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17 Yes, it was for my own good
    that I suffered extreme anguish.[a]
But in love you have held back[b] my life
    from the Pit[c] in which it has been confined;[d]
you have tossed all my sins
    behind your back.
18 For Sheol[e] cannot thank you,
    death cannot[f] sing your praise;
and[g] those who go down to the Pit[h] cannot hope
    for your faithfulness.
19 The living—yes the living—they thank you,
    just as I am doing today;
fathers will tell their children
    about your faithfulness.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 38:17 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read bitter, bitter
  2. Isaiah 38:17 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; MT reads you have loved
  3. Isaiah 38:17 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  4. Isaiah 38:17 So 1QIsaa; MT reads pit of destruction
  5. Isaiah 38:18 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
  6. Isaiah 38:18 So 1QIsaa LXX; implied in 1QIsab MT
  7. Isaiah 38:18 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  8. Isaiah 38:18 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife

17 Surely it was for my benefit(A)
    that I suffered such anguish.(B)
In your love you kept me
    from the pit(C) of destruction;
you have put all my sins(D)
    behind your back.(E)
18 For the grave(F) cannot praise you,
    death cannot sing your praise;(G)
those who go down to the pit(H)
    cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise(I) you,
    as I am doing today;
parents tell their children(J)
    about your faithfulness.

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