Mazmur 89:48

89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. ¹  (Selah)

Mazmur 116:15

116:15 The Lord values

the lives of his faithful followers. ² 

[89:48]  ¹ tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[116:15]  ² tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.