Psalm 6:5

Hebrew Bible

3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord—how long will this continue? 4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness. 5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death. In Sheol who gives you thanks? 6 I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies.

Psalm 88:11

Hebrew Bible

9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression. I call out to you, O Lord, all day long; I spread out my hands in prayer to you. 10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks? (Selah) 11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave, or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? 12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region, or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord; in the morning my prayer confronts you.

 Notes and References

"... the terms used to describe Sheol are bleak, not because there is any pain involved, but because there is nothing involved. It is a realm of “forgetfulness” (Psalm 88:12); “silence” (Psalm 115:17), and “darkness” (Job 17:13). God is not even present there and, since the deceased are dead, none of them can worship him: “The dead do not praise the LORD, / nor do any that go down in silence” (Psalm 115:17). No one can experience the love and presence of God in Sheol/the grave, since they are cut o from the land of the living ... Since in the grave one literally has no life, God does not even think about them or remember them anymore. His love is not found among those who have died (Psalm 88:11). That is because God is the god of the living, not those who reside in Sheol: “For in death there is no remembrance of you; / in Sheol who can give you praise?” (Psalm 6:5); “Those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness” (Isaiah 38:18) ..."

Ehrman, Bart D. Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife (p. 97) Simon & Schuster, 2020

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