Isaiah 38:18

18 The underworld can't thank you, nor can death praise you; those who go down to the pit can't hope for your faithfulness.

Isaiah 38:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 38:18

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.

Isaiah 38:18 In-Context

16 The LORD Most High is the one who gives life to every heart, who gives life to the spirit!

17 Look, he indeed exchanged my bitterness for wholeness. You yourself have spared my whole being from the pit of destruction, because you have cast all my sins behind your back.

18 The underworld can't thank you, nor can death praise you; those who go down to the pit can't hope for your faithfulness.

19 The living, the living can thank you, as I do today. Parents will tell children about your faithfulness.

20 The LORD has truly saved me, and we will make music at the LORD's house all the days of our lives.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb Sheol
• [b]. Heb Maveth