I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell: I sought for the residue of my years.
אֲנִ֣י אָמַ֗רְתִּי בִּדְמִ֥י יָמַ֛י אֵלֵ֖כָה בְּשַׁעֲרֵ֣י שְׁא֑וֹל פֻּקַּ֖דְתִּי יֶ֥תֶר שְׁנוֹתָֽי׃
4 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The culmination of time is referred to as the days of youthful vigor, or as others interpret, during my peaceful moments, signifying a period of stillness or respite. I am destined to descend to the depths of the grave; I am stripped of the remainder of my days, indicating an early demise. Life spans are a gauge of affliction; we are called to endure.
It is important to express the following thoughts. The Greek version translates as "in the height of my days," while others interpret it as "in the half of my days." I believe the rendering of the Greek interpreters is quite valid. The holy city faced siege when Rapsacus, along with a multitude from Assyria, encircled it. Yet God, through the prophet Isaiah, assured that He would perform wondrous and unforeseen acts, deliver those in peril, remove the oppressor from Judah, and that he would succumb to turmoil within his own household. When the appointed time, set by the Sovereign of all, arrived, the splendor of Hezekiah's reign was at its zenith.
Thus he reflects, stating that in this peak of glory, at the very moment his days were at their apex, he found himself at the gates of death, resigning to his final years. He then voices words that echo the profound fear felt by those confronted with illness and the looming shadow of death. He expresses, "To this I will not see the salvation of God, to this I will not see a man of my kindred; I have forsaken the rest of my life, depart from me," comparing himself to a collapsing tent and to the camp of a laboring woman, who is engaged in the final act of weaving and preparing to cut the fabric. He describes being, for the entirety of night and day, as though delivered to a lion that crushes his bones. Who is this lion? It could be a debilitating illness, or death that opens its jaws like a beast, ready to strike, or the dread that arises in the heart at the thought of dying. For it is fear and despair that ravage the spirit, sapping all its strength.
I will depart, signifying my death; my final moments are upon me. At the entrance of the abyss, I will surrender the remainder of my days. I will consign my remaining years to the gates of hell; in the vigor of my life, I will descend to the tomb, and truly, I find myself already lowered to the grave.
In my anguish, I declared that I would descend to the gates of the realm of the dead, whether due to the natural order or to the gates of which the Psalmist exclaims, "Thou liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion" (Psalm 9:14-15). I believe these are the gates of hell that cannot be prevailed against, as Peter affirmed (Matthew 16), since he experienced the fullness of his days. The righteous attain the fullness of their days, as Abraham did; he passed away in a good old age, rich in years (Genesis 25:8). Conversely, the wicked meet their end fully within days. The Psalmist remarks, "The bloodthirsty and deceitful shall not live out half their days" (Psalm 54:24). They fail to enrich their lives with virtue and neglect to seek atonement for their sins through true repentance. Thus, amidst life’s journey and enveloped in the shadows of wrongdoing, they are destined for destruction.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS