Mazmur 6:5

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

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

Mazmur 44:19

44:19 Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs; ³ 

you have covered us with darkness. ⁴ 

Mazmur 63:7

63:7 For you are my deliverer; ⁵ 

under your wings ⁶  I rejoice.

Mazmur 83:2

83:2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;

those who hate you are hostile. ⁷ 

Mazmur 86:8

86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!

Your exploits are incomparable! ⁸ 

Mazmur 140:6

140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!

[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!

[44:19]  ³ tn Heb “yet you have battered us in a place of jackals.”

[44:19]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל+מָוֶת [mavet + tsel]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other scholars prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness” (cf. NIV, NRSV). An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 44:19 darkness symbolizes defeat and humiliation.

[63:7]  ⁵ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[63:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”

[83:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “lift up [their] head[s].” The phrase “lift up [the] head” here means “to threaten; to be hostile,” as in Judg 8:28.

[86:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”