88:5 adrift 1 among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power. 2
88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, 3
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
143:3 Certainly 4 my enemies 5 chase me.
They smash me into the ground. 6
They force me to live 7 in dark regions, 8
like those who have been dead for ages.
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 9
Do not reject me, 10
or I will join 11 those descending into the grave. 12
1 tn Heb “set free.”
2 tn Heb “from your hand.”
3 tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.
4 tn Or “for.”
5 tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).
6 tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”
7 tn Or “sit.”
8 sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).
9 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
10 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).
11 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
12 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.