Глава 38

1–3. Hezekiah's illness, 4–8. and his recovery. 9–20. Song of thanksgiving to Hezekiah. 21–22. Conclusion in addition to the previous story. For an explanation, see the Explanatory Bible, vol. 2, pp. 548–552. Isaiah 38:9–20. In his song of thanks, Hezekiah first describes his difficult condition during his illness, and then indulges in reflection on the greatness of God’s miracle that happened to him and makes a promise to sing to the Lord all the days of his life. Isa.38:9. Prayer of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he was sick and recovered from his illness: “Prayer” - in Hebrew. michtab – actually: “writing written down.” Isa.38:10. “I said within myself: at the end of my days I must go to the gates of the underworld; I am deprived of the rest of my years. "At half-time". Illness befell Hezekiah in the 39th year of his life (cf. 2 Kings 18 and 2 Kings 20:1, 6). Others translate: “in the days of rest” or “in the afternoon of life.” "The Gates of the Underworld". Sheol or the underworld, the dwelling of the dead, is depicted here as a kind of castle with a solid gate. Isa.38:11. I said: I will not see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living; I will no longer see a person among those living in the world; “I will not see the Lord.” To see the Lord - in the Bible often means to experience the goodness of God, to enjoy the mercies of the Most High and to recognize His revelations, which were proclaimed by the high priest in the church of the Lord (cf. v. 22). “Among those who live in the world,” that is, I will no longer participate in universal human joys and sorrows. Isa.38:12. my dwelling is removed from its place and carried away from me, like a shepherd’s hut; I must cut off my life like a weaver; He will cut me off from the foundation; day and night I waited for You to send me death. “My dwelling”, i.e. body. "I have to cut it off." Perhaps it is more correct: “I wound my life into a ball, just like the weaver (who winds the remaining threads of the yarn into a ball), since He cut me off from the warp.” Hezekiah means that he considered his life to be over. Isa.38:13. I waited until the morning; like a lion, He crushed all my bones; day and night I waited for You to send me death. "I've been waiting". Perhaps more precisely: “he calmed himself until the morning,” that is, he hoped for relief from the illness by the morning, but, instead of relief, the illness crushed him like a lion. Isa.38:14. I made sounds like a crane, like a swallow, I yearned like a dove; My eyes sadly looked to the sky: Lord! I'm cramped; save me. “Like a crane, like a swallow.” The groans of the sick Hezekiah were like the mournful sounds emitted by a crane, or like the squeak of a swallow; sometimes he moaned dully like a dove. “They looked sadly” - perhaps more accurately: “and my eyes grew weary from constantly looking at heaven,” from where Hezekiah expected help. 45 "Save me"! - more precisely, “be my guarantee!” (cf. Job 17:3). Isa.38:15. What will I say? He told me, He did. I will spend all the years of my life quietly, remembering the sorrow of my soul. Isa.38:16. Lord! this is how they live, and in all this the life of my spirit; You will heal me, give me life. Isa.38:17. Behold, great sorrow was for my good, and You delivered my soul from the pit of destruction, Throwing all my sins behind Your back. Hezekiah, in gratitude to God for the healing he received, promises to spend the rest of his life quietly. “This is how they live,” that is, thanks to precisely these actions of the Almighty, people come to life, and Hezekiah will place all his hopes on this miraculous help of the Lord. "For good". The illness served to elevate Hezekiah's moral state. “And You delivered.” that is, in the fact that You delivered my soul from death, I see proof that You at the same time forgave me my sins. Premature death here is presented as a punishment for sins. “Beyond the ridge,” that is, so far away that they were no longer visible. Isa.38:18. For it is not the grave that glorifies Thee, nor death that praises Thee, nor those who go down to the grave who trust in Thy truth. Isa.38:19. The living one, only the living one, will glorify You, as I do now: the father will proclaim Your truth to the children. Isa.38:20. The Lord will save me; and all the days of our lives we will sing songs with the sound of my strings in the house of the Lord.” Here the general idea of ​​the Old Testament writers is conveyed that the state of the dead is a state of complete indifference to everything great and, in particular, to the works of God taking place on earth (cf. Ps. 6:6; Ps. 87: 11-13; Ps. 113: 25-26). On the contrary, a living person can always glorify God with his godly life and guide his children on the path of virtue. Hezekiah promises to praise God in songs in the church, which he did by arranging orchestras of Levites (cf. 2 Chronicles 29:30). Isa.38:21. And Isaiah said: Let them bring a layer of figs and cover the boil with them; and he will recover. Isa.38:22. And Hezekiah said, What is the sign that I should go into the house of the Lord? Verse 21 should be placed after the 8th verse and 22 after the 6th verse. Hezekiah's prayer is divided into stanzas as follows. 1st stanza – Art. 10–14 – (2, 2, 2, 2, 2) Stanza 2 – Art. 15–19 – (2, 2, 2, 2, 2) Stanza 3 – Art. 20 (conclusion). In the Slavic translation - “for my eyes have disappeared, to look up to the heights of heaven to the Lord.” Note ed. You might be interested in: