Isaiah 38:18
16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
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.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
- KJV
- For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
- WEB
- For Sheol can’t praise you. Death can’t celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can’t hope for your truth.
- ASV
- For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
- DARBY
- For not Sheol shall praise thee, nor death celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit do not hope for thy truth.
- BLB
- For Sheol cannot thank You [nor] death praise You; those going down to the Pit cannot have hope for Your faithfulness.
- ÅB
- For ikke priser dødsriket deg, ikke lover døden deg; ikke venter de som farer ned i graven, på din trofasthet.
- OTB
- For de dødes rike kan ikke takke deg, heller ikke kan døden prise deg; de som stiger ned til graven kan ikke håpe på din trofasthet.
- B1930
- For ikke priser dødsriket dig, ikke lover døden dig; ikke venter de som farer ned i graven, på din trofasthet.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Read in contextPsalms 30:9
What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
Read in contextPsalms 6:5
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Read in contextPsalms 88:10–11
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Read in contextPsalms 115:17–18
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Read in contextNumbers 16:33
They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
Read in contextLuke 16:26–31
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Read in contextMatthew 25:46
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Read in context