Isaiah 38 · Verse 21

Isaiah 38:21

For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
Isaiah 38:21, King James Version

Isaiah 38:21 in other translations

BSBNow Isaiah had said, “Prepare a lump of pressed figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
WEBNow Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
ASVNow Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.
YLTAnd Isaiah saith, ‘Let them take a bunch of figs, and plaster over the ulcer, and he liveth.'
DARBYNow Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.
BBEAnd Isaiah said, Let them take a cake of figs, and put it on the diseased place, and he will get well.
WebsterFor Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he will recover.

What does Isaiah 38:21 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 Let them take a lump of figs, etc. - God, in effecting this miraculous cure, was pleased to order the use of means not improper for that end. "Folia, et, quae non maturuere, fici, strumis illinuntur omnibusque quae emollienda sunt discutiendave." - Plin. Nat. Hist. 23:7. "Ad discutienda ea, quae in corporis parte aliqua coierunt, maxime possunt-ficus arida," etc. - Celsus, 5:11. See the note on 2Kgs 20:7 (note). Philemon Holland translates the passage as a medical man: "The milke or white juice that the figge tree yieldeth is of the same nature that vinegre: and therefore it will cruddle milke as well as rennet, or rendles. The right season of gathering this milkie substance is before that the figs be ripe upon the tree; and then it must be dried in the shadow: thus prepared, it is good to break impostumes, and keepe ulcer open."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 38:9-22

We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving. It is well for us to remember the mercies we receive in sickness. Hezekiah records the condition he was in. He dwells upon this; I shall no more see the Lord. A good man wishes not to live for any other end than that he may serve God, and have communion with him. Our present residence is like that of a shepherd in his hut, a poor, mean, and cold lodging, and with a trust…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 38:9-22 →

Isaiah 38:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּye.sha'.Ya.huIsaiahH3470
יִשְׂא֖וּyis.'Ulet them takeH5375
דְּבֶ֣לֶתde.Ve.leta cake ofH1690
תְּאֵנִ֑יםte.'e.NimfigsH8384
וְיִמְרְח֥וּve.yim.re.Chuand let them rub [it]H4799
עַֽל\־'al-onH5921
הַשְּׁחִ֖יןha.she.Chinthe boilH7822
וְיֶֽחִי\׃ve.Ye.chiso he may liveH2421

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 38:21

  • 2 Kings 20:7-8

    And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?

  • John 9:6

    When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

  • Mark 7:33

    And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
For Isaiah.
2Ki 20:7; Mr 7:33; Joh 9:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 38:20

    The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

  • Isaiah 38:21

    For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.

  • Isaiah 38:22

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

Read all of Isaiah 38

Isaiah 38:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y había dicho Isaías: Tomen masa de higos, y pónganla en la llaga, y sanará.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Ésaïe avait dit: Qu’on prenne une masse de figues, et qu’on la mette comme emplâtre sur l’ulcère; et il se rétablira.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jesaja sagte, daß man einen Feigenkuchen als Pflaster nehmen und ihn auf das Geschwür legen solle, damit er genese.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et jussit Isaias ut tollerent massam de ficis, et cataplasmarent super vulnus, et sanaretur.