In this verse Hezekiah continues to praise God for sparing his life.

Lo highlights the words that follow. New Revised Standard Version and New International Version say “Surely,” while New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Truly.”

It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness is literally “for peace bitterness to me bitterness.” The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) is better rendered welfare in this context. Hezekiah recognizes that his past suffering has been beneficial for him. Some commentators suggest removing the second occurrence of “bitterness.” However, it is repeated for emphasis, so translators should express this in some way. Revised Standard Version does it by saying great bitterness. For bitterness see verse 15. There is no verb in this clause in Hebrew. RSV/NRSV and New International Version supply “was,” and Revised English Bible inserts “had … been.” These translations correctly regard Hezekiah’s suffering as belonging to the past. Good News Translation uses future tense, but this does not fit the context.

But thou hast held back my life from the pit of destruction: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered but (also New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) may be left implied since the relationship between these two lines and the previous two is unclear. Revised Standard Version slightly emends the Hebrew text of Masoretic Text here. Instead of held back, Masoretic Text has a verb that means “to love” or “to be attached to.” Many translations follow the same reading as Revised Standard Version; for example, Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say “save[d],” while Revised English Bible and New American Bible use “preserved.” However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends that Masoretic Text be retained. New International Version does this by rendering these two lines as “In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction.” Revised English Bible is similar with “but your love saved me from….” Translators may follow Masoretic Text or the emended text here. The Hebrew word rendered pit occurs rarely and only in poetry (see Psa 103.4; Jonah 2.6). The pit of destruction (literally “the pit of wearing out”) may be rendered “the grave” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “death” (Bible en français courant). Good News Translation has “all danger,” but we do not recommend this.

For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back: The connector for introduces these two lines as the reason for God’s preservation of Hezekiah’s life. He did it because he forgave the king’s sins. Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back is a metaphor for forgiveness, as clarified in Good News Translation. We may also say “you have put my sins behind you,” or even “you have turned your back on my sins.” Bible en français courant has “you have thrown all my sins far behind you.”

We suggest the following translation examples for this verse:

• Truly, to endure great suffering was for my well-being.
You have preserved my life from death’s destruction,
because you have turned your back on all my sins.

• Truly, it was for my welfare that I underwent great anguish;
but your love has saved me from death’s pit of destruction,
because you have thrown away all my sins [or, guilt] far behind you.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .