Isaiah a message of death, Isa 38:1 . By prayer, Isa 38:2,3 , hath his life lengthened: the sun ...

MHCC: Isaiah (Book Introduction) Isaiah prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He has been well called the evangelical prophet, on account of his numerous and...

MHCC: Isaiah 38 (Chapter Introduction) (Isa 38:1-8) Hezekiah's sickness and recovery. (Isa 38:9-22) His thanksgiving.

Matthew Henry: Isaiah (Book Introduction) An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Prophet is a title that sounds very great to those that understand it, t...

Matthew Henry: Isaiah 38 (Chapter Introduction) This chapter proceeds in the history of Hezekiah. Here is, I. His sickness, and the sentence of death he received within himself (Isa 38:1). II. ...

Constable: Isaiah (Book Introduction) Introduction Title and writer The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the o...

Constable: Isaiah (Outline) Outline I. Introduction chs. 1-5 A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 1 ...

Constable: Isaiah Isaiah Bibliography Alexander, Joseph Addison. Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah. 1846, 1847. Revised ed. ...

Haydock: Isaiah (Book Introduction) THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAS. INTRODUCTION. This inspired writer is called by the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlviii. 25.) the great prophet; from t...

Gill: Isaiah (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH This book is called, in the New Testament, sometimes "the Book of the Words of the Prophet Esaias", Luk 3:4 sometimes only t...

Gill: Isaiah 38 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 38 This chapter gives an account of Hezekiah's sickness, recovery, and thanksgiving on that account. His sickness, and the n...

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