Psalms 30 · Verse 9

Psalms 30:9

What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
Psalms 30:9, King James Version

Psalms 30:9 in other translations

BSB“What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
WEB“What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth?
ASVWhat profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
YLT‘What gain is in my blood? In my going down unto corruption? Doth dust thank Thee? doth it declare Thy truth?
DARBYWhat profit is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit? shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
BBEWhat profit is there in my blood if I go down into the underworld? will the dust give you praise, or be a witness to your help?
WebsterWhat profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

What does Psalms 30:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 30:8-11

8-11. As in Psa 6:5; 88:10; Is 38:18, the appeal for mercy is based on the destruction of his agency in praising God here, which death would produce. The terms expressing relief are poetical, and not to be pressed, though "dancing" is the translation of a word which means a lute, whose cheerful notes are contrasted with mourning, or (Am 5:16) wailing.

Read the full comment on Psalms 30:8-11 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 What profit is there in my blood - My being cut off will not magnify thy mercy. Let not the sword, therefore, come against me. If spared and pardoned, I will declare thy truth; I will tell to all men what a merciful and gracious Lord I have found. Hear, therefore, O Lord; Psa 30:10.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 30:6-12

When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn to pray in the dark. The sanctified…

Read the full comment on Psalms 30:6-12 →

Psalms 30:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מַה\־mah-what?H4100
בֶּ֥צַעBe.tza'[is the] profitH1215
בְּדָמִי֮be.da.Miin blood myH1818
בְּרִדְתִּ֪יbe.rid.Tiin going down myH3381
אֶ֫ל\־'El-toH413
שָׁ֥חַתSha.chat[the] pitH7845
הֲיוֹדְךָ֥ha.yod.Kha¿ will it give thanks to youH3034
עָפָ֑ר'a.FardustH6083
הֲיַגִּ֥ידha.ya.Gid¿ will it declareH5046
אֲמִתֶּֽךָ\׃'a.mi.Te.khafaithfulness yourH571

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 30:9

  • Psalms 6:5

    For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

  • Isaiah 38:18

    For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

  • Psalms 115:17-18

    The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

  • Psalms 118:17

    I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

  • Psalms 88:10-12

    Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

  • Ecclesiastes 9:10

    Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
What.
6:5; 88:10-12; 115:17,18; 118:17; Ec 9:10; Isa 38:18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 30:8

    I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication.

  • Psalms 30:9

    What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

  • Psalms 30:10

    Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.

Read all of Psalms 30

Psalms 30:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Qué provecho hay en mi muerte, cuando yo descienda al hoyo? ¿Te alabará el polvo? ¿anunciará tu verdad?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Éternel! j’ai crié à toi, et j’ai supplié le Seigneur:
German
Elberfelder 1871		Was für Gewinn ist in meinem Blute, in meinem Hinabfahren in die Grube? Wird der Staub dich preisen? Wird er deine Wahrheit verkünden?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Nec conclusisti me in manibus inimici: statuisti in loco spatioso pedes meos.