¹⁸ For the dead^[a] cannot praise you;
    they cannot raise their voices in praise.
Those who go down to the grave
    can no longer hope in your faithfulness.

⁷ “Even a tree has more hope!
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again
    and grow new branches.
⁸ Though its roots have grown old in the earth
    and its stump decays,
⁹ at the scent of water it will bud
    and sprout again like a new seedling.

¹⁰ “But when people die, their strength is gone.
    They breathe their last, and then where are they?
¹¹ As water evaporates from a lake
    and a river disappears in drought,
¹² people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
    Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
    nor be roused from their sleep.

²¹ Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends!^[a]
    His mercies never cease.

⁸ For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off
    and takes away their life?