Isaiah 38:19

19 It's the living - live men, live women - who thank you, just as I'm doing right now. Parents give their children full reports on your faithful ways.

Isaiah 38:19 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 38:19

The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this
day
Every one of the living, or such who are both corporeally and spiritually alive; and therefore the word is repeated; none but such who are alive in a corporeal sense can praise the Lord in this world; and none but such who are spiritually alive can praise him aright, and such do under a true sense of the greatness of his mercies, and of their own unworthiness; and such a one was Hezekiah; for the words may be rendered, "as I am this day F24"; that is, alive in both the above senses; and so did he praise God, in such a spiritual manner, even on the day he committed this to writing, and was now in the temple offering up this thanksgiving: the father to the children shall make known thy truth:
not meaning himself, for at this time he had no children; though, no doubt, when he had any, as he afterwards had, particularly Manasseh, he took care to acquaint him with the truth and faithfulness of God in the fulfilling of his promises to him; and which every religious parent would do, and so transmit the memory thereof to future ages.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 (Mwyh ynmk) "quails ego sum hodie", Syr.

Isaiah 38:19 In-Context

17 It seems it was good for me to go through all those troubles. Throughout them all you held tight to my lifeline. You never let me tumble over the edge into nothing. But my sins you let go of, threw them over your shoulder - good riddance!
18 The dead don't thank you, and choirs don't sing praises from the morgue. Those buried six feet under don't witness to your faithful ways.
19 It's the living - live men, live women - who thank you, just as I'm doing right now. Parents give their children full reports on your faithful ways.
20 God saves and will save me. As fiddles and mandolins strike up the tunes, We'll sing, oh we'll sing, sing, for the rest of our lives in the Sanctuary of God.
21 Isaiah had said, "Prepare a poultice of figs and put it on the boil so he may recover."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.