Isaiah 38

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:7

And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord ,.... And which it seems Hezekiah asked, and it was put to him which he would choose, whether the shadow on the sundial should go forward or backward ten degrees, and he chose the latter, 2 Kings 20:8 , which was a token confirming and assuring that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken ; recover Hezekiah from his sickness, so that on the third day he should go up to the temple; have fifteen years added to his days; and the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:8

Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees ,.... Or lines made on a dial plate, to show the progress of the sun, and what time of day it was. Some think only the shadow was brought back by the power of God, the sun keeping its course as usual; but in the next clause the sun is expressly said to return ten degrees: besides, it is not easy to conceive how the shadow of the sun should go back, unless the sun itself did; if it had been only the shadow of it on Ahaz's dial, it would not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:9

The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah ,.... The Septuagint and Arabic versions call it a "prayer": but the Targum, much better, "a writing of confession;' in which the king owns his murmurings and complaints under his affliction, and acknowledges the goodness of God in delivering him out of it: this he put into writing, as a memorial of it, for his own benefit, and for the good of posterity; very probably he carried this with him to the temple, whither he went on the third day of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:10

I said, in the cutting off of my days ,.... When he was told that he should die, and he believed he should; this he calls a "cutting off" in allusion to the weaver's web, Isaiah 38:12 and a cutting off "his days", he being now in the prime of his age, about thirty nine or forty years of age, and not arrived to the common period of life, and to which, according to his constitution, and the course of nature, he might have attained. The Jews call such a death a cutting off, that is, by the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:11

I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living ,.... Not any more, in this world, though in the other, and that more clearly, even face to face: his meaning is, that he should no more see him in the glass of the word; no more praise him in his house; worship him in his temple; enjoy him in his ordinances; and see his beauty, power, and glory, in the sanctuary; and confess unto him, and praise his name F7 Ben Melech observes, that seeing or appearing before the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:12

Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent ,.... Or, my habitation F11 דורי "habitatio mea", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius. ; meaning the earthly house of his tabernacle, his body; this was just going, in his apprehension, to be unpinned, and removed like a shepherd's tent, that is easily taken down, and removed from place to place. Some understand it of the men of his age or generation; so the Targum, "from the children of my generation my days are taken... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:13

I reckoned till morning ,.... Or, "I set my time till the morning F13 שויתי עד בקר "statui, vel posui usque ad mane", Pagninus, Montanus; "constitui rursum terminum usque mane", Vatablus. "; he fixed and settled it in his mind that he could live no longer than to the morning, if he lived so long; he thought he should have died before the night came on, and, now it was come, the utmost he could propose to himself was to live till morning; that was the longest time he could... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:14

Like a crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter ,.... Rather, "like a crane and a swallow", like both; sometimes loud and clamorous, like a crane F15 So it is said in the Talmud, "Resh-Lakish cried like a crane", T. Bab. Kiddushin, col. 42. 1. , when the pain was very acute and grievous; and sometimes very low, through weakness of body, like the twittering of a swallow; or the moan he made under his affliction was like the mournful voices of these birds at certain times. Some think he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:15

What shall I say ?.... In a way of praise and thankfulness, for the mercies promised and received; I know not what to say; I want words to express the gratitude of my heart for the kindness bestowed. What shall I render to God for all his benefits? So the Targum, "what praise shall I utter, and I will say it before him?' for here begins the account of his recovery, and his thanksgiving for it: he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it ; the Lord had sent him a message by... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:16

O Lord, by these things men live ,.... Not by bread only, but by the word of God: by the promise of God, and by his power performing it; and by his favour and goodness continually bestowed; it is in him, and by his power and providence, that they live and move, and have their being, and the continuance of it; and it is his lovingkindness manifested to them that makes them live comfortably and go on cheerfully: and in all these things is the life of my spirit ; what kept his soul in life... read more

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