Bible Strands
Isaiah 38:1
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah son of Amoz, acting as a messenger of the LORD, delivers a death pronouncement to King Hezekiah at the moment of his terminal illness.
The words — לָמוּת (lāmût, "to die") is a prepositional phrase attached to the verb "became sick" (חָלָה), converting a general illness into a specific death sentence; the Hebrew does not say "you are ill" but "you are ill to die."
The thread — The verse is parallel in 2 Kings 20:1 and 2 Chronicles 32:24, the latter adding that the LORD "spoke to him and gave him a sign."
Why it lands — It places a reader at the threshold of a divine pronouncement that the very next verse (Isaiah 38:2) will test, forcing the question of whether a word from the LORD is final or open to appeal.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. So he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign.
- Isaiah 38:1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
- 2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
- 2 Samuel 17:23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
- Jonah 3:10 When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
- Acts 9:37 At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room.
- Isaiah 37:21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,
- Philippians 2:27 He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
- Isaiah 1:1 This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.