Isaiah 38:16

38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;

may years of life be restored to me. ¹ 

Restore my health ²  and preserve my life.’

Isaiah 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ³ 

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. ⁴ 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

[38:16]  ¹ tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”

[38:16]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.

[29:8]  ³ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ⁴ tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”