Mazmur 88:8-12

88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;

you make me an appalling sight to them.

I am trapped and cannot get free. ¹ 

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. 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 

88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced ⁵  in the dark region, ⁶ 

or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? ⁷ 

[88:8]  ¹ tn Heb “[I am] confined and I cannot go out.”

[88:9]  ² tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[88:10]  ³ tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).

[88:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”

[88:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “known.”

[88:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.

[88:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”

[88:12]  sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 10-12 expect the answer, “Of course not!”