Mazmur 6:5

6:5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ¹ 

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

Mazmur 30:9

30:9 “What ³  profit is there in taking my life, ⁴ 

in my descending into the Pit? ⁵ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁶  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁷ 

Mazmur 115:17

115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,

nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. ⁸ 

Mazmur 118:17

118:17 I will not die, but live,

and I will proclaim what the Lord has done. ⁹ 

Yesaya 38:18-19

38:18 Indeed ¹⁰  Sheol does not give you thanks;

death does not ¹¹  praise you.

Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

Markus 5:35-36

5:35 While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler’s ¹²  house saying, “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher any longer?” 5:36 But Jesus, paying no attention to what was said, told the synagogue ruler, “Do not be afraid; just believe.”

[6:5]  ¹ tn Heb “for there is not in death your remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זֵכֶר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 30:4; 97:12. “Death” here refers to the realm of death where the dead reside. See the reference to Sheol in the next line.

[6:5]  ² tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[6:5]  sn In Sheol who gives you thanks? According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 30:9; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!

[30:9]  ³ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁷ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[30:9]  sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!

[115:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).

[118:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “the works of the Lord.”

[38:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[38:18]  ¹¹ tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.

[5:35]  ¹² sn See the note on synagogue rulers in 5:22.