Isaiah 38:15 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.
Isaiah 38:15 nkjv
"What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it. I shall walk carefully all my years In the bitterness of my soul.
Isaiah 38:15 niv
But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul.
Isaiah 38:15 esv
What shall I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
Isaiah 38:15 nlt
But what could I say?
For he himself sent this sickness.
Now I will walk humbly throughout my years
because of this anguish I have felt.
Isaiah 38 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 38:15 | What shall I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it. | Lament for future incompleteness, fulfilled promises |
| Psalm 116:12 | What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? | Gratitude for God's salvation |
| Psalm 39:7 | And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. | Trust in God's providence |
| Job 10:20 | Let me alone, that I may speak a little speech before I go | Human desire for discourse before death |
| Job 14:14 | If a man dies, shall he live again? ...I would wait. | Hope for resurrection/life after death |
| Psalm 30:3 | O Lord, You have brought me up from Sheol. | Deliverance from death's grip |
| Psalm 71:19 | Your righteousness, O God, very high. | Recognition of God's powerful acts |
| Psalm 119:17 | Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live. | Plea for continued life |
| Isaiah 43:7 | For I have created him for My glory; I have formed him. | God's sovereign purpose for His creation |
| Jeremiah 1:10 | See, I have set you this day over the nations... to build and to plant. | Divine commission and purpose |
| 2 Corinthians 5:15 | and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. | Changed perspective from saved life |
| Romans 14:8 | For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. | Belonging to Christ in life and death |
| 1 Corinthians 6:20 | For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God. | Glorifying God with one's body and life |
| John 11:40 | Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" | Faith leading to witness of God's glory |
| Psalm 6:5 | For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who shall give You thanks? | Value of life for praising God |
| Psalm 88:10 | But to whom will You show wonders? Shall the dead arise...? | Lament about lack of divine activity in death |
| Psalm 118:17 | I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. | Declaration of God's works after deliverance |
| Isaiah 26:19 | Your dead shall live, together with my dead body they shall arise. | Resurrection hope and its ultimate scope |
| Isaiah 1:3 | The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's trough; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider. | Israel's lack of recognition of God's provision |
| Luke 1:72 | To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant. | God's faithfulness and mercy throughout time |
Isaiah 38 verses
Isaiah 38 15 Meaning
Hezekiah, facing imminent death, reflects on his life and his coming absence from the earth. He acknowledges God's communication about his extended life and his inability to recount God's further wondrous deeds and grace, which he laments. The verse captures a profound human response to the gift of extended life after a brush with death, highlighting gratitude, a sense of incomplete experience, and the desire to further testify to God's goodness.
Isaiah 38 15 Context
This verse appears in the narrative of Hezekiah's severe illness and subsequent miraculous recovery, as described in 2 Kings 20 and 2 Chronicles 32, alongside Isaiah 38. Hezekiah had prayed earnestly for life when told he would die, and God granted him fifteen more years. Upon receiving this reprieve, Hezekiah composed a prayer and song of thanksgiving, which includes this verse. This chapter, therefore, follows God's divine intervention in response to a king's prayer, highlighting a personal reflection on God's power and grace within a broader narrative of God's dealings with His people and king. The historical setting is during Hezekiah's reign in Judah, a time when the Assyrian threat was present, and his recovery was a significant event for national morale and theological understanding.
Isaiah 38 15 Word Analysis
- What shall I say? (Ma esh’mah? - Hebrew): This rhetorical question conveys a sense of overwhelming emotion and inability to articulate the depth of his feelings or what is due. It reflects a soul burdened by God's great goodness.
- For He has spoken to me: This refers to the direct word God sent through the prophet Isaiah (Isa 38:4-5), assuring him of healing and added years. It highlights the divine origin of the knowledge and the promise.
- and He Himself has done it: This emphasizes the direct agency of God in the miraculous recovery. It was not by natural means but by God's direct, personal intervention. The emphasis is on Yahweh's sovereign power.
- lament/recount (or "number" / "tell over"): Hezekiah is unable to add to the number of days of his life as God decreed for him. This inability to further chronicle or speak about the wonders of God's continued dealings in his life is his lament. He's no longer able to "add to the tally" of days God had given him and to narrate the praise worthy works of God.
- in my pilgrimage/pilgrimage (ba’gurreti bî). This word signifies a sojourning or a time of travel. In this context, it refers to his remaining years of life on earth, understood as a journey. His fear is that his pilgrimage is ending prematurely.
- you will cast me out from Your sight: This is an expression of being utterly forsaken or cut off from God's presence and care, the ultimate fear of the righteous.
- from the grave/Sheol (mi-sh'ol): Sheol represents the land of the dead, a place of darkness and silence. Hezekiah’s deliverance is from this pit of oblivion.
- You will remove me / cast me off (titshlekhenî): The wording suggests a definitive and final dismissal from life and perhaps from God's perceived fellowship.
Words Group Analysis:
- "What shall I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it.": This group signifies Hezekiah's humble astonishment. He feels inadequate to express the magnitude of God's word and deed. It is a declaration of surrender and awe in the face of divine grace. His immediate response is one of awe at the personal touch of God in answering his prayer.
Isaiah 38 15 Bonus Section
Hezekiah's prayer here is an example of how even in moments of great personal deliverance, there can be a tinge of sorrow for unfinished witness or ministry. It shows a heart that has truly tasted God’s goodness and desires to give Him more praise, but recognizes the temporal limitations of human existence. This desire to continue declaring God's deeds connects to the New Testament concept of believers living "to the Lord" and glorifying Him with their bodies and lives, a redeemed life consecrated to testimony. His gratitude and his lament highlight the paradox of abundant life – more life is given, yet there's always a desire for more time to praise the giver.
Isaiah 38 15 Commentary
Hezekiah, upon receiving God's decree of added years, finds himself in a state of humbled perplexity. He cannot find words sufficient to praise God for the life He has not only preserved but miraculously extended. The entirety of his remaining time, understood as his "pilgrimage," is a gift he cannot fully repay or adequately extol. His regret stems from the sense that his renewed lease on life will be too short to fully document and declare all the marvelous acts of God that he anticipated experiencing. He expresses a profound human longing to bear more witness to God's faithfulness, a sentiment echoing the psalmist's desire to live and declare the works of the Lord. This lament underscores the immense value of life as a platform for glorifying God.