Isaiah 38:11
in Isaiah 38I said, “I will never again see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living; I will no longer look on mankind with those who dwell in this world.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I said, I shall not see Jehovah, even Jehovah in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
KJV
I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
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This verse in Isaiah 38
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I shall not see the Lord - In the original, the Hebrew which is rendered ‘Lord,’ is not Yahweh, but יה יה yâhh yâhh. On the meaning of it, see the note at Isa 12:2 (compare the note at Isa 7:14). The repetition of the name here denotes emphasis or intensity of feeling - the deep desire which he had to see Yahweh in the land of the living, and the intense sorrow of his heart at the idea of being cut off from that privilege.
This site's exposition
the land of the living
on Isaiah 38:11-12
The despair widens to the loss of worship: I will never again see the LORD. The images that follow come from ordinary trades, a life rolled up like a weaver. Barnes notes that cloth cut from the loom was the ancient figure for a life ended before its natural close.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verses 11-12) I said, I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest. My generation has ceased: it has been taken away and rolled up from me like a shepherd's tent. My life has been cut off as by a weaver: while I was still beginning, it cut me off. I said, I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living.
I shall no longer behold the salvation of God upon the earth. The salvation of God here signifies Christ; for thus also Symeon, when he took up Christ in his arms, prayed God to be allowed to depart from this life, since his eyes had …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he laments the loss of good things, as to the vision of God: I sought, from the Lord, that he might supply, the residue, taken away from me, or I sought in myself how much life remained for me. I said, to myself: I …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He shall no more see (that is, serve) the Lord in the land of the living, the land of conflict between his kingdom and the kingdom of Satan, this seat of war.
I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living,.... Not any more, in this world, though in the other, and that more clearly, even face to face: his meaning is, that he should no more see him in the glass of the word; no more praise him in his house; worship him in his temple; enjoy him in his ordinances; and see his beauty, power, and glory, in the sanctuary; and confess unto him, and praise his name (g).
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He tells us what his thoughts were of himself when he was at the worst; and these he keeps in remembrance, (1.) As blaming himself for his despondency, and that he gave up himself for gone; whereas while there is life there is hope, and room for our prayer and God's mercy.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The prayer and thanksgiving song of Hezekiah is only given here, not in the parallel passages of Second Kings and Second Chronicles. Isa 38:9 is the heading or inscription.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
(Ps 34:12), "What man is he that desireth life that he may see good?" world--rather, translate: "among the inhabitants of the land of stillness," that is, Hades [MAURER], in parallel antithesis to "the land of the living" in the first clause. The Hebrew comes from a root, to "rest" or "cease" (Job 14:6).
The Lord “Jehovah” - יה Yah, יה Yah, seems to be יהוה Yehovah, in MS. Bodl., and it was so at first written in another. So the Syriac. See Houbigant. I believe יהוה Yehovah was the original reading. See the note on Isa 12:2 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[ Addendum: I will not see the Eternal (יָהּ) I will no longer use the name יָהּ.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I said in the sorrow of my days, I shall go into the gates of the grave; but because He remembered me for good, an addition hath been made to my years.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ | ʾamarti | I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶרְאֶ֣ה | ʾereh | I will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יָ֔הּ | yah | Yahweh | H3050 → | 50 times |
| יָ֖הּ | yah | Yahweh | H3050 → | 50 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַחַיִּ֑ים | hachaiyim | the living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַבִּ֥יט | ʾabit | I will look at | H5027 → | 69 times |
| אָדָ֛ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| י֥וֹשְׁבֵי | yooshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| חָֽדֶל׃ | chadel | cessation | H2309 → |
אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙I said
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֶרְאֶ֣הI will see
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
יָ֔הּYahweh
yahH3050 →50 times
יָ֖הּYahweh
yahH3050 →50 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
הַחַיִּ֑יםthe living
hachaiyimH2416 →498 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אַבִּ֥יטI will look at
ʾabitH5027 →69 times
אָדָ֛םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
י֥וֹשְׁבֵי[the] inhabitants of
yoosheveiH3427 →1079 times
חָֽדֶל׃cessation
chadelH2309 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 27:13Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
- Psalms 142:5
I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Psalms 56:3
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8–14
We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
- Psalms 31:19
How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
- 2 Corinthians 4:16
Through
Psalms 31:22In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.
it leads to
- Psalms 116:11
In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”
- Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His…
- Psalms 88:16
Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.
- Psalms 116:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 8; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.