30:3 O Lord, you pulled me 1 up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave. 2
88:4 They treat me like 3 those who descend into the grave. 4
I am like a helpless man, 5
1 tn Or “my life.”
2 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.”
3 tn Heb “I am considered with.”
4 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
5 tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”