Commentary on Isaiah - Volume 3

1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, And said to him: Thus saith Jehovah, Give charge concerning thy house; ²⁵³ for thou shalt die, And shalt not live.

2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, And prayed to Jehovah.

3And he said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, remember now that I have walked before thee in truth, And with a perfect heart, And have done what was right in thine eyes. And Hezekiah wept with sore weeping. ²⁵⁴

4Then was communicated the word of Jehovah to Isaiah, saying,

5Go, And say to Hezekiah: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Jacob thy father: I have heard thy prayer, And have seen thy tears: Behold, I add to thy days fifteen years.

6And I will deliver thee And this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; And I will be a protector to this city.

7And this shall be a sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do this thing, of which he hath spoken:

8Behold, I bring back the shadow of degrees, by which it hath gone down on the sun-dial of Ahaz, ten degrees. And he sun went back on the sundial ten degrees, by which it had already gone down.

9The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick, And had recovered from his sickness.

10I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the residue of my years.

11I said, I shall not see God, God in the land of the living; I shall no longer behold man with the inhabitants of the world.

12Sly habitation is departed, And is removed from me as a shepherds tent; I have cut off; as a weaver, my life: From lifting up ²⁵⁵ he will cut me off; From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

13I reckoned ²⁵⁶ till the dawn; As a lion, so he hath broken my bones; From the dawn till night thou wilt make an end of me.

14As a crane or a swallow, I chattered; I mourned as a dove. My eyes were lifted up on high, O Lord, it hath oppressed me; comfort me.

15What shall I say? He who hath spoken to me hath done it. I shall be moved ²⁵⁷ all the days of my life In the bitterness of my soul.

16O Lord, by all who shall live beyond those (years) Shall the life of my spirit (be known;) And that thou didst cause me to sleep, And didst make me alive.

17Behold, in peace my bitterness was bitter; And thou hast been pleased (to rescue) my soul from the pit; ²⁵⁸ For thou hast east behind thy back all my sins.

18For hell shall not confess thee; Death shall not praise thee; They that go down into the pit shall not wait for thy truth.

19The living, the living, he shall confess to thee, As I (do) this day; The father to the sons shall make known thy truth.

20Jehovah to save me; And we will sing our songs All the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.

21Now, Isaiah had said, They shall take a mass of figs, and apply it to the boil, And they shall live.

22For ²⁵⁹ Hezekiah had said, What is the sign that I shall go up into the house of the Lord?