Isaiah 38:3
in Isaiah 38saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and said, Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
KJV
And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
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This verse in Isaiah 38
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee - The object which Hezekiah desired was evidently that his life might be spared, and that he might not be suddenly cut off. He therefore makes mention of the former course of his life, not with ostentation, or as a ground of his acceptance or justification, but as a reason why his limb should not be cut off. He had not lived as many of the kings of Israel had done. He had not been a patron of idolatry. He had promoted an extensive and thorough reformation among the people.
This site's exposition
Put your house in order
on Isaiah 38:1-3
Isaiah brings a sentence with no condition attached: Put your house in order, for you are about to die. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed, pleading how I have walked before You faithfully. Hezekiah wept bitterly, and the text records his weeping without a word of rebuke.
This site's exposition
And Hezekiah wept bitterly
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown give the reason Hezekiah wept bitterly from Jewish history: the king was childless and would leave the throne without an heir. The promise of a son for David hung on this sick man. The LORD saw those tears.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 3) 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 Hezekiah wept with great weeping. And he said: I beseech you, Lord, remember, please, how I have walked before you in truth, and with a perfect heart, and that I have done what is good in your eyes. And knowing that he is about to die, he does not pray for a long life and many years, but instead asks what he should offer in God's judgement.
Do you want to know the power of repentance? Do you want to understand this strong weapon of salvation and the might of confession? By confession Hezekiah routed 185,000 of the enemy. That was important, but it was small compared with what else happened. The same king's repentance won the repeal the sentence God had passed on him. When he was sick, Isaiah had said, "Give direction for your household, for you will surely die, and not live." What expectation was left? What hope of recovery was there? The prophet had said, "You will surely die." But Hezekiah remembered what was written: "In the hour that you turn and lament, you will be saved." He turned his face to the wall, and from his bed of pain his mind soared up to heaven (for no wall is so thick as to stifle fervent prayer). He said, "Lord, remember me." … He whom the prophet's sentence had forbidden to hope was granted fifteen further years of life, the sun turning back its course as a witness.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he sets out the prayer itself: and prayed; remember, that you would grant me life for the good things I have done, for God is said to have forgotten when he does not give a reward; in truth, of worship of you, with a …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And said, remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee,....
The answer of peace which God gave to that prayer, assuring him that he should recover, that he should live fifteen years yet, that Jerusalem should be delivered from the king of Assyria, and that, for a sign to confirm his faith herein, the sun should go back ten degrees,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The letter of the Old Testament legal righteousness was, however, a standard very much below the spirit of the law as unfolded by Christ (Mt 5:20-48; 2Co 3:6, 14, 17). wept sore--JOSEPHUS says, the reason why he wept so sorely was that being childless, he was leaving the kingdom without a successor.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֗ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָנָּ֤ה | ʾanah | I beg you | H577 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| זְכָר־ | zekhor- | remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| נָ֞א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | this: | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּי | hithalakhti | I have walked about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְפָנֶ֗יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בֶּֽאֱמֶת֙ | beemet | in faithfulness | H571 → | 127 times |
| וּבְלֵ֣ב | uvelev | and with a heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| שָׁלֵ֔ם | shalem | complete | H8003 → | |
| וְהַטּ֥וֹב | vehatov | and the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| עָשִׂ֑יתִי | ʾasiti | I have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ | vaiyevek | and he wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| בְּכִ֥י | bekhi | weeping | H1065 → | 30 times |
| גָדֽוֹל׃ ס | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
וַיֹּאמַ֗רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
אָנָּ֤הI beg you
ʾanahH577 →
יְהוָה֙O Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
זְכָר־remember
zekhor-H2142 →230 times
נָ֞אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רthis:
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּיI have walked about
hithalakhtiH1980 →1546 times
לְפָנֶ֗יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
בֶּֽאֱמֶת֙in faithfulness
beemetH571 →127 times
וּבְלֵ֣בand with a heart
uvelevH3820 →595 times
שָׁלֵ֔םcomplete
shalemH8003 →
וְהַטּ֥וֹבand the good
vehatovH2896 →538 times
בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָin view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
עָשִׂ֑יתִיI have done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
וַיֵּ֥בְךְּand he wept
vaiyevekH1058 →114 times
חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
בְּכִ֥יweeping
bekhiH1065 →30 times
גָדֽוֹל׃ סgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Matthew 10:42
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3
and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Hebrews 13:16
Through
Hebrews 5:7During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His…
it leads to
- Luke 22:41–44
And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed,
- John 17:1
When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
- Mark 14:32–39
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
- Matthew 27:46
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- Luke 22:41–44
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2:15; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.