Psalms 6:5

For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ¹  In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

biblegateway Psa 6:5

No-one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from his grave?

biblegateway Psa 6:5

For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks?

biblegateway Psa 6:5

For in death, who remembers you? Who can praise you from the grave?

biblegateway Psa 6:5

I'm no good to you dead, am I? I can't sing in your choir if I'm buried in some tomb!

SABDAweb Psa 6:5

For in death there is no memory of you; in the underworld who will give you praise?

bibleoremus Psa 6:5

For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise?

biblegateway Psa 6:5

For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

biblegateway Psa 6:5

For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ¹  In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

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.

² tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

² sn In Sheol who gives you thanks? According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 30:9; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!