Isaiah 38

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 About then, Hezekiah fel il and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came andsaid to him, 'Yahweh says this, "Put your affairs in order, for you are going to die, you wil not live." '	1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was near death. And so, Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet, entered to him, and he said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you shall die, and you shall not live.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wal and addressed this prayer to Yahweh,	2 And Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and he prayed to the Lord.
3 'Ah, Yahweh, remember, I beg you, that I have behaved faithful y and with sincerity of heart in yourpresence and done what you regard as right.' And Hezekiah shed many tears.	3 And he said: “I beg you, Lord, I beseech you, to remember how I walked before you in truth and with a whole heart, and that I have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept with a great weeping.
4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah,	4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying:
5 'Go and say to Hezekiah, "Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David, says this: I have heard your prayerand seen your tears. I shal cure you: in three days' time you will go up to the Temple of Yahweh. I shal addfifteen years to your life.	5 “Go and say to Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your days.
6 I shal save you and this city from the king of Assyria's clutches and defend this city for my sake and myservant David's sake." '	6 And I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect it.
7 'Here', Isaiah replied, 'is the sign from Yahweh that he will do what he has said.	7 And this will be a sign for you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this word, which he has spoken:
8 Look, I shall make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the steps -- the steps to Ahaz's roof-room-go back ten steps.' And the sun went back the ten steps by which it had declined.	8 Behold, I will cause the shadow of the lines, which has now descended on the sundial of Ahaz, to move in reverse for ten lines.” And so, the sun moved backward by ten lines, through the degrees by which it had descended.
9 Canticle of Hezekiah king of Judah after his il ness and recovery.	9 The writing of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, after he had fallen ill and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I thought: In the noon of my life I am to depart. At the gates of Sheol I shall be held for the rest of mydays.	10 “I said: In the middle of my days, I will go to the gates of Hell. So I sought the remainder of my years.
11 I thought: I shal never see Yahweh again in the land of the living, I shal never see again a single oneof those who live on earth.	11 I said: I will not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I will no longer behold man, nor the habitation of rest.
12 My home has been pul ed up, and thrown away like a shepherd's tent; like a weaver, I have rol ed upmy life, he has cut me from the loom. From dawn to dark, you have been making an end of me;	12 My longevity has been taken away; it has been folded up and taken from me, like the tent of a shepherd. My life has been cut off, as if by a weaver. While I was still beginning, he cut me off. From morning until evening, you have marked out my limits.
13 til daybreak, I cried for help; like a lion, he has crushed al my bones, from dawn to dark, you havebeen making an end of me.	13 I hoped, even until morning. Like a lion, so has he crushed all my bones. From morning until evening, you have marked my limits.
14 I twitter like a swal ow, I moan like a dove, my eyes have grown dim from looking up. Lord, I amoverwhelmed, come to my help.	14 I will cry out, like a young swallow. I will meditate, like a dove. My eyes have been weakened by gazing upward. O Lord, I suffer violence! Answer in my favor.
15 How can I speak and what can I say to him? He is the one to act. I must eke out the rest of my yearsin bitterness of soul.	15 What can I say, or what would he answer me, since he himself has done this? I will acknowledge to you all my years, in the bitterness of my soul.
16 The Lord is over them; they live, and everything in them lives by his spirit. You wil cure me. Restoreme to life.	16 O Lord, if such is life, and if the life of my spirit is of such a kind, may you correct me and may you cause me to live.
17 At once, my bitterness turns to wel -being. For you have preserved my soul from the pit ofnothingness, you have thrust al my sins behind you.	17 Behold, in peace my bitterness is most bitter. But you have rescued my soul, so that it would not perish. You have cast all my sins behind your back.
18 For Sheol cannot praise you, nor Death celebrate you; those who go down to the pit can hope nolonger in your constancy.	18 For Hell will not confess to you, and death will not praise you. Those who descend into the pit will not hope for your truth.
19 The living, the living are the ones who praise you, as I do today. Fathers tel their sons about yourconstancy.	19 The living, the living, these will give praise to you, as I also do this day! The father will make the truth known to the sons.
20 Yahweh, come to my help and we will make our harps resound al the days of our life in the Temple ofYahweh.	20 O Lord, save me! And we will sing our psalms, all the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”
21 'Bring a fig poultice,' Isaiah said, 'apply it to the ulcer and he wil recover.'	21 Now Isaiah had ordered them to take a paste of figs, and to spread it like plaster over the wound, so that he would be healed.
22 Hezekiah said, 'What is the sign to tel me that I shal be going up to the Temple of Yahweh?'	22 And Hezekiah said, “What will be the sign that I may go up to the house of the Lord?”