Psalms 6:5
in Psalms 6For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
KJV
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
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This verse in Psalms 6
Commentary
18 notes on this verseIn hell there is no amendment. No means of satisfaction can be given where no act of the will remains any longer, as David says in prophecy: "Since in death there is no one who remembers you, who will give you thanks in hell?" Let us flee harmful pleasures, dangerous joys and desires that perish right away. What fruit is there, what use is there, in wanting these things incessantly, things that we must abandon even if they do not abandon us? Let the love of ephemeral things be transferred to incorruptible ones.
This site's exposition
Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul
on Psalms 6:4-5
David asks the LORD to turn and deliver him for the sake of His loving devotion. Verse 5 presses for haste, since death holds no mention of God and Sheol, the place of the dead, no praise. He asks for life so he can praise.
This site's exposition
who can praise You from Sheol?
This verse gives the reason for the plea of verse 4, turn, deliver, save. In death and Sheol there is no mention or praise of the LORD, and Isaiah 38:18 and Psalm 30:9 ask the same question. Fuller light came at 2 Timothy 1:10.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"For in death there is no one that is mindful of You" [Psalm 6:5]. He knows too that now is the time for turning unto God: for when this life shall have passed away, there remains but a retribution of our deserts. "But in hell who shall confess to You?" [Luke xvi] That rich man, of whom the Lord speaks, who saw Lazarus in rest, but bewailed himself in torments, confessed in hell, yea so as to wish even to have his brethren warned, that they might keep themselves from sin, because of the punishment which is not believed to be in hell. Although therefore to no purpose, yet he confessed that those torments had deservedly lighted upon him; since he even wished his brethren to be instructed, lest they should fall into the same. What then is, "But in hell who will confess to You?" Is hell to be understood as that place, whither the ungodly will be cast down after the judgment, when by reason of that deeper darkness they will no more see any light of God, to whom they may confess anything? For as yet that rich man by raising his eyes, although a vast gulf lay between, could still see Lazarus established in rest: by comparing himself with whom, he was driven to a confession of his own deserts. It may be understood also, as if the Psalmist calls sin, that is committed in contempt of God's law, death: so as that we should give the name of death to the sting of death, because it procures death. "For the sting of death is sin." [1 Corinthians 15:56] In which death this is to be unmindful of God, to despise His law and commandments: so that by hell the Psalmist would mean that blindness of soul which overtakes and enwraps the sinner, that is, the dying. […]
A commentator
Gregory of NyssaON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2:11.146-47 · Written before 395.
proposed
For he who has made the inheritance known has also mentioned the octave, which becomes both the boundary of the present time and the beginning of the age to come. Now the characteristic feature of the octave is that it no longer affords those who are in it opportunity to procure things good or bad, but one hands over instead the sheaves from whatever seeds he has sown for himself through his works. For this reason he prescribes here that the one who is exercised in the same victories effect repentance, as such zeal is idle in hades.
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON HIS FATHER'S SILENCE, ORATION 16:7 · Written before 390.
proposed
It is better to be punished and cleansed now than to be transmitted to the torment to come, when it is the time of chastisement, not of cleansing. For as he who remembers God here is conqueror of death (as David has most excellently sung), so the departed have not in the grave confession and restoration; for God has confined life and action to this world, and to the future the scrutiny of what has been done.
It is not in death but in life that one recalls God. Likewise, confession and reform do not come to the departed in hades. God confined life and action to this life; there, however, he conducts an evaluation of performance. And in any case this …
The saints are not only mindful of God as they hold on to this life but even more so when they are separated from this perishable body. What, therefore, does he say? No one who is mindful of you falls into that death that sin …
10 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
[When the psalmist says] "for in death there is no one to remember you," [he is] not implying that our existence lasts only as far as the present life: perish the thought! After all, he is aware of the doctrine of resurrection. Rather, it is that after our departure from here there would be no time for repentance. For the rich man praised God and repented, but in view of its lateness it did him no good. The virgins wanted to get some oil, but no one gave any to them. So this is what this man requests, too, for his sins to be washed away in this life so as to enjoy confidence at the tribunal of the fearsome judge.
While you are still in this world, I beg of you to repent. Confess and give thanks to the Lord, for in this world only is he merciful. Here, he is able to be compassionate to the repentant, but because there he is judge, he is not merciful. Here, he is compassionate kindness; there, he is judge. Here, he reaches out his hand to the falling; there, he presides as judge.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says "For," he shows the imminent danger. And first, the danger of present death, namely natural death. Second, of eternal damnation, from which there is no return. Hence, "For there is none in death," that is, after death, "who is mindful of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To depart and be with Christ is most happy for the saints themselves; but for them to abide in the flesh is more profitable for the church. This David had an eye to when he pleaded this, In the grave who shall give thee thanks? And this Christ had an eye to when he said, I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world.
For in death there is no remembrance of thee,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
And now David was in great fear of death—death temporal, and perhaps death eternal. Read the passage as you will, the following verse is full of power. "For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" Churchyards are silent places; the vaults of the sepulchre echo not with songs. Damp earth covers dumb mouths. "O Lord!" saith he, "if thou wilt spare me I will praise thee.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
There is no incredulity as to a future state. The contrast is between this scene of life, and the grave or Sheol, the unseen world of the dead. give . . . thanks--or, "praise for mercies."
And now David was in great fear of death—death temporal, and perhaps death eternal. Read the passage as you will, the following verse is full of power. "For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" Churchyards are silent places; the vaults of the sepulchre echo not with songs. Damp earth covers dumb mouths. "O Lord!" saith he, "if thou wilt spare me I will praise thee. If I die, then must my mortal praise at least be suspended; and if I perish in hell, then thou wilt never have any thanksgiving from me. Songs of gratitude cannot rise from the flaming pit of hell. True, thou wilt doubtless be glorified, even in my eternal condemnation, but then O Lord, I cannot glorify thee voluntarily; and among the sons of men, there will be one heart the less to bless thee." Ah! poor trembling sinners, may the Lord help you to use this forcible argument! It is for God's glory that a sinner should be saved. When we seek pardon, we are not asking God to do that which will stain his banner, or put a blot on his escutcheon. He delighteth in mercy. It is his peculiar, darling attribute. Mercy honours God. Do not we ourselves say, "Mercy blesseth him that gives, and him that takes?" And surely, in some diviner sense, this is true of God, who, when he gives mercy, glorifies himself.
In death there is no remembrance of thee - Man is to glorify thee on earth. The end for which he was born cannot be accomplished in the grave; heal my body, and heal my soul, that I may be rendered capable of loving and serving thee here below. A dead body in the grave can do no good to men, nor bring any glory to thy name!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For in death - In the state of the dead; in the grave. There is no remembrance of thee - They who are dead do not remember thee or think of thee. The “ground” of this appeal is, that it was regarded by the psalmist as a “desirable” thing to remember God and to praise him, and that this could not be done by one who was dead. He prayed, therefore, that God would spare his life, and restore him to health, that he might praise him in the land of the living.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and You, O Lord, how long will You look on and not heal [me]?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בַּמָּ֣וֶת | bamavet | in <the> death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| זִכְרֶ֑ךָ | zikhrekha | [is] remembrance of you | H2143 → | 23 times |
| בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל | bishol | in Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יֽוֹדֶה־ | yodeh- | will he give thanks | H3034 → | 114 times |
| לָּֽךְ׃ | lakh | to you |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֣יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
בַּמָּ֣וֶתin <the> death
bamavetH4194 →156 times
זִכְרֶ֑ךָ[is] remembrance of you
zikhrekhaH2143 →23 times
בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹלin Sheol
bisholH7585 →66 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יֽוֹדֶה־will he give thanks
yodeh-H3034 →114 times
לָּֽךְ׃to you
lakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,
- Ephesians 5:16
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
- Romans 12:11
Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6
Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
- 2 Chronicles 31:20–21
So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.
- Colossians 3:23
Through
Psalms 115:17It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.
it leads to
- Psalms 88:10–12
Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 38:18–19
For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
- Psalms 88:10–12
Through
Psalms 30:9“What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
it leads to
- Psalms 115:17–18
It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.
- Psalms 115:17–18
About Psalms
This page draws on 17 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 6; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Didymus the Blind, FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 6:6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON HIS FATHER'S SILENCE, ORATION 16:7; Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2:11.146-47; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILY ON PSALM 105[106]; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 6:4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Leo the Great, SERMON 35:4; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 6:5 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.