Isaiah 38:19

19 "It is the 1living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A 2father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

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 "Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 "For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 "It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20 "The LORD will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of the LORD ."
21 Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover."

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 118:17; Psalms 119:175
  • 2. Deuteronomy 6:7; Deuteronomy 11:19; Psalms 78:5-7
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