Mazmur 30:8-10

30:8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;

I begged the Lord for mercy: ¹ 

30:9 “What ²  profit is there in taking my life, ³ 

in my descending into the Pit? ⁴ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁵  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁶ 

30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!

O Lord, deliver me!” ⁷ 

[30:8]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.

[30:9]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁶ 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!

[30:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “be a helper to me.”