Mazmur 6:5

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

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

Mazmur 30:5

30:5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,

and his good favor restores one’s life. ³ 

One may experience sorrow during the night,

but joy arrives in the morning. ⁴ 

Mazmur 97:12

97:12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord!

Give thanks to his holy name. ⁵ 

Mazmur 102:12

102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, ⁶ 

and your reputation endures. ⁷ 

Mazmur 111:4

111:4 He does ⁸  amazing things that will be remembered; ⁹ 

the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Mazmur 145:7

145:7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness, ¹⁰ 

and sing about your justice. ¹¹ 

[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!

[30:5]  ³ tn Heb “for [there is] a moment in his anger, [but] life in his favor.” Because of the parallelism with “moment,” some understand חַיִּים (khayyim) in a quantitative sense: “lifetime” (cf. NIV, NRSV). However, the immediate context, which emphasizes deliverance from death (see v. 3), suggests that חַיִּים has a qualitative sense: “physical life” or even “prosperous life” (cf. NEB “in his favour there is life”).

[30:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the evening weeping comes to lodge, but at morning a shout of joy.” “Weeping” is personified here as a traveler who lodges with one temporarily.

[97:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זָכַר (zakhar, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 30:4. The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.

[102:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.

[102:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”

[111:4]  ⁸ tn Or “did,” if this refers primarily to the events of the exodus and conquest period (see vv. 6, 9).

[111:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “a memorial he had made for his amazing deeds.”

[145:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the fame of the greatness of your goodness.”

[145:7]  ¹¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 7 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they talk…and sing.”