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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 6

1 For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David. Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger. Do not discipline me in your raging fury. 2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking. 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. 8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;⁠ the Lord has accepted my prayer.⁠ 10 They will be humiliated and absolutely terrified. All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 6:5 and Psalm 88:11

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Psalm 6, the psalmist pleads for rescue because death erases memory and cuts off praise to God, presenting Sheol as a place without awareness. Psalm 88 echoes this view when the psalmist asks if love or faithfulness can be known among the dead.

Passages

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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

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

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 6:5 and Psalm 88:11

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