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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Psalm 88:11 Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/psalms/88-11.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/2/19_Psa_088_011.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Psalm 88:11 - Day and Night I Cry Out Before You" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/psalms/88-11.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/psalms/88-11.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/psalms/">Psalms</a> > <a href="/psalms/88.htm">Chapter 88</a> > Verse 11</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad11.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/psalms/88-10.htm" title="Psalm 88:10">◄</a> Psalm 88:11 <a href="/psalms/88-12.htm" title="Psalm 88:12">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/psalms/88.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/psalms/88.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/psalms/88.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/psalms/88.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/psalms/88.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/psalms/88.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? <i>or</i> thy faithfulness in destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/psalms/88.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? <i>Or</i> Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/psalms/88.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Will Your graciousness be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/psalms/88.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/psalms/88.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Will Thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave, Thy faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/psalms/88.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Will Your lovingkindness be recounted in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/psalms/88.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave Or Your faithfulness in Abaddon (the underworld)?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/psalms/88.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Will your faithful love be declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/psalms/88.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Will Your faithful love be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/psalms/88.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in Destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/psalms/88.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />Are your love and loyalty announced in the world of the dead? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/psalms/88.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in Destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/psalms/88.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol or about your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/psalms/88.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/psalms/88.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Can your gracious love be declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/psalms/88.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/psalms/88.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave, or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/psalms/88.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/psalms/88.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/psalms/88.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction? <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/psalms/88.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Is Your kindness recounted in the grave? Your faithfulness in destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/psalms/88.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Is Thy kindness recounted in the grave? Thy faithfulness in destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/psalms/88.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Shall thy mercy be recounted in the grave, thy faithfulness in destruction?<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/psalms/88.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mercy: and thy truth in destruction? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/psalms/88.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br /><V 87:12>Could anyone declare your mercy in the sepulcher, or your truth from within perdition?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/psalms/88.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave, your faithfulness among those who have perished? <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/psalms/88.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/psalms/88.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />They that are in the graves shall declare thy lovingkindness, and thy faithfulness in destruction.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/psalms/88.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And they will tell your kindness which is in the tombs and your faithfulness in destruction!<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/psalms/88.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Shall Thy mercy be declared in the grave? Or Thy faithfulness in destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/psalms/88.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Shall any one declare thy mercy in the tomb? and thy truth in destruction?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/psalms/88-11.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nFaD2oDhKPc?start=10979" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/psalms/88.htm">Day and Night I Cry Out Before You</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">10</span>Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah <span class="reftext">11</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/2617.htm" title="2617: ḥas·de·ḵā (N-msc:: 2ms) -- Kindness, piety, reproof, beauty. From chacad; kindness; by implication piety: rarely reproof, or Beauty.">Can Your loving devotion</a> <a href="/hebrew/5608.htm" title="5608: hay·sup·par (V-Pual-Imperf-3ms) -- To count, recount, relate. ">be proclaimed</a> <a href="/hebrew/6913.htm" title="6913: baq·qe·ḇer (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- A grave, sepulcher. Or qibrah; from qabar; a sepulchre.">in the grave,</a> <a href="/hebrew/530.htm" title="530: ’ĕ·mū·nā·ṯə·ḵā (N-fsc:: 2ms) --); or (shortened) >emunah feminine of 'emuwn; literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity.">Your faithfulness</a> <a href="/hebrew/11.htm" title="11: bā·’ă·ḇad·dō·wn (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- (place of) destruction or ruin, Abaddon. Intensive from 'abad; abstract, a perishing; concrete, Hades.">in Abaddon?</a> </span><span class="reftext">12</span>Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/38-18.htm">Isaiah 38:18</a></span><br />For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/10-21.htm">Job 10:21-22</a></span><br />before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom, / to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/9-5.htm">Ecclesiastes 9:5-6</a></span><br />For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. / Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/6-5.htm">Psalm 6:5</a></span><br />For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/30-9.htm">Psalm 30:9</a></span><br />“What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/115-17.htm">Psalm 115:17</a></span><br />It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/7-9.htm">Job 7:9-10</a></span><br />As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. / He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/14-10.htm">Job 14:10-12</a></span><br />But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he? / As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, / so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/14-9.htm">Isaiah 14:9-11</a></span><br />Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. / They will all respond to you, saying, “You too have become weak, as we are; you have become like us!” / Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/26-20.htm">Ezekiel 26:20</a></span><br />then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/22-32.htm">Matthew 22:32</a></span><br />‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/20-38.htm">Luke 20:38</a></span><br />He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/5-28.htm">John 5:28-29</a></span><br />Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice / and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/11-25.htm">John 11:25-26</a></span><br />Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. / And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/14-9.htm">Romans 14:9</a></span><br />For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Shall your loving kindness be declared in the grave? or your faithfulness in destruction?</p><p class="hdg">in destruction</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/55-23.htm">Psalm 55:23</a></b></br> But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/73-18.htm">Psalm 73:18</a></b></br> Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/21-30.htm">Job 21:30</a></b></br> That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/job/31-12.htm">Abaddon</a> <a href="/psalms/88-10.htm">Dead</a> <a href="/psalms/77-14.htm">Declared</a> <a href="/psalms/83-17.htm">Destruction</a> <a href="/psalms/86-11.htm">Faith</a> <a href="/psalms/86-15.htm">Faithfulness</a> <a href="/psalms/88-5.htm">Grave</a> <a href="/psalms/87-1.htm">House</a> <a href="/psalms/86-15.htm">Kindness</a> <a href="/psalms/86-13.htm">Love</a> <a href="/psalms/87-2.htm">Loving</a> <a href="/psalms/86-16.htm">Mercy</a> <a href="/psalms/71-16.htm">News</a> <a href="/psalms/78-3.htm">Recounted</a> <a href="/psalms/86-15.htm">Steadfast</a> <a href="/psalms/78-2.htm">Story</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/proverbs/15-11.htm">Abaddon</a> <a href="/psalms/88-12.htm">Dead</a> <a href="/psalms/95-11.htm">Declared</a> <a href="/psalms/89-40.htm">Destruction</a> <a href="/psalms/89-1.htm">Faith</a> <a href="/psalms/89-1.htm">Faithfulness</a> <a href="/psalms/89-48.htm">Grave</a> <a href="/psalms/92-13.htm">House</a> <a href="/psalms/89-1.htm">Kindness</a> <a href="/psalms/89-2.htm">Love</a> <a href="/psalms/89-1.htm">Loving</a> <a href="/psalms/89-2.htm">Mercy</a> <a href="/psalms/92-11.htm">News</a> <a href="/psalms/119-13.htm">Recounted</a> <a href="/psalms/89-1.htm">Steadfast</a> <a href="/psalms/118-17.htm">Story</a><div class="vheading2">Psalm 88</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/psalms/88-1.htm">A prayer containing a grievous complaint.</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/psalms/88.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/psalms/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/psalms/88.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave</b><br>This phrase questions the possibility of declaring God's steadfast love from the realm of the dead. In the Hebrew context, "grave" refers to Sheol, the abode of the dead, a place of silence and separation from the living. The psalmist expresses a deep sense of despair, emphasizing the finality and isolation associated with death. This reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of the afterlife, where the dead were thought to be cut off from the worship and praise of God. Theologically, this underscores the importance of life as the time to experience and testify to God's love. The New Testament, however, reveals a fuller understanding of life after death, where believers are promised eternal life and continued fellowship with God (<a href="/john/11-25.htm">John 11:25-26</a>).<p><b>Your faithfulness in Abaddon</b><br>"Abaddon" is a term that signifies destruction or the place of ruin, often associated with the depths of the underworld. In biblical literature, it is sometimes personified as a destructive force or angel (<a href="/revelation/9-11.htm">Revelation 9:11</a>). The psalmist's rhetorical question highlights the perceived absence of God's faithfulness in the realm of the dead, contrasting the certainty of God's promises with the uncertainty of death. This reflects a common biblical theme where God's faithfulness is primarily experienced and recognized in the land of the living. The mention of Abaddon also serves as a reminder of the ultimate victory over death and destruction through Christ, who conquers the grave and offers eternal life to believers (<a href="/1_corinthians/15-54.htm">1 Corinthians 15:54-57</a>).<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_sons_of_korah.htm">The Sons of Korah</a></b><br>The authors of <a href="/bsb/psalms/88.htm">Psalm 88</a>, a group of Levitical singers and musicians who played a significant role in temple worship.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/h/heman_the_ezrahite.htm">Heman the Ezrahite</a></b><br>Traditionally attributed as the author of this psalm, Heman was a wise man and a musician in King David's time.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/a/abaddon.htm">Abaddon</a></b><br>A term used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to a place of destruction, often associated with the grave or the realm of the dead.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_grave.htm">The Grave (Sheol)</a></b><br>In Hebrew thought, Sheol is the abode of the dead, a place of darkness and silence.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/g/god's_loving_devotion_and_faithfulness.htm">God's Loving Devotion and Faithfulness</a></b><br>Central themes in the psalm, highlighting God's covenant love and reliability, even in times of despair.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_reality_of_human_mortality.htm">The Reality of Human Mortality</a></b><br>Recognize the brevity of life and the importance of living with an eternal perspective.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_urgency_of_worship_and_proclamation.htm">The Urgency of Worship and Proclamation</a></b><br>Understand that our time to proclaim God's loving devotion and faithfulness is now, while we are alive.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_presence_in_despair.htm">God's Presence in Despair</a></b><br>Even in the depths of despair, like Heman, we can cry out to God, trusting in His presence and ultimate deliverance.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_hope_beyond_the_grave.htm">The Hope Beyond the Grave</a></b><br>As Christians, we have the hope of resurrection and eternal life through Jesus Christ, transforming our understanding of death and the grave.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/f/faithfulness_in_trials.htm">Faithfulness in Trials</a></b><br>Emulate the psalmist's faithfulness in continuing to seek God, even when circumstances seem hopeless.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_psalm_88.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Psalm 88</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/who_is_abaddon_apollyon.htm">Who is Abaddon or Apollyon in religious texts?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_do_the_righteous_still_suffer.htm">If the psalm pronounces that the righteous will be vindicated (verse 11), why do many faithful people still suffer injustice without apparent divine intervention?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_psalm_6_5_align_with_afterlife.htm">Psalm 6:5 - How does the statement 'in death there is no remembrance of you' align with later teachings on the afterlife or resurrection?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_do_sheol_and_abaddon_align_today.htm">Proverbs 15:11: How do ancient concepts of Sheol and Abaddon align with modern historical or archaeological findings on the afterlife?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/psalms/88.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(11, 12) In these verses appear three prominent features of the Hebrew conception of the underworld. It is a place of "destruction" (comp. <a href="/job/26-6.htm" title="Hell is naked before him, and destruction has no covering.">Job 26:6</a>; <a href="/job/28-22.htm" title="Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.">Job 28:22</a>), of "darkness" (comp. <a href="/psalms/88-6.htm" title="You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.">Psalm 88:6</a>), and of "forgetfulness," which may imply not only that the dead are forgotten, both of God and men (comp. <a href="/psalms/31-12.htm" title="I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.">Psalm 31:12</a> with <a href="/psalms/88-5.htm" title="Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom you remember no more: and they are cut off from your hand.">Psalm 88:5</a>), but that they themselves have, to borrow the heathen figure, drunk of the water of Lethe. (Comp. <a href="/psalms/6-5.htm" title="For in death there is no remembrance of you: in the grave who shall give you thanks?">Psalm 6:5</a>; <a href="/psalms/30-9.htm" title="What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? shall it declare your truth?">Psalm 30:9</a>, and for both ideas combined <a href="/context/ecclesiastes/9-5.htm" title="For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.">Ecclesiastes 9:5-10</a>.) . . . <div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/psalms/88.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave?</span> Wilt thou wait till I am in my grave before thou showest any mercy upon me? or, Will not that be too late? <span class="cmt_word">Can thy faithfulness to thy promises be shown in destruction?</span> literally, <span class="accented">in Abaddon</span>; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "perdition" - a name of Sheol (cf. <a href="/job/26-6.htm">Job 26:6</a>; <a href="/job/28-22.htm">Job 28:22</a>). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/psalms/88-11.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Can Your loving devotion</span><br /><span class="heb">חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ</span> <span class="translit">(ḥas·de·ḵā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2617.htm">Strong's 2617: </a> </span><span class="str2">Kindness, piety, reproof, beauty</span><br /><br /><span class="word">be proclaimed</span><br /><span class="heb">הַיְסֻפַּ֣ר</span> <span class="translit">(hay·sup·par)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Pual - Imperfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5608.htm">Strong's 5608: </a> </span><span class="str2">To count, recount, relate</span><br /><br /><span class="word">in the grave,</span><br /><span class="heb">בַּקֶּ֣בֶר</span> <span class="translit">(baq·qe·ḇer)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6913.htm">Strong's 6913: </a> </span><span class="str2">A grave, sepulcher</span><br /><br /><span class="word">Your faithfulness</span><br /><span class="heb">אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְךָ֗</span> <span class="translit">(’ĕ·mū·nā·ṯə·ḵā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_530.htm">Strong's 530: </a> </span><span class="str2">Firmness, steadfastness, fidelity</span><br /><br /><span class="word">in Abaddon?</span><br /><span class="heb">בָּאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃</span> <span class="translit">(bā·’ă·ḇad·dō·wn)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_11.htm">Strong's 11: </a> </span><span class="str2">Abaddon -- (place of) destruction or ruin, Abaddon</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/psalms/88-11.htm">Psalm 88:11 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/psalms/88-11.htm">OT Poetry: Psalm 88:11 Is your loving kindness declared in the (Psalm Ps Psa.) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/psalms/88-10.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Psalm 88:10"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Psalm 88:10" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/psalms/88-12.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Psalm 88:12"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Psalm 88:12" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>