Isaiah 38:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd 's tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end;

NIV: Like a shepherd’s tent my house has been pulled down and taken from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom; day and night you made an end of me.

NASB: Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me.

CSB: My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; he cuts me off from the loom. By nightfall you make an end of me.

NLT: My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over.

KJV: Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

NKJV: My life span is gone, Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me.

Hezekiah reflects on life's fragility. This is part of a psalm he wrote to mark his fatal illness (Isaiah 38:1) and miraculous recovery (Isaiah 38:5). Knowing that he would die emphasized the value of his experiences. Especially important was Hezekiah's joy in worshipping the Lord along with other believers (Isaiah 38:11).

Here, the king points out the vulnerability of his physical body. In the ancient world, as in the modern day, tents came in varied shapes and sizes. Some, like the tabernacle (Exodus 26), were sturdy and took effort to disassemble. Others were simple canopies used by shepherds in the field. These were easily knocked down and moved. Life is much more like the second: fragile and subject to sudden loss.

Another analogy for life's fragility is a weaving connected to the loom. It takes effort and time for threads to interlock into their pattern. Eventually, the loom finds itself attached to a beautiful piece of cloth. Yet that cloth can be cut off and rolled up: separated from the loom in an instant. In the same way, earthly life grows and develops over time but can be severed in a fraction of a second. Only God, like a weaver finishing a planned pattern, controls life's beginning and end.

The last phrase of this verse is obscure. Translations use varied phrasing for this and the first words of the following verse (Isaiah 38:13).

Isaiah 38:9–20 is King Hezekiah's triumphant praise for God. The first half depicts Hezekiah's despair at facing a fatal disease. The second half is his joy at learning that his life would be spared. Though Isaiah arranges his book by theme, this healing and psalm appear to come before the Assyrian threat to Jerusalem recorded in the prior chapters.

Hezekiah becomes gravely ill. The only description given mentions a sort of "boil," so this may have been an aggressive tumor. Isaiah tells Hezekiah he will die, so the king prays and weeps. The Lord rewards Hezekiah's faithful dependence with a promise to add fifteen years to his life. God gives a miraculous sign by making the shadow on a staircase-like sundial move backward. After his recovery, Hezekiah writes a psalm describing his grief when he expected death and his joy after the Lord saved him. He commits to worshiping God in the temple for the rest of his life.

The events recorded here most likely happen before the Assyrian invasion described in the previous chapter. Isaiah is arranging his records to smoothly transition into later discussion of the Messiah. The Lord tells King Hezekiah to expect to die from an illness. When the king prays in grief, the Lord grants him fifteen more years and a miraculous sign. Hezekiah responds with a psalm describing both his despair and his renewed praise for the God who saves. Next, Isaiah records a visit from Babylonian messengers and God's prediction that peace will last until after Hezekiah has died.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).