Mazmur 88:11-13

88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,

or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? ¹ 

88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced ²  in the dark region, ³ 

or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? ⁴ 

88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;

in the morning my prayer confronts you.

[88:11]  ¹ tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”

[88:12]  ² tn Heb “known.”

[88:12]  ³ tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.

[88:12]  ⁴ 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!”