Isaiah 38:5
in Isaiah 38“Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
KJV
Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
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This verse in Isaiah 38
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWhen Hezekiah, king of Judah, was still sick and weeping, there came an angel, and said to him: "I have seen thy tears, and I have heard thy voice. Behold, I add unto thy time fifteen years. And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord: Behold, I turn back the shadow of the degrees of the house of thy father, by which the sun has gone down, the ten degrees by which the shadow has gone down," so that day be a day of thirty-two hours.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to Isaiah
on Isaiah 38:4-6
The sentence is reversed before Isaiah has left the palace, and the answer comes from the LORD, the God of your father David. The years are counted, I will add fifteen years. The same word joins the king's life to the city's safety, I will deliver you and this city.
This site's exposition
I have seen your tears
I have seen your tears answers verse 3, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set it beside Psalm 56:8, where God keeps tears in his bottle. They set the fifteen years beside Genesis 5:27, where even the longest life is counted in days. The LORD numbers both.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verses 4-6) And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying: Go and tell Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord God of David, your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your days, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will protect it. The history, which is read consecutively in the volume of Kings, is referred to in a seemingly backwards order, as if it were a prophetic account.
The number seven, as has often been said, denotes the week occasioned by the sabbath of the Old Testament. The number eight signifies the Lord's day, on which he clearly rose again, and this is relevant to the New [Testament]. When joined together, they are …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Prayer sometimes brings the dead back to life, but sometimes it may slay the living, as happened with the godly Peter. He brought Tabitha back to life by prayer, but he effected the death of Ananias and Sapphira. … The case of Hezekiah was also …
I have heard your prayer, above: at the voice of your cry (Isa 30:19). Second, he sets out the promise: behold I will add: you will add days to the days of the king (Ps 61:6). …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Go and say to Hezekiah,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The God of David thy father - David is mentioned here, probably, because Hezekiah had a strong resemblance to him 2Ki 18:3, and because a long and happy reign had been granted to David; and also because the promise had been made to David that there should not fail a man to sit on his throne (see the note at Isa 37:35).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God of David thy father--God remembers the covenant with the father to the children (Ex 20:5; Ps 89:28, 29). tears-- (Ps 56:8). days . . . years--Man's years, however many, are but as so many days (Ge 5:27).
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָל֞וֹךְ | halokh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֗הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֤ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵי֙ | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| דָּוִ֣ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אָבִ֔יךָ | ʾavikha | ancestor your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ | shama'ti | I have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תְּפִלָּתֶ֔ךָ | tefilatekha | prayer your | H8605 → | 72 times |
| רָאִ֖יתִי | raiti | I have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּמְעָתֶ֑ךָ | dimatekha | tear[s] your | H1832 → | 23 times |
| הִנְנִי֙ | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| יוֹסִ֣ף | yosif | he will add | H3254 → | 212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָמֶ֔יךָ | yameikha | days your | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| חֲמֵ֥שׁ | chamesh | fif- | H2568 → | 343 times |
| עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה | ʾesreh | teen | H6240 → | |
| שָׁנָֽה׃ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
הָל֞וֹךְgo
halokhH1980 →1546 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חִזְקִיָּ֗הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֤רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵי֙[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
דָּוִ֣דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אָבִ֔יךָancestor your
ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times
שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙I have heard
shama'tiH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תְּפִלָּתֶ֔ךָprayer your
tefilatekhaH8605 →72 times
רָאִ֖יתִיI have seen
raitiH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דִּמְעָתֶ֑ךָtear[s] your
dimatekhaH1832 →23 times
הִנְנִי֙here I
hiniH2005 →316 times
יוֹסִ֣ףhe will add
yosifH3254 →212 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יָמֶ֔יךָdays your
yameikhaH3117 →2304 times
חֲמֵ֥שׁfif-
chameshH2568 →343 times
עֶשְׂרֵ֖הteen
ʾesrehH6240 →
שָׁנָֽה׃year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 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
Psalms 147:3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
- Job 5:18
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Jeremiah 33:6
Nevertheless, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal its people and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
- Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight…
- Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
- Psalms 34:18
Through
Revelation 7:17For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
it leads to
- John 7:37–38
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Psalms 36:8–9
They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 7:37–38
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonDivided kingdomHezekiahThe reforming king of Judah who trusted Jehovah against Sennacherib, spread the Assyrian letter before the LORD, was granted fifte…
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 119; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments; 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; Sahdona the Syrian, BOOK OF PERFECTION 41 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.