Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Isaiah 38:22 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 22. 22Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prayer or lamenting voice presses the question “Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the…” at Isaiah 38:22 within “Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to Praise.”
Read It With
- Isaiah 38:9–22
Read Isaiah 38:22 with 38:9–22. By itself, “Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, historical horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: The king laments a life cut short, bodily wasting, unanswered speech, and bitterness before confessing restored well-being, forgiveness, living praise, and communal instruction.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “Hezekiah's Illness Receives a Reversed Sign” into “Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to Praise.” Its non-interchangeable movement is: The king laments a life cut short, bodily wasting, unanswered speech, and bitterness before confessing restored well-being, forgiveness, living praise, and communal instruction. This verse's placement is specific: The prayer or lamenting voice presses the question “Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the…” at Isaiah 38:22 within “Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to Praise.”
What Remains True
Faithful speech may grieve, confess, protest, remember, and ask hard questions without shaming sufferers. In Isaiah 38:22, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prayer or lamenting voice presses the question “Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the…” at Isaiah 38:22 within “Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to Praise.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Make room for honest lament, protect those affected, pursue repair, and avoid premature explanation or forced optimism. This response follows Isaiah 38:9–22's specific concern, “Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to Praise.” This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prayer or lamenting voice presses the question “Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the…” at Isaiah 38:22 within “Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to Praise.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Isaiah 38:9–22 — Hezekiah's Writing Moves from Bitter Mortality to PraiseSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 38:9–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 38:9–22 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 38:9–22 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗