Isaiah 38:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I awaited the dawn, much like a lion; the lion signifies immense anguish. It shattered every bone within me; I languished day and night, yearning for You to bring my suffering to a close. In this way, he discloses the demise that loomed over him, as well as the unintended salvation bestowed by God. The absence of hope ultimately became his true hope.

To begin with, it is important to note the following. The Septuagint translates the phrase as in the height of my days, while other scholars interpret it as in the half of my days. I find the Septuagint's translation to be quite valid. The holy city was under siege when Rabshekah, along with a vast Assyrian army, surrounded it. However, God, speaking through Isaiah, promised to perform wondrous and unforeseen acts, to deliver those in peril, to remove the oppressor from Judah, and that he would die in turmoil from familial strife. When these prophecies came to pass at the time ordained by the Sovereign of all, the glory of Hezekiah's reign reached its apex.

In my despair, I declared that I would descend to the gates of the netherworld, whether by the natural order of existence or into those gates that the Psalmist rejoices in, singing, "Thou liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion" (Psalms 9:14-15). I believe these gates of hell are the very ones that Peter will not prevail against (Matthew 16), as he rests in the completion of his days. The righteous reach the culmination of their years, similar to Abraham, who departed this life in a ripe age, satisfied and full of life (Genesis 25:8). In contrast, the wicked and sinful face death even in their full measure of days.