Psalms 88:12
Psalms 88:12 in Multiple Translations
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
May there be knowledge of your wonders in the dark? or of your righteousness where memory is dead?
Are the wonderful things you do known in the darkness? Is your goodness known in the land of forgetfulness?
Shall thy wonderous workes be knowen in the darke? and thy righteousnes in the land of obliuion?
Are Thy wonders known in the darkness? And Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Are your wonders made known in the dark? Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:
No one in the deep dark pit ever sees the miracles that you perform [RHQ], and no one in the place where people have been completely forgotten tells about your being good to us.
Berean Amplified Bible — Psalms 88:12
BAB
Word Study
Hover over any word to see its amplified meaning. Click a word to explore its full definition and translation comparisons.
Amplified text is generated using scripting to tie together English translations for comparison. Always refer to the core BSB translation and original Hebrew/Greek text for accuracy. Anomalies may occur.
Psalms 88:12 Interlinear (Deep Study)
BIB
HEB
הַ/יְסֻפַּ֣ר
בַּ/קֶּ֣בֶר
חַסְדֶּ֑/ךָ
אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְ/ךָ֗
בָּ/אֲבַדּֽוֹן
הַ/יְסֻפַּ֣ר
çâphar
H5608
to recount
Part | V-Pual-Imperf-3ms
בַּ/קֶּ֣בֶר
qeber
H6913
grave
Prep | N-ms
חַסְדֶּ֑/ךָ
chêçêd
H2617
kindness
N-ms | Suff
אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְ/ךָ֗
ʼĕmûwnâh
H530
faithfulness
N-fs | Suff
בָּ/אֲבַדּֽוֹן
ʼăbaddôwn
H11
Abaddon
Prep | N-proper
Hebrew Word Study
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Hebrew Word Reference — Psalms 88:12
הַ/יְסֻפַּ֣ר
çâphar
H5608
"to recount"
Part | V-Pual-Imperf-3ms
This word refers to a scribe or secretary who records or inscribes information. It is used in the Bible to describe someone who counts or enumerates things. The KJV translates it as 'scribe, tell, writer'.
Definition: v 1) to count, recount, relate 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to count (things) 1a2) to number, take account of, reckon 1b) (Niphal) to be counted, be numbered 1c) (Piel) to recount, rehearse, declare 1c1) to recount (something), rehearse 1c2) to talk 1c3) to count exactly or accurately 1d) (Pual) to be recounted, be rehearsed, be related
Usage: Occurs in 154 OT verses. KJV: commune, (ac-) count; declare, number, [phrase] penknife, reckon, scribe, shew forth, speak, talk, tell (out), writer. See also: Genesis 15:5; Esther 8:9; Psalms 2:7.
בַּ/קֶּ֣בֶר
qeber
H6913
"grave"
Prep | N-ms
A grave or sepulchre is a place where the dead are buried, often a tomb or burial site. This word is used in the Bible to describe the final resting place of individuals, and is translated as burying place or sepulchre in the KJV.
Definition: grave, sepulchre, tomb
Usage: Occurs in 62 OT verses. KJV: burying place, grave, sepulchre. See also: Genesis 23:4; 2 Chronicles 32:33; Psalms 5:10.
חַסְדֶּ֑/ךָ
chêçêd
H2617
"kindness"
N-ms | Suff
This word refers to kindness, mercy, or pity, often used to describe God's loving actions towards humanity. It is translated as 'favour', 'kindness', or 'mercy' in the KJV. It emphasizes God's loving character.
Definition: goodness, kindness, faithfulness
Usage: Occurs in 241 OT verses. KJV: favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing. See also: Genesis 19:19; Psalms 51:3; Psalms 5:8.
אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְ/ךָ֗
ʼĕmûwnâh
H530
"faithfulness"
N-fs | Suff
The Hebrew word for faithfulness, meaning firmness, security, or fidelity. It describes being steady and trustworthy, as seen in the KJV translations of faith, stability, and truth. This concept is essential in the Bible, particularly in relationships and commitments.
Definition: firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness
Usage: Occurs in 49 OT verses. KJV: faith(-ful, -ly, -ness, (man)), set office, stability, steady, truly, truth, verily. See also: Exodus 17:12; Psalms 89:50; Psalms 33:4.
בָּ/אֲבַדּֽוֹן
ʼăbaddôwn
H11
"Abaddon"
Prep | N-proper
Abaddon means a place of destruction or ruin, often translated as destruction in the KJV. It is an abstract concept of perishing. In the Bible, it is associated with Hades.
Definition: Abaddon, a place of destruction, destruction, ruin
Usage: Occurs in 5 OT verses. KJV: destruction. See also: Job 26:6; Job 31:12; Psalms 88:12.
Study Notes — Psalms 88:12
Show Verse Quote Highlights
- Context
- Cross References
- Psalms 88:12 Summary
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Reflection Questions
- Gill's Exposition on Psalms 88:12
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 88:12
- Matthew Poole's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
- Trapp's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
- Ellicott's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
- Adam Clarke's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
- Cambridge Bible on Psalms 88:12
- Barnes' Notes on Psalms 88:12
- Whedon's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
- Sermons on Psalms 88:12
Context — I Cry Out before You
10Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah
11Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon ?
12Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
13But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecclesiastes 9:5 | 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. |
| 2 | Ecclesiastes 2:16 | For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool! |
| 3 | Isaiah 8:22 | Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness. |
| 4 | Ecclesiastes 8:10 | Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile. |
| 5 | Psalms 143:3 | For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead. |
| 6 | Jude 1:13 | They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. |
| 7 | Matthew 8:12 | But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” |
| 8 | Job 10:21–22 | 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.” |
| 9 | Psalms 88:5 | I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care. |
| 10 | Psalms 31:12 | I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel. |
Psalms 88:12 Summary
This verse is a question from the psalmist, who is feeling overwhelmed and abandoned by God. He is asking if God's wonders and righteousness can be known in the darkest of places, like the afterlife or a place of great suffering. The psalmist is struggling to understand why God seems absent in times of darkness, but he is still seeking to find God's presence and proclaim His faithfulness, as seen in other scriptures like Romans 8:28 and Psalms 23:4. Even in the darkest of times, we can trust that God is with us and that His wonders and righteousness can be known, just like the psalmist is trying to do in this verse.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 'darkness' referred to in Psalms 88:12?
The 'darkness' in this verse is likely referring to the place of the dead or the afterlife, as seen in other scriptures like Psalms 143:3 and Job 10:21-22, where it is described as a place devoid of God's presence and light.
Can God's wonders be known in a place like the 'land of oblivion'?
According to the Bible, God's wonders and righteousness can be known even in the darkest of places, as stated in Psalms 139:8, which says that even in the depths of Sheol, God's presence can be found.
Is the 'land of oblivion' the same as hell?
While the 'land of oblivion' in Psalms 88:12 is not explicitly described as hell, it is clear that it refers to a place of death and separation from God, similar to what is described in Revelation 20:14-15, where the lake of fire is the final destination for those who reject God.
What is the significance of the question in Psalms 88:12?
The question in Psalms 88:12 is a cry of desperation from the psalmist, who is struggling to understand why God seems absent in times of darkness and suffering, as seen in other scriptures like Psalms 22:1-2 and Job 13:24, where the writers also express feelings of abandonment by God.
Reflection Questions
- What are some 'dark' places in my life where I feel like God's presence is absent, and how can I seek to find His wonders and righteousness in those places?
- How can I proclaim God's loving devotion and faithfulness in the midst of suffering and hardship, as the psalmist is trying to do in this verse?
- In what ways can I trust that God's presence is with me even in the darkest of times, just like it is with the psalmist in Psalms 88:12?
- What are some ways that I can cry out to God for help, like the psalmist does in Psalms 88:13, when I am feeling overwhelmed and abandoned?
Gill's Exposition on Psalms 88:12
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark?.... A description of the grave again; see Job 10:21, The sense may be, should he continue in the dark and silent grave, how would the wonders of the grace of
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 88:12
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Matthew Poole's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
In the dark; in the grave, which is called the land of darkness, ,22. In the land of forgetfulness; in the grave; so called, either, first, Actively, because there men forget and neglect all the concerns of this life, being indeed but dead carcasses without any sense or remembrance. Or rather, secondly, Passively, because there men are forgotten not only by men, as is noted, , but by God himself, as he complained, .
Trapp's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
Psalms 88:12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?Ver. 12. In the land of forgetfulness] So the state and place of the dead is called; and why:
Ellicott's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
(10-12) These verses probably contain the prayer tittered with the “stretched-out hands.”
Adam Clarke's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
Verse 12. The land of forgetfulness?] The place of separate spirits, or the invisible world. The heathens had some notion of this state. They feigned a river in the invisible world, called Lethe, ληθη, which signifies oblivion, and that those who drank of it remembered no more any thing relative to their former state. ----------Animae, quibus altera fato Corpora debentur, lethaei ad fluminis undam Securos latices et longa oblivia potant. VIRG. AEn. vi. 713. To all those souls who round the river wait New mortal bodies are decreed by fate; To yon dark stream the gliding ghosts repair, And quaff deep draughts of long oblivion there.
Cambridge Bible on Psalms 88:12
12. Nay, God’s wonders will not even be known in Darkness, nor His righteousness, His faithfulness to His covenant (Psalms 71:2, and often), in the land of Oblivion: where men neither remember God (Psalms 6:5) nor are remembered by Him (Psalms 88:5); where thought feeling and action are at an end. See Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Ecclesiastes 9:10; and even in Sir 17:27-28, Bar 2:17, we hear the echo of Isa 38:18 f.
Barnes' Notes on Psalms 88:12
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? - In the dark world; in “the land of darkness and the shadow of death; a land of darkness, as darkness itself, and where the light is as darkness.” Job 10:21-22.
Whedon's Commentary on Psalms 88:12
12. The dark—Same as “grave.” So αδης, hades, (answering everywhere to ωׁ ?ΰεμ, sheol,) is compounded of α, privative, (not,) and ειδω, (to see,) not to see, unseen, and means the world I do not see, the unseen world.
Sermons on Psalms 88:12
| Sermon | Description | |
|---|---|---|
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(Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12 by Chuck Smith | In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of remembering God in one's youth. He highlights that most conversions to Jesus Christ happen during the teenage years and en |
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The Times of the World. 3:1-22 by W.J. Erdman | In this sermon by W.J. Erdman, the Preacher reflects on the fleeting nature of human life and the inscrutable ways of God's eternal purpose. He contemplates the limited understandi |
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Under the Sun by W.J. Erdman | W.J. Erdman preaches on the perspective of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, emphasizing the focus on earthly life 'under the sun' and the natural man's absorption with present labor a |
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The Vocation of the Church by T. Austin-Sparks | T. Austin-Sparks emphasizes the church's vocation as a prophetic instrument representing God's mind and purpose, highlighting the need for believers to see the fullness of God's re |
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Hell by Ian Paisley | In this sermon, the preacher describes the death of a soul who did not heed the warning of the trumpet. The sermon references the book of Ecclesiastes, specifically chapter 8 verse |
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Hell Whats It Like - Whos Going There by David Wilkerson | In this sermon, the preacher shares a powerful story about a man who experienced a tragic accident on an oil rig. Despite being mocked by a young man prior to the accident, the inj |
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Anxiety by A.W. Pink | The preacher delves into the concept of 'Destruction' (apoleia) in the Bible, emphasizing that it signifies the utter and hopeless loss of all that gives worth to existence, rather |