Isaiah 38:18

Complete Jewish Bible

"Sh'ol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those descending to the pit cannot hope for your truth.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For Sheol cannot thank you;Death cannot praise you.Those who go down to the Pitcannot hope for your faithfulness.

Hebrew Names Version
For She'ol can't praise you, death can't celebrate you: Those who go down into the pit can't hope for your truth.

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

English Standard Version
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 American Standard Bible
"For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

New Century Version
People in the place of the dead cannot praise you; those who have died cannot sing praises to you; those who die don't trust you to help them.

Amplified Bible
"For Sheol cannot praise or thank You, Death cannot praise You and rejoice in You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

World English Bible
For Sheol can't praise you, death can't celebrate you: Those who go down into the pit can't hope for your truth.

Geneva Bible (1587)
For the graue cannot confesse thee: death cannot praise thee: they that goe downe into the pit, cannot hope for thy trueth.

Legacy Standard Bible
For Sheol cannot thank You;Death cannot praise You;Those who go down to the pit cannot keep watch for Your truth.

Berean Standard Bible
For Sheol cannot thank You; death cannot praise You. Those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

Contemporary English Version
No one in the world of the dead can thank you or praise you; none of those in the deep pit can hope for you to show them how faithful you are.

Darby Translation
For not Sheol shall praise thee, nor death celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit do not hope for thy truth.

Easy-to-Read Version
The dead cannot praise you. People in Sheol cannot sing praises to you. Those who have died and gone below are not trusting in your faithfulness.

George Lamsa Translation
But the living shall give thanks to thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Good News Translation
No one in the world of the dead can praise you; The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness.

Lexham English Bible
For Sheol cannot praise you; death cannot praise you. Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

Literal Translation
For Sheol cannot thank You; death cannot praise You; the ones going down to the Pit cannot hope for Your truth.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For hell prayseth not the, death doth not magnifie the. They that go downe into the graue, prayse not thy treuth:

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

Bible in Basic English
For the underworld is not able to give you praise, death gives you no honour: for those who go down into the underworld there is no hope in your mercy.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
For the nether-world cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth.

King James Version (1611)
For the graue cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that goe downe into the pit cannot hope for thy trueth.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For hell prayseth not thee, death doth not magnifie thee: they that go downe into the graue prayse not thy trueth:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For they that are in the grave shall not praise thee, neither shall the dead bless thee, neither shall they that are in Hades hope for thy mercy.

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

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For not helle schal knowleche to thee, nethir deth schal herie thee; thei that goon doun in to the lake, schulen not abide thi treuthe.

Update Bible Version
For Sheol can't praise you, death can't celebrate you: Those that go down into the pit can't hope for your truth.

Webster's Bible Translation
For the grave cannot praise thee, death can [not] celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

New English Translation
Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks; death does not praise you. Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

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

New Living Translation
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.

New Life Bible
The place of the dead cannot thank You. Death cannot praise You. Those who go down to the grave cannot hope that You will be faithful.

New Revised Standard
For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, hades, cannot praise thee Nor, death, celebrate thee, - They who go down to the pit cannot wait for thy faithfulness.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth.

Revised Standard Version
For Sheol cannot thank thee, death cannot praise thee; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for thy faithfulness.

Young's Literal Translation
For Sheol doth not confess Thee, Death doth not praise Thee, Those going down to the pit hope not for Thy truth.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

Contextual Overview

⁹ After Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah had been ill and had recovered, he wrote the following: ¹⁰ "I once said: ‘In the prime of life I am going off to the gates of Sh'ol. I am being deprived of living out the full span of my life.' ¹¹ "I said, ‘I will never again see Yah, Yah in the land of the living; I will look on human beings no more or be with those who live in this world. ¹² My home is uprooted and taken away from me like a shepherd's tent. Like a weaver, I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom. Between day and night you could finish me off. ¹³ I try to be strong like a lion till morning, but still my illness breaks all my bones — between day and night you could finish me off. ¹⁴ I make little chattering sounds like a swallow, I moan aloud like a dove, My eyes are weary with looking upward. Adonai, I am overwhelmed; guarantee my life!' ¹⁵ "What is there that I can say? He has spoken to me and acted! I will go humbly all my years, remembering how bitter I was. ¹⁶ Adonai, by these things people live; in all these is the life of my spirit. You're restoring my health and giving me life — ¹⁷ though instead of peace, I felt very bitter. You desired my life and preserved it from the nothingness pit; for you threw all my sins behind your back. ¹⁸ "Sh'ol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those descending to the pit cannot hope for your truth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the grave: Psalms 6:5, Psalms 30:9, Psalms 88:11, Psalms 115:17, Psalms 115:18, Ecclesiastes 9:10

they that: Numbers 16:33, Proverbs 14:32, Matthew 8:12, Matthew 25:46, Luke 16:26-31

Reciprocal: Job 17:16 - the bars of the pit Job 33:28 - will deliver Psalms 28:1 - I become Psalms 30:3 - brought Psalms 67:3 - General Psalms 88:4 - counted Psalms 88:10 - Wilt thou Psalms 143:7 - unto them Ecclesiastes 9:4 - General Zechariah 9:12 - even John 9:4 - while John 17:15 - take Philippians 1:22 - this

Cross-References

Genesis 38:25
When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Determine, I beg you, whose these are — the signet, the cords and the staff."

Genesis 38:26
Then Y'hudah acknowledged owning them. He said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't let her become the wife of my son Shelah." And he never slept with her again.

Jeremiah 22:24
"As I live," says Adonai , "even if Koniyahu the son of Y'hoyakim king of Y'hudah were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off

Hosea 4:11
Whoring and wine, both old and new, take away my people's wits.

Luke 15:22
but his father said to his slaves, ‘Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee,.... That is, they that are in the grave, and under the power of death, they cannot celebrate the praises of God with their bodily organs; their souls may praise him in heaven, but they in their bodies cannot till the resurrection morn, or as long as they are under the dominion of the grave; so the Targum,

"they that are in the grave cannot confess before thee, and the dead cannot praise thee;''

in like manner the Septuagint and Arabic versions: this shows the design of God in restoring him from his sickness, and the view he himself had in desiring life, which was to praise the Lord; and which end could not have been answered had he died, and been laid in the grave:

they that go down to the pit cannot hope for thy truth: for the performance of promises, in which the truth and faithfulness of God appear; or for the Messiah, the truth of all the types of the former dispensation; those that go down to the pit of the grave, or are carried and laid there, can have no exercise of faith and hope concerning these things.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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’ Isaiah 38:11 when he died. But he did not regard that state as one adapted to the celebration of the public praises of God. It was a land of darkness; an abode of silence and stillness; a place where there was no temple, and no public praise such as he had been accustomed to. A similar sentiment is expressed by David in Psalms 6:5 :

For in death there is no remembrance of thee;

In the grave who shall give thee thanks?

In regard to the Jewish conceptions of the state of the dead, see the notes at Isaiah 14:15, Isaiah 14:19.

(See the Supplementary note at Isaiah 14:9; also the Prefatory Remarks by the Editor on the Author’s exposition of Job. The ideas entertained by the Author on the state of knowledge among the ancient saints regarding a future world, cannot but be regarded as especially unfortunate. After the fashion of some German critics, the Old Testament worthies are reduced to the same level with the heroes of Homer and Virgil, as far as this matter is concerned at least.)

Cannot hope for thy truth - They are shut out from all the means by which thy truth is brought to the mind, and the offers of salvation are presented. Their probation is at an end; their privileges are closed; their destiny is sealed up. The idea is, it is a privilege to live, because this is a world where the offers of salvation are made, and where those who are conscious of guilt may hope in the mercy of God.