Psalms 88:5-6

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.

Psalms 143:3

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.

Psalms 143:7

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 

[88:5]  ¹ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ² tn Heb “from your hand.”

[88:6]  ³ tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.

[143:3]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[143:3]  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).

[143:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

[143:3]  ⁷ tn Or “sit.”

[143:3]  ⁸ sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).

[143:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  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).

[143:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  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.