Bible/Isaiah/38

Isaiah 38:15

38:14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. undertake: or, ease me
What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

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What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.

What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

What shall I say? he has both spoken to me, and himself has done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

38:16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

What does Isaiah 38:15 mean?

Isaiah 38:15 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include דָבַר (dâbar), אָמַר (ʼâmar), עָשָׂה (ʻâsâh). It connects to 8 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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What
shall
I
say?דָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
he
hath
both
spokenאָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)
unto
me,
and
himself
hath
doneעָשָׂהʻâsâh/aw-saw'/H6213to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
it:
I
shall
go
softlyדָּדָהdâdâh/daw-daw'/H1718to walk gently
all
my
yearsשָׁנֶהshâneh/shaw-neh'/H8141a year (as a revolution of time)
in
the
bitternessמַרmar/mar/H4751bitter (literally or figuratively); also (as noun) bitterness, or (adverbially) bitterly
of
my
soul.נֶפֶשׁnephesh/neh'-fesh/H5315properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)

Commentary on Isaiah 38:15

HENRY_FULL · Isaiah 38:15
1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Solomon, as conservator of the public peace, here tells us, 1. How the peace may be kept, that we may know how in our places to keep it; it is by soft words. If wrath be risen like a threatening cloud, pregnant with storms and thunder, a soft answer will disperse it and turn it away. When men are provoked, speak gently to them, and give them good words, and they will be pacified, as the Ephraimites were by Gideon's mildness ( Judg. viii. 1-3 ); whereas, upon a like occasion, by Jephthah's roughness, they were exasperated, and the consequences were bad, Judg. xii. 1-3 . Reason will be better spoken, and a righteous cause better pleaded, with meekness then with passion; hard arguments do best with soft words. 2. How the peace will be broken, that we, for our parts, may do nothing towards the breaking of it. Nothing stirs up anger, and sows discord, like grievous words, calling foul names, as Raca, and Thou fool, upbraiding men with their infirmities and infelicities, their extraction or education, or any thing that lessens them and makes them mean; scornful spiteful reflections, by which men affect to show their wit and malice, stir up the anger of others, which does but increase and inflame their own anger. Rather than lose a jest some will lose a friend and make an enemy. 2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

2 Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. to shew: or, strongly to hold with them, etc

Job 34:21

For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

Job 34:22

There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

Isaiah 5:21

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! in their own sight: Heb. before their face

Jeremiah 16:17

For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

Jeremiah 23:24

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 32:19

Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: work: Heb. doing

Hebrews 4:13

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

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PsalmsSickness

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 38:15.

1 Kings 19:2

Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

1 Kings 20:22

And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

Job 3:20

Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 38:15 say?

Isaiah 38:15 (King James Version) reads: "What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul."

Is Isaiah 38:15 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 38:15 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

Reflect

As you read Isaiah 38:15, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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