God’s Word Translation
Psalms 88:10
10Will you perform miracles for those who are dead? Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you? Selah
Psalms 88:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
- New International Version (NIV)Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
- New King James Version (NKJV)Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah
Context of Psalms 88:10
8You have taken my friends far away from me. You made me disgusting to them. I’m shut in, and I can’t get out. 9My eyes grow weak because of my suffering. All day long I call out to you, O Lord. I stretch out my hands to you ⌞in prayer⌟. Will you perform miracles for those who are dead? Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you? Selah 11Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol or about your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12Will anyone know about your miracles in that dark place or about your righteousness in the place where forgotten people live?
Read all of Psalms 88Psalms 88:10 word by word
הֲלַמֵּתִ֥ים תַּעֲשֶׂה־פֶּ֑לֶא אִם־רְ֝פָאִ֗ים יָק֤וּמוּ׀ יוֹד֬וּךָ סֶּֽלָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 88:10
- Psalms 6:5In death, no one remembers you. In the grave, who praises you?
- Psalms 30:9“How will you profit if my blood is shed, if I go into the pit? Will the dust ⌞of my body⌟ give thanks to you? Will it tell about your truth?”
- Psalms 115:17Those who are dead do not praise the Lord, nor do those who go into the silence ⌞of the grave⌟.
- Psalms 118:17I will not die, but I will live and tell what the Lord has done.
- Isaiah 38:18Sheol doesn’t thank you! Death doesn’t praise you! Those who go down to the pit cannot expect you to be faithful.
- Mark 5:35While Jesus was still speaking to her, some people came from the synagogue leader’s home. They told the synagogue leader, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher anymore?”
- Job 14:7There is hope for a tree when it is cut down. It will sprout again. Its shoots will not stop sprouting.
- Isaiah 26:19Your dead will live. Their corpses will rise. Those who lie dead in the dust will wake up and shout for joy, because your dew is a refreshing dew, and the earth will revive the spirits of the dead.
- Ezekiel 37:1The power of the Lord came over me. The Lord brought me out by his Spirit and put me down in the middle of a valley. The valley was filled with bones.
- Luke 7:12As he came near the entrance to the city, he met a funeral procession. The dead man was a widow’s only child. A large crowd from the city was with her.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever.
Commentaries on Psalms 88:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Wilt thou show wonders to the dead! - מתים methim, dead men. Shall the dead - רפאים rephaim, "the manes or departed spirits." Arise and praise thee? - Any more in this life? The interrogations in this and the two following verses imply the strongest negations.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? - The wonders - or the things suited to excite admiration - which the living behold. Shall the dead see those things which here tend to excite reverence for thee, and which lead people to worship thee? The idea is that the dead will be cut off from all the privileges which attend the living on earth; or, that those in the grave cannot contemplate the character and the greatness of God. He urges this as a reason why he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 Departed souls may declare God's faithfulness, justice, and lovingkindness; but deceased bodies can neither receive God's favours in comfort, nor return them in praise. The psalmist resolved to continue in prayer, and the more so, because deliverance did not come speedily. Though our prayers are not soon answered, yet we must not give over praying. The greater our troubles, the more earnest and serious we should be in prayer. Nothing grieves…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-12In his second charge, the psalmist claims that God has isolated him and caused his loneliness (compare Psalms 31:11; 38:11). In that culture, loneliness was a curse because relationships mattered more than personal success.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. shall the dead--the remains of ghosts. arise--literally, "rise up," that is, as dead persons.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 88:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 88
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries