Hezekiah’s Song of Thanks

9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:

10 “I thought,

‘In the middle of my life I must walk through the gates of Sheol,

I am deprived of the rest of my years.’

11 “I thought,

‘I will no longer see the Lord in the land of the living,

I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.

12 My dwelling place is removed and taken away from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth;

from the loom he cuts me off.

You turn day into night and end my life.

13 I cry out until morning;

like a lion he shatters all my bones;

you turn day into night and end my life.

14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.

O sovereign master, I am oppressed;

help me!

15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted.

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.

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

may years of life be restored to me.

Restore my health and preserve my life.’

17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit.

You delivered me from the pit of oblivion.

For you removed all my sins from your sight.

18 Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks;

death does not praise you.

Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

20 The Lord is about to deliver me,

and we will celebrate with music

for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” 21 Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”

39 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. 3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 4 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies: 6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” Then he thought, “For there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”

40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your God.

2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her

that her time of warfare is over,

that her punishment is completed.

For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”

3 A voice cries out,

“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

construct in the desert a road for our God.

4 Every valley must be elevated,

and every mountain and hill leveled.

The rough terrain will become a level plain,

the rugged landscape a wide valley.

5 The splendor of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it at the same time.

For the Lord has decreed it.”

6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks, “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds: “All people are like grass,

and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.

7 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

when the wind sent by the Lord blows on them.

Surely humanity is like grass.

8 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”

9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!

Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!

Shout, don’t be afraid!

Say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;

his military power establishes his rule.

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him.

11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart;

he leads the ewes along.