Isa 38:17-18 | NETfull | STEP | “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. You delivered me from the pit of oblivion. For you removed all my sins from your sight.

Isaiah 38:17-18

17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. ^{▼▼ Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”}
You delivered me ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).} from the pit of oblivion. ^{▼▼ בְּלִי (b^eli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”}
For you removed all my sins from your sight. ^{▼▼ Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”}
18 Indeed ^{▼▼ Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).} Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not ^{▼▼ The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 #152.z.} praise you.
Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.