33:24 and if 1 God 2 is gracious to him and says,
‘Spare 3 him from going down
to the place of corruption,
I have found a ransom for him,’ 4
33:28 He redeemed my life 5
from going down to the place of corruption,
and my life sees the light!’
30:3 O Lord, you pulled me 6 up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave. 7
30:9 “What 8 profit is there in taking my life, 9
in my descending into the Pit? 10
Can the dust of the grave 11 praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty? 12
55:23 But you, O God, will bring them 13 down to the deep Pit. 14
Violent and deceitful people 15 will not live even half a normal lifespan. 16
But as for me, I trust in you.
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 17
Do not reject me, 18
or I will join 19 those descending into the grave. 20
1 tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).
4 sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.
5 sn See note on “him” in v. 24.
6 tn Or “my life.”
7 tn Heb “you kept me alive from those descending into the pit.” The Hebrew noun בוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib); the marginal reading (Qere) has, “you kept me alive so that I did not go down into the pit.”
8 sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.
9 tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.
10 tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).
11 tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
12 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”
13 tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).
14 tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).
15 tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”
16 tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”
17 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
18 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
19 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
20 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.