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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 38:1-5

We may hence observe, among others, these good lessons:?1. That neither men's greatness nor their goodness will exempt them from the arrests of sickness and death. Hezekiah, a mighty potentate on earth and a mighty favourite of Heaven, is struck with a disease, which, without a miracle, will certainly be mortal; and this in the midst of his days, his comforts, and usefulness. Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. It should seem, this sickness seized him when he was in the midst of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:1

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death ,.... This was about the time that Sennacherib invaded Judea, threatened Jerusalem with a siege, and his army was destroyed by an angel from heaven; but, whether it was before or after the destruction of his army, interpreters are not agreed. Some of the Jewish writers, as Jarchi upon the place, and others F1 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 23. p. 65. , say, it was three days before the ruin of Sennacherib's army; and that it was on the third day that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:2

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall ,.... Not figuratively to the wall of his heart, as Jerom; but literally, either to the wall of his bedchamber where he lay sick, that his tears might not be seen, and his prayers interrupted, and that he might deliver them with more privacy, freedom, and fervency; or else to the wall of the temple, as the Targum, towards which good men used to look when they prayed, 1 Kings 8:38 , which was a type of Christ, to whom we should have respect in all... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:3

And said, remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee ,.... He puts the Lord in mind of his good walk and works, which are never forgotten by him, though they may seem to be: and this he the rather did, because it might be thought that he had been guilty of some very enormous crime, which he was not conscious to himself he had; it being unusual to cut men off in the prime of their days, but in such a case: how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart ; or rather, "that I... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:4

Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah ,.... Before he had got out into the middle court, 2 Kings 20:4 , saying , as follows: read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:5

Go and say to Hezekiah ,.... Turn again, and tell him, 2 Kings 20:5 , thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father ; this is said, to show that he remembered the covenant he made with David his father, concerning the kingdom, and the succession of his children in it; and that he had a regard to him, as walking in his steps: I have heard thy prayer ; and therefore was not surely a foolish one, as Luther somewhere calls it, since it was heard and answered so quickly: I have... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 38:1

In those days - The reader is requested to consult the notes on 2 Kings 20 in reference to the principal parts of this chapter. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 38:2

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall - The furniture of an eastern divan or chamber, either for the reception of company or for private use, consists chiefly of carpets spread on the floor in the middle; and of sofas, or couches ranged on one or more sides of the room, on a part raised somewhat above the floor. On these they repose themselves in the day, and sleep at night. It is to be observed that the corner of the room is the place of honor. Dr. Pococke, when he was introduced to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:1

In those days . The illness of Hezekiah is fixed by Isaiah 38:5 (and 2 Kings 20:6 ) to the fourteenth year of his reign, or b.c. 714. The entire narrative of this chapter and the next is therefore thirteen or fourteen years earlier than that of Isaiah 36:1-22 ; Isaiah 37:1-38 ; which belongs to Hezekiah's closing years, b.c. 701-698 (see the comment on Isaiah 26:1 , Isaiah 26:2 ). Sick unto death ; i.e. attacked by a malady which, if it had run its natural course, would have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:1

The duty of men, in view of death, to set their house in order. Nothing is more manifest than the duty of all men, in view of that departure which they know to impend over them as an absolute certainty, only doubtful in respect of its date, to arrange their worldly affairs as prudence requires, and not leave them in confusion. In complicated societies, and in states where civilization is advanced, the duty presses more especially, since the greatest care constantly requires to be taken lest,... read more

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