38:1 In diebus illis aegrotavit Ezechias usque ad mortem ; et introivit ad eum Isaias, filius Amos, propheta, et dixit ei : Haec dicit Dominus : Dispone domui tuae, quia morieris tu, et non vives.
In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and Isaias the son of Amos the prophet cane unto him, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live.
A.M. 3291, A.C. 713.
* Footnote * 4_Kings 20 : 1
In those days Ezechias was sick unto death: and Isaias, the son of Amos, the prophet, came and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God: Give charge concerning thy house, for thou shalt die, and not llve.* Footnote * 2_Paralipomenon 32 : 24
In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and he prayed to the Lord: and he heard him, and gave him a sign.
38:2 Et convertit Ezechias faciem suam ad parietem, et oravit ad Dominum,
And Ezechias turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord,
38:3 et dixit : Obsecro, Domine, memento, quaeso, quomodo ambulaverim coram te in veritate et in corde perfecto, et quod bonum est in oculis tuis fecerim. Et flevit Ezechias fletu magno.
And said: I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Ezechias wept with great weeping.
38:4 Et factum est verbum Domini ad Isaiam, dicens :
And the word of the Lord came to Isaias, saying:
38:5 Vade, et dic Ezechiae : Haec dicit Dominus Deus David patris tui : Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrimas tuas ; ecce ego adjiciam super dies tuos quindecim annos,
Go and say to Ezechias: Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: behold I will add to thy days fifteen years:
38:6 et de manu regis Assyriorum eruam te, et civitatem istam, et protegam eam.
And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect it.
38:7 Hoc autem tibi erit signum a Domino, quia faciet Dominus verbum hoc quod locutus est :
And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this word which he hath spoken:
38:8 ecce ego reverti faciam umbram linearum per quas descenderat in horologio Achaz in sole, retrorsum decem lineis. Et reversus est sol decem lineis per gradus quos descenderat.
Behold I will bring again the shadow of the lines, by which it is now gone down in the sun dial of Achaz with the sun, ten lines backward. And the sun returned ten lines by the degrees by which it was gone down.
38:9 Scriptura Ezechiae, regis Juda, cum aegrotasset et convaluisset de infirmitate sua.
*H The writing of Ezechias king of Juda, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.
Ver. 9. Ezechias. Sanchez groundlessly thinks it was composed by Isaias. C. — Ezechias was afflicted lest he should give way to dangerous joy. W.
38:10 [Ego dixi in dimidio dierum meorum : Vadam ad portas inferi ; quaesivi residuum annorum meorum.
*H I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell: I sought for the residue of my years.
Ver. 10. Hell. Sheol, or Hades, the region of the dead. Ch. — He was afraid to die without issue. S. Jer. v. 12. — Manasses was born three years later. C. — The king would naturally have died. S. Aug. de Gen. ad lit. vi. 17. W.
38:11 Dixi : Non videbo Dominum Deum in terra viventium ; non aspiciam hominem ultra, et habitatorem quietis.
*H I said: I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest.
Ver. 11. Living. I shall not assist at the festivals of the Lord in the temple.
38:12 Generatio mea ablata est, et convoluta est a me, quasi tabernaculum pastorum. Praecisa est velut a texente vita mea ; dum adhuc ordirer, succidit me : de mane usque ad vesperam finies me.
My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd's tent. My life is cut off, as by a weaver: whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.
38:13 Sperabam usque ad mane ; quasi leo, sic contrivit omnia ossa mea : de mane usque ad vesperam finies me.
I hoped till morning, as a lion so hath he broken all my bones: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.
38:14 Sicut pullus hirundinis, sic clamabo ; meditabor ut columba. Attenuati sunt oculi mei, suspicientes in excelsum. Domine, vim patior : responde pro me.
*H I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove: my eyes are weakened looking upward: Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for me.
Ver. 14. For me. He represents his disease, as an inexorable creditor.
38:15 Quid dicam, aut quid respondebit mihi, cum ipse fecerit ? Recogitabo tibi omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae.
What shall I say, or what shall he answer for me, whereas he himself hath done it? I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
38:16 Domine, si sic vivitur, et in talibus vita spiritus mei, corripies me, et vivificabis me.
O Lord, if man's life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such things as these, thou shalt correct me, and make me to live.
38:17 Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima. Tu autem eruisti animam meam ut non periret ; projecisti post tergum tuum omnia peccata mea.
Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter: but thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish, thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
38:18 Quia non infernus confitebitur tibi, neque mors laudabit te : non exspectabunt qui descendunt in lacum veritatem tuam.
*H For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth.
Ver. 18. Truth. He speaks only of the body.
38:19 Vivens, vivens ipse confitebitur tibi, sicut et ego hodie ; pater filiis notam faciet veritatem tuam.
The living, the living, he shall give praise to thee, as I do this day: the father shall make the truth known to the children.
38:20 Domine, salvum me fac ! et psalmos nostros cantabimus cunctis diebus vitae nostrae in domo Domini.]
O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.
38:21 Et jussit Isaias ut tollerent massam de ficis, et cataplasmarent super vulnus, et sanaretur.
Now Isaias had ordered that they should take a lump of figs, and lay it as a plaster upon the wound, and that he should be healed.
38:22 Et dixit Ezechias : Quod erit signum quia ascendam in domum Domini ?
*H And Ezechias had said: What shall be the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
Ver. 22. Lord. The answer is given, (4 K. xx. 9.) which seems to evince that this is only an extract. C. — The prophet prescribed the medicine, and the king asked for a sign before he sung the canticle. W.