אַךְ־אֱלֹהִ֗ים יִפְדֶּ֣ה נַ֭פְשִׁי מִֽיַּד־שְׁא֑וֹל כִּ֖י יִקָּחֵ֣נִי סֶֽלָה׃
Toutefois Dieu délivrera mon âme du Cheol, quand il lui plaira de me retirer. Sélah!
Sefer HaYashar
The seventeenth—Souls are of three kinds, the highest, the lowliest, and those in the middle. The highest are the souls of the angels, the lowliest are the souls of the animals, and those in the middle are the souls of the children of man. Now, it is known that when two opposites join, a third power is produced from this union, which power is not like either of the two extremes, but it is made of them. For example, if you mix a measure of honey with a measure of wormwood, there will be a third taste which is neither bitter nor sweet. If you add a little bitterness to the mixture, it will incline to the taste of the wormwood, and if you add a little sweetness to the mixture, it will incline to the taste of honey. So it is with everything that is in the middle. When one of the two opposites gets stronger, that which is in the middle will incline towards it. Now, man is composed of two opposites, a soul which is lofty and a body which is animal. Out of their joining comes a third power, and if the powers of the body are stronger, then the man inclines downward, while if the powers of the soul grow stronger, he inclines upward. Now, this is proof of the immortality of the pious soul when it ascends upward. Even though the soul of man is a middle one, between the souls of the angels and the souls of animals, if he behaves beast-like, his soul will be like the soul of animals, and its reward will be like their reward. If he does the deeds of angels, his soul will be like their soul. Since we know that the angels are immortal, neither will a soul which is like theirs die. And of this King David, peace unto him, said (Psalms 49:13), “He is like the beasts that perish.” After this, he added that his soul would not die, when he said (ibid., 49:16), “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the netherworld.” By this he does not mean the death of his body, for he goes on to say that, “He shall receive me, selah.” But what he does want to say is this: that at the time when God takes me out of this world, He will redeem my soul from death, and it will not die like the soul of the wicked.