Psalms 6:5

6:5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ¹ 

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

Psalms 30:9

30:9 “What ³  profit is there in taking my life, ⁴ 

in my descending into the Pit? ⁵ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁶  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁷ 

Psalms 88:11

88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,

or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? ⁸ 

Psalms 115:17-18

115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,

nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. ⁹ 

115:18 But we will praise the Lord

now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord!

Ecclesiastes 9:10

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹⁰ 

do it with all your might,

because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ¹¹ 

the place where you will eventually go. ¹² 

[6:5]  ¹ tn Heb “for there is not in death your remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זֵכֶר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 30:4; 97:12. “Death” here refers to the realm of death where the dead reside. See the reference to Sheol in the next line.

[6:5]  ² tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[30:9]  ³ 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.

[30:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ⁵ 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).

[30:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁷ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[88:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”

[115:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).

[9:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Whatever your hand finds to do.”

[9:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Sheol.”

[9:10]  ¹² tn Or “where you are about to go.”