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Psalm 88-90
Amplified Bible
Psalm 88-90
Amplified Bible
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician; set to chant mournfully. A didactic or reflective poem of Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, the God of my salvation,
I have cried out [for help] by day and in the night before You.(A)
2
Let my prayer come before You and enter into Your presence;
Incline Your ear to my cry!
3
For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near the grave (Sheol, the place of the dead).
4
I am counted among those who go down to the pit (grave);
I am like a man who has no strength [a mere shadow],
5
[a]Cast away [from the living] and abandoned among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in a [nameless] grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are cut off from Your hand.
6
You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in the depths.
7
Your wrath has rested heavily upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.(B) Selah.
8
You have put my friends far from me;
You have made me an [b]object of loathing to them.
I am shut up and I cannot go out.
9
My eye grows dim with sorrow.
O Lord, I have called on You every day;
I have spread out my hands to You [in prayer].
10
Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Shall the departed spirits arise and praise You? Selah.
11
Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave
Or Your faithfulness in Abaddon (the underworld)?
12
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness [where the dead forget and are forgotten]?
13
But I have cried out to You, O Lord, for help;
And in the morning my prayer will come to You.
14
O Lord, why do You reject me?
Why do You hide Your face from me?(C)
15
I was afflicted and close to death from my youth on;
I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.
16
Your fierce wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17
They have surrounded me like flood waters all day long;
They have completely encompassed me.
18
Lover and friend You have placed far from me;
My familiar friends are in darkness.
The Lord’s Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.
A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing of the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord forever;
With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.
2
For I have said, “Goodness and lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens [unchangeable and majestic] You will establish Your faithfulness.”
3
[God has said] “I have made a covenant with My chosen one;
I have sworn to David My servant,
4
I will establish your seed forever
And I will build up your throne for all generations.”(D) Selah.
5
The heavens (angels) praise Your wonders, O Lord,
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6
For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the divine beings is like the Lord,
7
A God greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the holy [angelic] ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
8
O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds You [as an intrinsic, unchangeable part of Your very being].
9
You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.(E)
10
You have crushed Rahab (Egypt) like one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them.(F)
12
The north and the south, You have created them;
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13
You have a strong arm;
Mighty is Your hand, Your right hand is exalted.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
15
Blessed and happy are the people who know the joyful sound [of the trumpet’s blast]!
They walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!
16
In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17
For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment],
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty [giving him the power to be a champion for Israel];
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20
“I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,(G)
21
With whom My hand shall be established and steadfast;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
22
“The enemy will not outwit him,
Nor will the wicked man afflict or humiliate him.
23
“I will crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24
“My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,
And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].
25
“I will also [c]set his hand on the [Mediterranean] sea,
And his right hand on the rivers [the tributaries of the Euphrates].
26
“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27
“I will also make him My firstborn (preeminent),
The highest of the kings of the earth.(H)
28
“My lovingkindness I will keep for him forevermore,
And My covenant will be confirmed to him.
29
“His descendants I will establish forever,
And his throne [will endure] as the days of heaven.(I)
30
“If his children [d]turn away from My law
And do not walk in My ordinances,
31
If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod [of discipline],
And [correct] their wickedness with stripes.(J)
33
“Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34
“My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35
“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];
I will not lie to David.
36
“His [e]descendants shall endure forever
And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.(K)
37
“It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.”(L) Selah.
38
But [in apparent contradiction of all this] You [the faithful Lord] have cast off and rejected;
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39
You have spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant;
You have profaned his crown [by casting it] in the dust.
40
You have broken down all his [city] walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41
All who pass along the road rob him;
He has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43
Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword
And have not made him [strong enough] to stand in battle.
44
You have put an end to his splendor
And have hurled his throne to the ground.
45
You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame. Selah.
46
How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47
Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;
For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!
48
What man can live and not see death?
Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.
49
O Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses [so abundant in the days of David and Solomon],
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced];
How I bear in [f]my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,
51
With which Your enemies have taunted, O Lord,
With which they have mocked the footsteps of Your anointed.
52
Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.
Book Four
God’s Eternity and Man’s Transitoriness.
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
90 Lord, You have been our dwelling place [our refuge, our sanctuary, our stability] in all generations.
2
Before the mountains were born
Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.
3
You turn man back to dust,
And say, “Return [to the earth], O children of [mortal] men!”
4
For a [g]thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
Or as a watch in the night.(M)
5
You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep [forgotten as soon as they are gone];
In the morning they are like grass which grows anew—
6
In the morning it flourishes and springs up;
In the evening it wilts and withers away.
7
For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been terrified.
8
You have placed our wickedness before you,
Our secret sins [which we tried to conceal, You have placed] in the [revealing] light of Your presence.
9
For all our days pass away in Your wrath;
We have finished our years like a whispered sigh.(N)
10
The days of our life are [h]seventy years—
Or even, if because of strength, eighty years;
Yet their pride [in additional years] is only labor and sorrow,
For it is soon gone and we fly away.
11
Who understands the power of Your anger? [Who connects this brevity of life among us with Your judgment of sin?]
And Your wrath, [who connects it] with the [reverent] fear that is due You?
12
So teach us to number our days,
That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.
13
Turn, O Lord [from Your fierce anger]; how long will it be?
Be compassionate toward Your servants—revoke Your sentence.
14
O satisfy us with Your lovingkindness in the morning [now, before we grow older],
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad in proportion to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have suffered evil.
16
Let Your work [the signs of Your power] be revealed to Your servants
And Your [glorious] majesty to their children.
17
And let the [gracious] favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Confirm for us the work of our hands—
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:5 Lit Set free. The ancient rabbis understood this to mean that once a man is dead, he is free from all religious duties.
- Psalm 88:8 Lit abomination to them.
- Psalm 89:25 I.e. extend his area of influence.
- Psalm 89:30 Lit forsake.
- Psalm 89:36 Lit seed.
- Psalm 89:50 Lit the fold of my garment.
- Psalm 90:4 This was understood by the ancient rabbis to mean that a “thousand years” are literally only one day in God’s reckoning, and Peter seems to confirm the idea in 2 Pet 3:8.
- Psalm 90:10 This psalm is credited to Moses, who is interceding with God to remove the curse which made it necessary for every Israelite over twenty years of age (when they rebelled against God at Kadesh-barnea) to die before reaching the promised land of Canaan (Num 14:26-35). Moses himself lived to be 120 years old, Aaron 123, Miriam several years older, and Joshua 110 years of age; but it is conceivable that Moses considered such longevity the exception. The ancient rabbis taught that by the time of David, 70 was the age of death for an old man and 80 for a vigorous old man.
Psalm 88-90
New International Version
Psalm 88-90
New International Version
Psalm 88[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 89[f]
A maskil[g] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing(AF) of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(AG)
through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(AH)
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4 ‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[h](AI)
5 The heavens(AJ) praise your wonders, Lord,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly(AK) of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(AL)
7 In the council(AM) of the holy ones(AN) God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.(AO)
8 Who is like you,(AP) Lord God Almighty?(AQ)
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.(AR)
10 You crushed Rahab(AS) like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered(AT) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(AU) and yours also the earth;(AV)
you founded the world and all that is in it.(AW)
12 You created the north and the south;
Tabor(AX) and Hermon(AY) sing for joy(AZ) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(BA)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(BB)
love and faithfulness go before you.(BC)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk(BD) in the light(BE) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(BF) all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(BG)
and by your favor you exalt our horn.[i](BH)
18 Indeed, our shield[j](BI) belongs to the Lord,
our king(BJ) to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(BK) my servant;(BL)
with my sacred oil(BM) I have anointed(BN) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.(BO)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(BP)
the wicked will not oppress(BQ) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(BR)
and strike down his adversaries.(BS)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(BT)
and through my name his horn[k] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.(BU)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(BV)
my God, the Rock(BW) my Savior.’(BX)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(BY)
the most exalted(BZ) of the kings(CA) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.(CB)
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.(CC)
30 “If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;(CD)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(CE)
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.(CF)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;(CG)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.”(CH)
38 But you have rejected,(CI) you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.(CJ)
40 You have broken through all his walls(CK)
and reduced his strongholds(CL) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(CM) him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(CN)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.(CO)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.(CP)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(CQ) the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(CR)
46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?(CS)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(CT)
For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
or who can escape the power of the grave?(CU)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[l] been mocked,(CV)
how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(CW)
52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(CX)
BOOK IV
Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place(CY)
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born(CZ)
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting(DA) you are God.(DB)
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”(DC)
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.(DD)
5 Yet you sweep people away(DE) in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.(DF)
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins(DG) in the light of your presence.(DH)
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.(DI)
10 Our days may come to seventy years,(DJ)
or eighty,(DK) if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,(DL)
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.(DM)
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath(DN) is as great as the fear that is your due.(DO)
12 Teach us to number our days,(DP)
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.(DQ)
13 Relent, Lord! How long(DR) will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.(DS)
14 Satisfy(DT) us in the morning with your unfailing love,(DU)
that we may sing for joy(DV) and be glad all our days.(DW)
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.(DX)
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
- Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
- Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
- Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon
- Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
- Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
- Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
- Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
- Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
- Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have
- Psalm 90:17 Or beauty
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