Bible Strands
Psalms 118:17
I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A single voice within a communal thanksgiving, speaking directly to the LORD after surviving what came close to death (cf. v. 18, "He has not given me over to death").
The words — The construction לֹא…כִי (lo'…ki) is a Hebrew adversative, "not… but rather," so the verse pivots from death to life rather than merely denying death. The object of proclamation is מַעֲשֵׂי (ma'asei), "deeds" — concrete acts, not abstract attributes.
The thread — Isaiah 38:16 echoes the same deliverance-to-testimony arc in Hezekiah's recovery; Psalm 71:17 extends the proclamation across a lifetime; John 11:4 inverts the logic (death becomes the vehicle of glory) but shares the premise that the story is not over.
Why it lands — The verse converts survival into obligation: the one who lives is bound to speak. It asks the reader to treat their own continued life as testimony owed to God, not as a private fact.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
Cross-references
- John 11:4 When 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.”
- Psalms 71:17 O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
- Isaiah 38:16 O 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.
- Psalms 6:5 For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Psalms 73:28 But 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.
- Habakkuk 1:12 Are 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.
- Romans 14:7 For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
- Psalms 145:4 One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
- Psalms 40:5 Many, 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.
- Psalms 107:22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.