31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; 1
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. 2
88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits 3 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? 4
115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. 5
1 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
2 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
3 tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).
4 tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”
5 tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).