Isaiah 38:18

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 King James Version (NKJV)For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

Context of Isaiah 38:18

16Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live! 17Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins. 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. 19Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next. 20Think of it—the Lord is ready to heal me! I will sing his praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the Lord.

Isaiah 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 the dead do not remember you. Who can praise you from the grave?
• Psalms 30:9“What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness?
• Psalms 88:11Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
• Psalms 115:17The dead cannot sing praises to the Lord, for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
• Numbers 16:33So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.
• Proverbs 14:32The wicked are crushed by disaster, but the godly have a refuge when they die.
• Matthew 8:12But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
• Matthew 25:46“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
• Luke 16:26And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

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

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Death
• Hezekiah
• Hope
• Immortality
• Life
• Murmuring
• Praise
• Psalms

In the dictionaries

• Celebrate
• Hezekiah
• Poetry
• Reckon
• Undertake
• Chronicles, Books of
• Death
• Decease, in the Old Testament and Apocyphra
• Hezekiah (2)
• Isaiah

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