88:4 They treat me like 1 those who descend into the grave. 2
I am like a helpless man, 3
88:5 adrift 4 among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power. 5
88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, 6
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits 7 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? 8
1 tn Heb “I am considered with.”
2 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
3 tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”
4 tn Heb “set free.”
5 tn Heb “from your hand.”
6 tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.
7 tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).
8 tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”