Hezekiah’s illness, prayer, and healing

38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 38:2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 38:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and how I have carried out your will.” Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 38:4 The Lord told Isaiah, 38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life, 38:6 and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 38:7 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 38:8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.” And then the shadow went back ten steps. Hezekiah’s Song of Thanks 38:9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness: 38:10 “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.’ 38:11 “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. 38:12 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. 38:13 I cry out until morning; like a lion he shatters all my bones; you turn day into night and end my life. 38:14 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! 38:15 What can I say? He has decreed and acted. I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. 38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life; may years of life be restored to me. Restore my health and preserve my life.’ 38:17 “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. 38:18 Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks; death does not praise you. Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness. 38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks, as I do today. A father tells his sons about your faithfulness. 38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me, and we will celebrate with music for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” 38:21 Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 38:22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Hezekiah is told he will die, but he prays to the Lord, and God hears him. The Lord adds fifteen years to his life and gives a sign to confirm his word. Hezekiah then thanks God for rescuing him from death and for forgiving his sins.

Isaiah first brings a hard message to Hezekiah: his illness will end in death. Hezekiah turns to the Lord in prayer and weeps. God hears that prayer and answers through Isaiah. The Lord gives Hezekiah fifteen more years and promises to protect Jerusalem from Assyria.

God also gives a sign. The shadow on the stairs moves backward to show that the Lord will do what he said. This is not magic. It is a clear sign that God rules over creation and over time itself.

Hezekiah’s song shows what the illness meant to him. He felt close to death and cut off from the life he had known. But he came to see that the Lord had used the trouble for his good. He says that God removed his sins from view and brought him back from the pit of death.

The passage teaches that the living should thank God, tell others of his faithfulness, and worship him. Hezekiah’s recovery was not just about more time. It was about renewed life before the Lord.

• God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and saw his tears.
• The Lord alone has power over sickness, life, death, and time.
• Hezekiah’s added years were a gift of grace, not a reward he earned.
• God gave a sign to confirm his word.
• Hezekiah understood his rescue as tied to forgiveness and worship.
• Living people are to praise God and teach others his faithfulness.

• Do not treat this passage as a promise that every sincere prayer will extend life by a fixed amount.
• Do not turn the sign of the shadow into a pattern for secret meanings or spiritual tricks.
• Do not reduce the passage to positive thinking or a healing formula.
• The passage warns that death is real and serious.
• The passage calls the living to thank God, worship him, and pass on his faithfulness to the next generation.

This event took place in God’s dealings with Hezekiah, the Davidic king in Jerusalem. The Lord preserved the king and the city, showing his covenant care for Judah. Hezekiah’s rescue also points to the deeper hope that God can bring life out of death, though this passage first speaks about Hezekiah’s own historical rescue.

When we are sick or afraid, we should pray honestly to the Lord. We can bring tears, fear, and weakness to him. We should also remember that God may heal, may use ordinary care, or may give grace to endure. If he gives more time, that time should be used for worship, obedience, and telling others of his faithfulness.

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