I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.
- KJV I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
- NKJV I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord.
- NASB I will not die, but live, And tell of the works of the Lord.
- NLT I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalmist declares he will not die but live to proclaim the Lord's works. It matters because God preserves his people for the purpose of witness and praise.
Overview
Spared from death, the worshiper vows to live and testify to what God has done. Deliverance is given so that God may be glorified through the rescued one's witness. This anticipates Christ, who lives after death to declare and accomplish the works of God, and grants his people resurrection life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 11:4When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
- Ps 71:17–18O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
- Isa 38:16–20O Lord, by such things men live, and in all of them my spirit finds life. You have restored me to health and have let me live.
- Ps 6:5For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Hab 1:12Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction.
- Ps 73:28But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.
- Rom 14:7–9For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
- Ps 145:4One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
- Ps 40:5Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.
- Ps 107:22Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.
- Ps 40:10I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation; I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness from the great assembly.
- Jer 51:10“The LORD has brought forth our vindication; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has accomplished.”
- Ps 119:13With my lips I proclaim all the judgments of Your mouth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 118:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.