Isaiah 38:1-12

At that time Hezekiah became very sick; he was almost dead. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “This is what the LORD says: Make arrangements, because you are not going to live, but die.” Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the LORD, “LORD, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you and have done what you said was right.” Then Hezekiah cried loudly. Then the LORD spoke his word to Isaiah: “Go to Hezekiah and tell him: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. So I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria; I will defend this city. “ ‘The LORD will do what he says. This is the sign from the LORD to show you: The sun has made a shadow go down the stairway of Ahaz, but I will make it go back ten steps.’ ” So the shadow made by the sun went back up the ten steps it had gone down. After Hezekiah king of Judah got well, he wrote this song: I said, “I am in the middle of my life. Do I have to go through the gates of death? Will I have the rest of my life taken away from me?” I said, “I will not see the LORD in the land of the living again. I will not again see the people who live on the earth. Like a shepherd’s tent, my home has been pulled down and taken from me. I am finished like the cloth a weaver rolls up and cuts from the loom. In one day you brought me to this end.