Psalms 30:9

30:9 “What ¹  profit is there in taking my life, ² 

in my descending into the Pit? ³ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁴  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁵ 

Psalms 88:10-12

88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?

Do the departed spirits ⁶  rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)

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

or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? ⁷ 

88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced ⁸  in the dark region, ⁹ 

or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? ¹⁰ 

Psalms 115:17

115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,

nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. ¹¹ 

Psalms 118:17

118:17 I will not die, but live,

and I will proclaim what the Lord has done. ¹² 

Isaiah 38:18-19

38:18 Indeed ¹³  Sheol does not give you thanks;

death does not ¹⁴  praise you.

Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

[30:9]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁵ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[88:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).

[88:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”

[88:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “known.”

[88:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.

[88:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”

[115:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).

[118:17]  ¹² tn Heb “the works of the Lord.”

[38:18]  ¹³ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[38:18]  ¹⁴ tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.