What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
Parallel translations
- 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?
- BSB “What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
- NKJV “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?
- NASB “What gain is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
- NLT “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David argues that his death would profit nothing, for the dust cannot praise God or declare His truth. It pleads for life so he may keep worshiping.
Overview
David reasons with God that preserving his life serves God's praise, since the dead in the grave cannot proclaim His faithfulness. This reflects an Old Testament perspective on death's silence, later illumined by the fuller hope of resurrection. The longing to praise God anticipates the eternal worship Christ secures.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 6:5For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
- Ps 115:17–18The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
- Isa 38:18For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
- Ps 118:17I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
- Ps 88:10–12Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
- Eccl 9:10Whatsoever 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 30:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.