New King James Version
Isaiah 38:18
18For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
Isaiah 38:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
- New International Version (NIV)For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For Sheol does not thank you; death does not praise you; those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can no longer hope in your faithfulness.
Context of Isaiah 38:18
16O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live. 17Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. 19The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children. 20“The Lord was ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”
Read all of Isaiah 38Isaiah 38:18 word by word
כִּ֣י לֹ֥א שְׁא֛וֹל תּוֹדֶ֖ךָּ מָ֣וֶת יְהַלְלֶ֑ךָּ לֹֽא־יְשַׂבְּר֥וּ יֽוֹרְדֵי־ב֖וֹר אֶל־אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the graveשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585
- cannot praiseיָדָהyâdâh · to give thanksH3034
- thee, deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
- celebrateהָלַלhâlal · to boast: praiseH1984
- thee: they that go downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- into the pitבּוֹרbôr · pitH953
- cannot hopeשָׂבַרώâbar shâbar · to awaitH7663
- for thy truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: faithfulH571
Cross-references for Isaiah 38:18
- Psalms 6:5For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?
- Psalms 30:9“What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?
- Psalms 88:11Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
- Psalms 115:17The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
- Numbers 16:33So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
- Proverbs 14:32The wicked is banished in his wickedness, But the righteous has a refuge in his death.
- Matthew 8:12But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Matthew 25:46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Luke 16:26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Commentaries on Isaiah 38:18
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-22Verses 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 committed to our charge, as the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-20Hezekiah’s poem includes both lament (Isaiah 38:9–14) and praise (38:15–20). The praise remains restrained until the final verse.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-209-20. The prayer and thanksgiving song of Hezekiah is only given here, not in the parallel passages of Second Kings and Second Chronicles. Is 38:9 is the heading or inscription.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 38:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 38
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries