Bible Strands
Isaiah 38:9
This is a writing by Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Hezekiah king of Judah introduces a written record immediately following his recovery from a life-threatening illness. The text frames this document as a direct response to God’s reversal of the sun’s shadow on Ahaz’s stairway.
The words — The opening phrase uses מִכְתָּב (miktāḇ), meaning a writing or inscription, to designate the following poem as a formal record. It is explicitly attributed to Hezekiah, king of Judah, marking it as an official royal document.
The thread — This structural marker aligns with other post-deliverance compositions like Exodus 15:1 and Judges 5:1, where leaders formally record praise after divine intervention. The theme of God’s sovereign control over life and death also echoes Deuteronomy 32:39.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of a documented testimony rather than a spontaneous utterance. It requires the reader to treat the subsequent lament as an archived witness to survival and divine intervention.
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
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:
Cross-references
- Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- Judges 5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
- 1 Samuel 2:1 At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.
- 2 Chronicles 29:30 Then King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD in the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.
- Job 5:18 For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Psalms 18:1 For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
- Psalms 30:11 You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
- Psalms 116:1 I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy.
- Psalms 118:18 The LORD disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.