Isaiah / Chapter 38

Isaiah 38

22 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Hezekiah falls deathly ill, and Isaiah tells him to set his house in order — he will die. Hezekiah turns to the wall, weeps bitterly, and prays. Before Isaiah leaves the palace courtyard, God sends him back with a promise: fifteen more years. The shadow on the steps of Ahaz retreats ten steps as a sign. Hezekiah composes a psalm of thanksgiving that moves from despair ('Sheol cannot praise You, death cannot celebrate You') to renewed commitment to praise God in the temple.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Hezekiah's psalm (vv. 10-20) is unique to Isaiah — it has no parallel in 2 Kings 20. The psalm's central theological claim is stunning: death silences worship. 'Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You' (v. 18) — Hezekiah argues that keeping him alive preserves a worshipper, and God apparently agrees. The retreating shadow on the 'steps of Ahaz' (v. 8) is both a miracle and a symbol: time itself reverses for the son on the very structure his faithless father built.

Translation Friction

The 'steps of Ahaz' (ma'alot Achaz, v. 8) may refer to a sundial-like staircase rather than literal steps, though the Hebrew is ambiguous. We rendered it 'the stairway of Ahaz' to preserve the architectural ambiguity. The 'lump of figs' (develet te'enim, v. 21) was a known ancient poultice for boils — the miracle operates through natural medicine. Verses 21-22 appear out of chronological order in the Hebrew text, likely displaced from their original position after v. 6.

Connections

This chapter parallels 2 Kings 20:1-11 with the major addition of Hezekiah's psalm (vv. 10-20). The fifteen-year extension places Hezekiah's illness around 703-701 BCE, during the Sennacherib crisis. The retreating shadow reverses the 'sign' dynamic of chapter 7 — where Ahaz refused a sign, his son receives one unsought. Hezekiah's psalm anticipates the theology of Psalms 6, 30, and 88. **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 8 has the sign of the shadow retreating on Ahaz's sundial — a unique miracle. Verse 11 has a variant in Hezekiah's lament. Verse 17 has the theological statement about suffering. Verse 21 has the famous fig-poultice medical detail.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/38).

Isaiah 38:1

בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם חָלָ֥ה חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ לָמ֑וּת וַיָּב֣וֹא אֵלָ֗יו יְשַׁעְיָ֙הוּ֙ בֶּן־אָמ֔וֹץ הַנָּבִ֗יא וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ כֹּ֣ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה צַ֚ו לְבֵיתֶ֔ךָ כִּ֥י מֵ֛ת אַתָּ֖ה וְלֹ֥א תִחְיֶֽה׃

In those days Hezekiah became deathly ill. Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, came to him and said, 'This is what the LORD says: Set your house in order, for you are going to die — you will not recover.'

KJV In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase met attah velo tichyeh ('dying you are and will not live') is brutally direct — no softening, no timeline, no hope offered. Isaiah delivers it as a divine decree, not a diagnosis. The command to 'set your house in order' (tsav leveitekha) implies arranging succession and settling affairs — the language of finality.
Isaiah 38:2

וַיַּסֵּ֧ב חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ פָּנָ֖יו אֶל־הַקִּ֑יר וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֖ל אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

KJV Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Turning to the wall is an act of intimate withdrawal — shutting out the world to face God alone. The same gesture appears with Elijah (1 Kings 19). For a king surrounded by attendants and courtiers, this deliberate turning away from everyone toward the bare wall is a profound act of spiritual privacy.
Isaiah 38:3

אָנָּ֣ה יְהוָ֗ה זְכׇר־נָ֞א אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר הִתְהַלַּ֙כְתִּי֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ בֶּאֱמֶ֖ת וּבְלֵ֣ב שָׁלֵ֑ם וְהַטּ֥וֹב בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ עָשִֽׂיתִי וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ בְּכִ֥י גָדֽוֹל׃

'Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your eyes.' And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

KJV And said, Remember now, O LORD, 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Hezekiah's prayer is not presumptuous but covenantal: he appeals to his faithfulness (emet) and wholehearted devotion (lev shalem) — the terms of the Deuteronomic covenant. The 'bitter weeping' (bekhi gadol, literally 'great weeping') follows the prayer, not precedes it — emotion flows from theology, not the reverse.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"weeping"

Identical consonantal text. Hezekiah's weeping prayer — face turned to the wall — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 38:4

וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָ֥הוּ לֵאמֹֽר׃

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah:

KJV Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The standard prophetic reception formula. God's response is immediate — the text implies Isaiah had not yet left the palace complex when the reversal came (cf. 2 Kings 20:4, which specifies Isaiah was still in the middle courtyard).
Isaiah 38:5

הָלוֹךְ֮ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ֒ כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֔ה אֱלֹהֵ֖י דָּוִ֣ד אָבִ֑יךָ שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֶת־תְּפִלָּתֶ֔ךָ רָאִ֖יתִי אֶת־דִּמְעָתֶ֑ךָ הִנְנִ֥י יוֹסִ֛ף עַל־יָמֶ֖יךָ חֲמֵ֥שׁ עֶשְׂרֵ֛ה שָׁנָֽה׃

'Go and say to Hezekiah: This is what the LORD, the God of David your father, says — I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. I am adding fifteen years to your life.

KJV Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God identifies Himself as 'the God of David your father' — invoking the dynastic covenant and reminding Hezekiah that his father's God is still his God. The response addresses both prayer ('I have heard') and emotion ('I have seen your tears'). The fifteen-year extension is extraordinarily specific — God does not merely heal but quantifies the gift.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"five"

1QIsaiah-a writes חמש without the tsere of the MT's vocalized form. 'I will add fifteen years to your life' — the specific number is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 38:6

וּמִכַּ֤ף מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר֙ אַצִּ֣ילְךָ֔ וְאֵ֖ת הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֑את וְגַנּוֹתִ֖י עַל־הָעִ֥יר הַזֹּֽאת׃

I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.'

KJV And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The healing promise expands into a national deliverance promise — Hezekiah's personal recovery is bound to Jerusalem's survival. The verb ganoti ('I will defend, shield') is the same used in 37:35. This confirms the chronological overlap: Hezekiah's illness occurred during the Sennacherib crisis, not after it.
Isaiah 38:7

וְזֶה־לְּךָ֥ הָא֖וֹת מֵאֵ֣ת יְהוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יַעֲשֶׂ֔ה יְהוָ֕ה אֶת־הַדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֵּֽר׃

This is the sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised:

KJV And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God offers a sign unsolicited — a striking contrast with Ahaz, who was told to ask for a sign and refused (7:10-12). The sign confirms not merely healing but the entire word God has spoken, including the deliverance of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 38:8

הִנְנִ֣י מֵשִׁ֣יב אֶת־צֵ֣ל הַמַּעֲל֡וֹת אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָרְדָ֣ה בְמַעֲל֣וֹת אָחָ֣ז בַּשֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ אֲחֹרַנִּ֛ית עֶ֥שֶׂר מַעֲל֖וֹת וַתָּ֣שָׁב הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ עֶ֥שֶׂר מַעֲל֖וֹת בַּמַּעֲל֥וֹת אֲשֶׁ֖ר יָרָֽדָה׃

I am going to make the shadow that has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz retreat ten steps backward by the sun.' And the sunlight went back ten steps on the stairway where it had gone down.

KJV Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The ma'alot Achaz ('steps/stairway of Ahaz') was likely an architectural structure whose shadow served as a time-marker — essentially a monumental sundial. The shadow retreating ten steps means time itself appears to reverse. The symbolic resonance is powerful: on the very structure built by faithless Ahaz, God gives a sign of life to faithful Hezekiah. The son's faith redeems what the father's unbelief built.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"the steps/dial"

1QIsaiah-a reads המעלות identically. The shadow retreating ten steps on the 'steps of Ahaz' (ma'alot Achaz) — possibly a sundial or a staircase — is one of the most enigmatic miracles in the Hebrew Bible. The physical mechanism is debated (atmospheric refraction? an architectural shadow-clock?) but both traditions preserve the same account. The sign validates Isaiah's prophecy of healing.

Isaiah 38:9

מִכְתָּ֖ב לְחִזְקִיָּ֣הוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֑ה בַּחֲלֹת֕וֹ וַיְחִ֖י מֵחׇלְיֽוֹ׃

A written prayer of Hezekiah king of Judah, after his illness and recovery:

KJV The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The superscription mikhtav ('a writing, document') introduces Hezekiah's psalm. This term is unusual — most psalm superscriptions use mizmor or shir. The word suggests a formal written composition, perhaps inscribed on a scroll or tablet. This psalm (vv. 10-20) has no parallel in 2 Kings and is unique to Isaiah's account.
Isaiah 38:10

אֲנִ֣י אָמַ֗רְתִּי בִּדְמִ֤י יָמַי֙ אֵלֵ֔כָה בְּשַׁעֲרֵ֥י שְׁא֖וֹל פֻּקַּ֕דְתִּי יֶ֖תֶר שְׁנוֹתָֽי׃

I said: In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol. I am deprived of the rest of my years.

KJV I 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The psalm opens in despair. The phrase bidmi yamai ('in the cutting off / prime of my days') suggests both midlife and abrupt termination. 'The gates of Sheol' (sha'arei she'ol) is the threshold of the underworld — Hezekiah sees himself standing at death's door. The verb puqqadti ('I am deprived, visited in judgment') carries a sense of divine reckoning.
Isaiah 38:11

אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ לֹא־אֶרְאֶ֣ה יָ֔הּ יָ֖הּ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ הַחַיִּ֑ים לֹא־אַבִּ֥יט אָדָ֛ם ע֖וֹד עִם־יוֹשְׁבֵ֥י חָֽדֶל׃

I said: I will not see the LORD — Yah! Yah! — in the land of the living. I will look on humankind no more among the inhabitants of this fleeting world.

KJV I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The doubled divine name Yah Yah is an anguished cry — whether a gasp of grief or an intensified invocation. Hezekiah's deepest loss is not life itself but the experience of God 'in the land of the living' — worship, presence, encounter. The term chadel ('cessation, fleeting world') characterizes earthly existence as transient, making his loss of it even more poignant.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"the LORD, the LORD"

1QIsaiah-a reads יה יה (Yah Yah) identically — the shortened divine name doubled in Hezekiah's lament: 'I said, I shall not see Yah, Yah in the land of the living.' The doubling intensifies the grief of anticipated loss. Both traditions preserve this rare doubled form of the divine name.

Isaiah 38:12

דּוֹרִ֗י נִסַּ֧ע וְנִגְלָ֛ה מִנִּ֖י כְּאֹ֣הֶל רֹעִ֑י קִפַּ֙דְתִּי֙ כָאֹרֵ֣ג חַיַּ֔י מִדַּלָּ֖ה יְבַצְּעֵ֑נִי מִיּ֥וֹם עַד־לַ֖יְלָה תַּשְׁלִימֵֽנִי׃

My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom. From day to night You bring me to an end.

KJV Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Two vivid metaphors for mortality: the shepherd's tent (ohel ro'i) — easily uprooted and carried away — and the weaver's loom, where life is a fabric being cut from the threads. The shift from 'He' to 'You' (from third person to second person address) is characteristic of Hebrew lament — the sufferer moves from talking about God to talking to God mid-sentence.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"my generation/dwelling"

Identical consonantal text. The tent-pulling imagery — life as a nomadic dwelling being packed up — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 38:13

שִׁוִּ֤יתִי עַד־בֹּ֙קֶר֙ כָּאֲרִ֔י כֵּ֥ן יְשַׁבֵּ֖ר כׇּל־עַצְמוֹתָ֑י מִיּ֥וֹם עַד־לַ֖יְלָה תַּשְׁלִימֵֽנִי׃

I waited until morning — like a lion, He crushes all my bones. From day to night You bring me to an end.

KJV I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The lion metaphor for God is terrifying: the illness feels like being mauled by a predator who shatters every bone. The refrain 'from day to night You bring me to an end' (repeated from v. 12) creates a claustrophobic sense of relentless suffering — each day-night cycle is another round of being broken.
Isaiah 38:14

כְּס֤וּס עָגוּר֙ כֵּ֣ן אֲצַפְצֵ֔ף אֶהְגֶּ֖ה כַּיּוֹנָ֑ה דַּלּ֤וּ עֵינַי֙ לַמָּר֔וֹם אֲדֹנָ֖י עׇשְׁקָה־לִּ֥י עׇרְבֵֽנִי׃

Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed — be my pledge of safety!

KJV Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Hezekiah's prayer sounds have devolved from human speech to bird cries — the chirping of a swallow, the moaning of a dove. His eyes strain upward toward God but grow dim. The final plea orveni ('be my surety, my pledge') is a legal-financial metaphor: Hezekiah asks God to guarantee his life the way a guarantor secures a debt.
Isaiah 38:15

מָה־אֲדַבֵּ֥ר וְאָמַר־לִ֖י וְה֣וּא עָשָׂ֑ה אֶדַּדֶּ֥ה כׇל־שְׁנוֹתַ֖י עַל־מַ֥ר נַפְשִֽׁי׃

What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it. I will walk humbly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.

KJV What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The tone shifts here — from lament to stunned gratitude. 'He has spoken and He has done it' acknowledges God's sovereign action. The verb edaddeh ('I will walk softly, humbly') describes a chastened gait — the walk of someone who has stared into the grave and come back changed. The 'bitterness of soul' (mar nafshi) remains, but it now produces humility rather than despair.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"like a lion"

Identical consonantal text. God breaking all Hezekiah's bones 'like a lion' — the sufferer accuses God of acting like a predator. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 38:16

אֲדֹנָ֖י עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם יִחְי֑וּ וּלְכׇל־בָּהֶ֗ן חַיֵּ֤י רוּחִי֙ וְתַחֲלִימֵ֔נִי וְהַחֲיֵֽנִי׃

O Lord, by these things people live, and in all of them is the life of my spirit. Restore me to health — let me live!

KJV O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase 'by these things' (aleihem) likely refers to God's words and deeds just mentioned. Hezekiah recognizes that human life depends entirely on God's sustaining word. The double imperative — 'restore me' (tachalimeni) and 'let me live' (vehachayeni) — is both medical and theological: physical healing and spiritual reviving.
Isaiah 38:17

הִנֵּ֥ה לְשָׁל֛וֹם מַר־לִ֥י מָ֑ר וְאַתָּ֤ה חָשַׁ֙קְתָּ֙ נַפְשִׁ֔י מִשַּׁ֣חַת בְּלִ֔י כִּ֥י הִשְׁלַ֛כְתָּ אַחֲרֵ֥י גֵוְךָ֖ כׇּל־חֲטָאָֽי׃

Truly, it was for my well-being that I suffered such bitterness. But You have loved my soul back from the pit of destruction, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

KJV Behold, for peace 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The theological depth here is extraordinary. Hezekiah reinterprets his suffering: the bitterness was for shalom ('peace, wholeness, well-being') — suffering had redemptive purpose. The image of God casting sins 'behind Your back' (acharei gevkha) means God deliberately turns away from them, choosing not to see them. This is one of the Old Testament's most vivid forgiveness metaphors.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"bitter to me, bitter"

Both texts preserve the doubled 'bitter' (mar li mar) — 'In the bitterness of my soul: bitter to me, bitter.' The doubling is emphatic. But then the pivot: 'You have loved my soul from the pit of destruction' (literally 'you have lovingly embraced my soul out of the pit of nothingness'). The move from bitter suffering to divine rescue is preserved identically.

Isaiah 38:18

כִּ֣י לֹ֤א שְׁאוֹל֙ תּוֹדֶ֔ךָּ מָ֖וֶת יְהַלְלֶ֑ךָּ לֹא־יְשַׂבְּר֥וּ יוֹרְדֵי־ב֖וֹר אֶל־אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃

For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You. Those who go down to the pit cannot hope in Your faithfulness.

KJV For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This is the theological heart of the psalm and one of the most debated verses in Isaiah. Hezekiah's argument is functional, not philosophical: whatever the state of the dead, they do not praise God. Worship requires life. The three parallel terms — Sheol, death (mavet), the pit (bor) — paint the underworld as a place of silence where God's faithfulness (emet) goes unacknowledged.
Isaiah 38:19

חַ֥י חַ֛י ה֥וּא יוֹדֶ֖ךָ כָּמ֣וֹנִי הַיּ֑וֹם אָ֣ב לְבָנִ֔ים יוֹדִ֖יעַ אֶל־אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃

The living — the living — they praise You, as I do this day! A father makes Your faithfulness known to his children.

KJV The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The doubled chay chay ('the living, the living!') is an ecstatic contrast to the death-silence of v. 18. Hezekiah is alive and he knows it. The generational dimension — 'a father makes known to his children' — transforms personal survival into covenantal transmission. Praise is not just vertical (to God) but horizontal (across generations).

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"living"

Identical consonantal text. 'The living, the living — he gives you thanks' — the doubled 'living' emphasizes that only the alive can praise. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 38:20

יְהוָ֖ה לְהוֹשִׁיעֵ֑נִי וּנְגִנוֹתַ֧י נְנַגֵּ֛ן כׇּל־יְמֵ֥י חַיֵּ֖ינוּ עַל־בֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃

The LORD is ready to save me! We will play our songs on stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the LORD.

KJV The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The psalm ends in communal worship — the singular 'I' becomes 'we' (neginot-ay nenaggen, 'my songs we will play'). Hezekiah's private suffering produces public praise. The location 'in the house of the LORD' (al-beit YHWH) brings the psalm full circle: the man who turned his face to the wall in despair (v. 2) now faces the temple in joy. This verse closes the poetry section.
Isaiah 38:21

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ יִשְׂא֖וּ דְּבֶ֣לֶת תְּאֵנִ֑ים וְיִמְרְח֥וּ עַל־הַשְּׁחִ֖ין וְיֶֽחִי׃

Isaiah had said, 'Let them take a lump of figs and apply it as a poultice to the boil, and he will recover.'

KJV For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This verse and the next appear to be displaced from their original position (likely after v. 6), as they narrate practical details already implied. The develet te'enim ('cake of pressed figs') was a known medicinal remedy in the ancient world — God's miracle works through natural means. The shechin ('boil') may indicate a severe abscess or infected wound.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"lump of"

1QIsaiah-a reads דבלת identically. The medical prescription — a fig-cake poultice applied to the boil — is one of the most concrete medical details in the Hebrew Bible. Isaiah functions as both prophet and physician here. Both traditions preserve this practical remedy.

Isaiah 38:22

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ מָ֣ה א֔וֹת כִּ֥י אֶעֱלֶ֖ה בֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃

Hezekiah had said, 'What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?'

KJV Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Hezekiah's question reveals what matters most to him: not 'Will I live?' but 'Will I worship again?' Going up to the house of the LORD is the measure of recovery. This connects directly to the psalm's closing image (v. 20) of lifelong worship in the temple. The sign of the retreating shadow (v. 8) was God's answer to this question.
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