88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits 1 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? 2
88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced 3 in the dark region, 4
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 5
1 tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).
2 tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”
3 tn Heb “known.”
4 tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.
5 tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”
sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 10-12 expect the answer, “Of course not!”