Isaiah 38:10-20

English Standard Version

¹⁰ I said, ^(A)In the middle^[a] of my days
    I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
    for the rest of my years.
¹¹ I said, I shall not see the Lord,
    the Lord ^(B)in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
    among the inhabitants of the world.
¹² My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
    ^(C)like a shepherd's tent;
^(D)like a weaver ^(E)I have rolled up my life;
    ^(F)he cuts me off from the loom;
^(G)from day to night you bring me to an end;
^{13     (H)}I calmed myself^[b] until morning;
like a lion ^(I)he breaks all my bones;
    from day to night you bring me to an end.

¹⁴ Like ^(J)a swallow or a crane I chirp;
    ^(K)I moan like a dove.
^(L)My eyes are weary with looking upward.
    O Lord, I am oppressed; ^(M)be my pledge of safety!
¹⁵ What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
    and he himself has done it.
^(N)I walk slowly all my years
    because of the bitterness of my soul.

^16 (O)O Lord, by these things men live,
    and in all these is the life of my spirit.
    Oh restore me to health and make me live!
^17 (P)Behold, it was for my welfare
    that I had great bitterness;
^(Q)but in love you have delivered my life
    from the pit of destruction,
^(R)for you have cast all my sins
    behind your back.
^18 (S)For Sheol does not thank you;
    death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
    for your faithfulness.
¹⁹ The living, the living, he thanks you,
    as I do this day;
^(T)the father makes known to the children
    your faithfulness.

²⁰ The Lord will save me,
    and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
    ^(U)at the house of the Lord.