Isaiah 38:18 BSB — MannaFest

Isaiah 38:18

For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

KJV

For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

For the grave cannot praise thee - The Hebrew word here is sheol. It is put by metonymy here for those who are in the grave, that is, for the dead. The word ‘praise’ here refers evidently to the public and solemn celebration of the goodness of God. It is clear, I think, that Hezekiah had a belief in a future state, or that he expected to dwell with ‘the inhabitants of the land of silence’ Isa 38:11 when he died. But he did not regard that state as one adapted to the celebration of the public praises of God.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Their probation is at an end. They can no longer exercise faith and hope in regard to Thy faithfulness to Thy promises, which are limited to the present state. For "hope" ceases (even in the case of the godly) when sight begins (Ro 8:24, 25); the ungodly have "no hope" (1Th 4:13).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּ֣י	ki	for	H3588 →
לֹ֥א	lo'	not	H3808 →
שְׁא֛וֹל	she.'ol	Sheol	H7585 →
תּוֹדֶ֖ךָּ	to.De.ka	it gives thanks to you	H3034 →
מָ֣וֶת	Ma.vet	death	H4194 →
יְהַלְלֶ֑ךָּ	ye.ha.Le.ka	it praises you	H1984 →
לֹֽא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
יְשַׂבְּר֥וּ	ye.sa.be.Ru	they hope	H7663 →
יֽוֹרְדֵי־	yor.dei-	[those who] go down of	H3381 →
ב֖וֹר	Vor	[the] pit	H953 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃	'a.mi.Te.kha	faithfulness your	H571 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
leads to
- Colossians 3:23
  Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,
- Psalms 6:5
  For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Ephesians 5:16
  redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
- Romans 12:11
  Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6
  Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
Through
Psalms 6:5
For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
leads to
- Psalms 88:10–12
  Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10
  Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Psalms 115:17
  It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Isaiah 38

Hezekiah's Sundial, 2 Kings 20 & Isaiah 38, MannaFest

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About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Isaiah: the study guide →Read chapter 38 →The featured study →

Continue: Isaiah 38 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Isaiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Isaiah