The Meaning of Isaiah 38:22 Explained

Isaiah 38:22

KJV: Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?

YLT: And Hezekiah saith, 'What is the sign that I go up to the house of Jehovah!'

Darby: And Hezekiah had said, What is the sign that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah?

ASV: Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hezekiah  also had said,  What [is] the sign  that I shall go up  to the house  of the LORD? 

What does Isaiah 38:22 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Hezekiah had requested the sign that God had sent ( Isaiah 38:7-8). He wanted assurance that he would recover so he could worship the Lord again in public. He did not just anticipate recovering, but he looked forward to worshipping after he recovered.
This chapter can stand alone in the text as a positive lesson on prayer, faith, and worship. But, as the next chapter reveals, chapter38 also records the Lord"s preparation of Hezekiah for another very significant incident in his life. Ahaz had refused to trust God and had refused to ask for a sign. Hezekiah trusted God but then failed to continue to trust Him in spite of a sign. Jerusalem, like Hezekiah, had received a reprieve from God, but it would only be a temporary one for the same reason.

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 38

1  Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened
8  The sun goes ten degrees backward, for a sign of that promise
9  His song of thanksgiving

What do the individual words in Isaiah 38:22 mean?

And had said Hezekiah what [is] the sign that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh -
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ מָ֣ה א֑וֹת כִּ֥י אֶעֱלֶ֖ה בֵּ֥ית ؟ יְהוָֽה ס

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר  And  had  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ  Hezekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חִזְקִיָּה 
Sense: 2th king of Judah, son of Ahaz and Abijah; a good king in that he served Jehovah and did away with idolatrous practices.
מָ֣ה  what  [is] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
א֑וֹת  the  sign 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֹות  
Sense: sign, signal.
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אֶעֱלֶ֖ה  I  shall  go  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
בֵּ֥ית  to  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
؟ יְהוָֽה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation