Isaiah 38:10

“I thought, ¹  ‘In the middle of my life ²  I must walk through the gates of Sheol, I am deprived ³  of the rest of my years.’

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?"

I said, "In the middle of my life I am to enter the gates of Sheol; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years."

I said, "In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of my normal years?"

In the very prime of life I have to leave. Whatever time I have left is spent in death's waiting room.

I said, In the quiet of my days I am going down into the underworld: the rest of my years are being taken away from me.

I said: In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.

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."

“I thought, ¹  ‘In the middle of my life ²  I must walk through the gates of Sheol, I am deprived ³  of the rest of my years.’

¹ tn Or “I said” (KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

² tn The precise meaning of the phrase בִּדְמִי יָמַי (bidmi yamay, “in the [?] of my days”) is uncertain. According to HALOT 226 s.v. דְּמִי this word is a hapax legomenon meaning “half.” Others derive the form from דַּמִי (dami, “quiet, rest, peacefulness”).

³ tn The precise meaning of the verb is uncertain. The Pual of of פָּקַד (paqad) occurs only here and in Exod 38:21, where it appears to mean “passed in review” or “mustered.” Perhaps the idea is, “I have been called away for the remainder of my years.” To bring out the sense more clearly, one can translate, “I am deprived of the rest of my years.”