Isaiah 38:12-14

38:12 My dwelling place ¹  is removed and taken away ²  from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; ³ 

from the loom he cuts me off. ⁴ 

You turn day into night and end my life. ⁵ 

38:13 I cry out ⁶  until morning;

like a lion he shatters all my bones;

you turn day into night and end my life. ⁷ 

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ⁸  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ⁹ 

O sovereign master, ¹⁰  I am oppressed;

help me! ¹¹ 

[38:12]  ¹ tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.

[38:12]  ² tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”

[38:12]  ³ tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).

[38:12]  ⁴ sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.

[38:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[38:13]  ⁶ tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Piel from שָׁוַה (shavah). There are two homonyms שָׁוַה, one meaning in the Piel “level, smooth out,” the other “set, place.” Neither fits in v. 13. It is likely that the original reading was שִׁוַּעְתִּי (shivva’ti, “I cry out”) from the verbal root שָׁוַע (shava’), which occurs exclusively in the Piel.

[38:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[38:14]  ⁸ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ¹¹ tn 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 his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.