¹ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

¹ tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).

¹ tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.

² tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

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.

⁶ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

⁷ tn Heb “in order to raise up the name of the deceased over his inheritance” (NASB similar); NRSV “to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.”

⁴ tn Heb “a seeker of the dead.” This is much the same as “one who conjures up spirits” (cf. 1 Sam 28:6-7).

¹ sn The sea of the rift valley refers to the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea in OT times (cf. Deut 3:17).

⁵ sn The slopes (אֲשֵׁדוֹת, ʾashedot) refer to the ascent from the rift valley, generally in the region of the Dead Sea, up to the flatlands (or wilderness).

² tn Heb “a dead body,” but in contrast to the person killed with a sword, this must refer to someone who died of natural causes.

⁴ tn Heb “in all unclean of a person/soul”; for the Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) meaning “a [dead] person,” see the note on Lev 19:28.

¹ tc Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6).

¹ tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).

¹ tn The word עֵד (ʿed) actually means “witness,” but the dead animal that is returned is a silent witness, i.e., evidence. The word is an adverbial accusative.

² tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

² tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

⁵ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.