Isaiah Chapter 38

Old Testament Major Prophet 22 Verses

What is Isaiah 38 about?

The great OT evangelist — judgment on Israel and the nations, the four Servant Songs, and the vision of the glorious new creation. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah,
3and said, Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah, saying,
5Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
6And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.
7And this shall be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do this thing that he hath spoken:
8behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial whereon it was gone down.
9The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.
10I said, In the noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of Sheol: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
11I said, I shall not see Jehovah, [even] Jehovah in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
12My dwelling is removed, and is carried away from me as a shepherd`s tent: I have rolled up, like a weaver, my life; he will cut me off from the loom: From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
13I quieted [myself] until morning; as a lion, so he breaketh all my bones: From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
14Like a swallow [or] a crane, so did I chatter; I did moan as a dove; mine eyes fail [with looking] upward: O Lord, I am oppressed, be thou my surety.
15What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
16O Lord, by these things men live; And wholly therein is the life of my spirit: Wherefore recover thou me, and make me to live.
17Behold, [it was] for [my] peace [that] 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 sins behind thy back.
18For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: The father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20Jehovah is [ready] to save me: Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.
21Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.
22Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?

What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death, &c.] This was about the time that Sennacherib invaded Judea, threatened Jerusalem with a siege, and his army was destroyed by an angel from heaven; but, whether it was before or after the destruction of his army, interpreters are not agreed. Some of the Jewish writers, as Jarchi upon the place, and othersf728, say, it was three days before the ruin of Sennacherib’s army; and that it was on the third day that Hezekiah recovered, and went up to the temple, that the destruction was; and that it was the first day of the passover; and that this was before the city of…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS; PERHAPS CONNECTED WITH THE PLAGUE OR BLAST WHEREBY THE ASSYRIAN ARMY HAD BEEN DESTROYED. (Isa. 38:1-22) Set . . . house in order--Make arrangement as to the succession to the throne; for he had then no son; and as to thy other concerns. thou shall die--speaking according to the ordinary course of the disease. His being spared fifteen years was not a change in God's mind, but an illustration of God's dealings being unchangeably regulated by the state of man in relation to Him.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“In those days - That is, his sickness commenced about the period in which the army of Sennacherib was destroyed. It has been made a question whether the sickness of Hezekiah was before or after the invasion of Sennacherib. The most natural interpretation certainly is, that it occurred after that invasion, and probably at no distant period. The only objection to this view is the statement in Isaiah 38:6, that God would deliver him out of the hand of the king of Assyria, which has been understood by many as implying that he was then threatened with the invasion. But this may mean simply that he would be perpetually…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 13
“I reckon - 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. Isaiah 38:16”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“38:1-9 The story of Hezekiah’s healing connects Hezekiah’s extension of life with Jerusalem’s relief from the Assyrians. The events of this story took place before Jerusalem’s rescue from the Assyrians but were placed in a thematic rather than chronological order. One theme is the importance of prayer (see 37:14-20; 38:2-3). The Lord does listen! Hezekiah had learned the lesson of trust that his father, Ahaz, refused. As a result, Judah and Jerusalem were spared total destruction by the Assyrians. Yet Hezekiah was not the Messiah, the Son of David promised in 7:14; 9:1-7; 11:1-16; 16:5; 32:1, and 33:17-22. Thus,…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 1
“am 3291, bc 718 was Hezekiah: Kg2 20:1-11; Ch2 32:24; Joh 11:1-5; Act 9:37; Phi 2:27-30 And Isaiah: Isa 37:21, Isa 39:3, Isa 39:4 Set thine house in order: Heb. Give charge concerning thy house, Sa2 17:23; Ecc 9:10 for thou: Jer 18:7-10; Jon 3:4, Jon 3:10 Isaiah 38:2”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“There is nothing to surprise us in the fact that we are carried back to the time when Jerusalem was still threatened by the Assyrian, since the closing vv. of chapter 37 merely contain an anticipatory announcement, introduced for the purpose of completing the picture of the last Assyrian troubles, by adding the fulfilment of Isaiah's prediction of their termination. It is within this period, and indeed in the year of the Assyrian invasion ( Isa 36:1), since Hezekiah reigned twenty-nine years, and fifteen of these are promised here, that the event described by Isaiah falls - an event not merely of private…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification