Bible Strands
Psalms 88:10
Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God during an episode of intense suffering, immediately following his description of eyes dimmed by grief and daily prayers offered with outstretched hands. He poses two direct questions about whether divine power and the capacity for praise survive death.
The words — The Hebrew הֲ/לַ/מֵּתִ֥ים (ha./la./me.Tim) means "for the dead," coupled with תַּעֲשֶׂה־ (ta.'a.seh-) meaning "will you do." These terms anchor the verse’s literal inquiry about God’s activity among the deceased.
The thread — The text’s doubt about post-mortem praise appears in Psalms 6:5 and Psalms 30:9, both asking who can praise God from the grave or dust. It is directly countered by Isaiah 26:19, which declares that the dead will live and their bodies will rise.
Why it lands — The passage first establishes the biblical witness that the grave is a place of silence and inactivity regarding praise. It then requires the reader to decide whether to base trust on observable post-mortem evidence or on God’s character in the present life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Cross-references
- Psalms 6:5 For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?
- Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
- 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?
- Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
- Mark 5:35 While He was still speaking, messengers from the house of Jairus arrived and said, “Your daughter is dead; why bother the Teacher anymore?”
- Job 14:7 For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
- Psalms 115:17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD, nor any who descend into silence.
- Psalms 118:17 I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.
- Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.