Isaiah 38:10
ESV
I said, In the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.
NIV
I said, "In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years?"
NASB
I said, 'In the middle of my life I am to enter the gates of Sheol; I have been deprived of the rest of my years.'
CSB
I said: In the prime of my life I must go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the rest of my years.
NLT
I said, 'In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?'
KJV
I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
NKJV
I said, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”
What does Isaiah 38:10 mean?
According to Scripture, King Hezekiah would have been thirty-nine years old when he wrote these words (2 Kings 18:2; Isaiah 38:5). This is often thought of as the prime of life; here, Hezekiah refers to it as the "middle" of his time. The king had recently suffered from a severe illness. God sent a message letting him know that the disease was fatal (Isaiah 38:1). Hezekiah prayed in humility, and the Lord responded by granting him another fifteen years of life (Isaiah 38:2–5).The first half of this psalm (Isaiah 38:10–15) expresses Hezekiah's misery at the idea of dying young. He dreads the idea of being in sheol: the vague ancient Hebrew concept of the afterlife. Prior to Christ's resurrection, God gave his people a limited understanding of exactly what happened after death. Clarity and assurance came later through the earthly ministry of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15).
