Footnotes

1. Psalm 88:1 sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.
2. Psalm 88:1 tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat l^eʿannot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.
3. Psalm 88:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
4. Psalm 88:1 tn Heb “O Lord God of my deliverance.” In light of the content of the psalm, this reference to God as the one who delivers seems overly positive. For this reason some assume dittography of the י (yod) and emend the text from אֱלֹהֵי יְשׁוּעָתִי (ʾelohe yeshuʿati) to אֱלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי (ʾelohay shivvaʿtiy, “[O Lord] my God, I cry out”). See v. 13.
5. Psalm 88:1 tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”
6. Psalm 88:2 tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.
7. Psalm 88:2 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
8. Psalm 88:3 tn Or “my soul.”
9. Psalm 88:3 tn Heb “and my life approaches Sheol.”
10. Psalm 88:4 tn Heb “I am considered with.”
11. Psalm 88:4 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
12. Psalm 88:4 tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”
13. Psalm 88:5 tn Heb “set free.”
14. Psalm 88:5 tn Heb “from your hand.”
15. Psalm 88:6 tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.
16. Psalm 88:8 tn Heb “[I am] confined and I cannot go out.”
17. Psalm 88:9 tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.
18. Psalm 88:10 tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).
19. Psalm 88:11 tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”
20. Psalm 88:12 tn Heb “known.”
21. Psalm 88:12 tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.
22. Psalm 88:12 tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 10-12 expect the answer, “Of course not!”
23. Psalm 88:14 tn Heb “[why] do you hide your face from me?”
24. Psalm 88:15 tn Heb “and am dying from youth.”
25. Psalm 88:15 tn Heb “I carry your horrors [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew form אָפוּנָה (ʾafunah), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. It may be an adverb meaning “very much” (BDB 67 s.v.), though some prefer to emend the text to אָפוּגָה (ʾafugah, “I am numb”) from the verb פוּג (pug; see Pss 38:8; 77:2).
26. Psalm 88:16 tn Heb “passes over me.”
27. Psalm 88:17 tn Heb “they encircle me together.”
28. Psalm 88:18 tn Heb “you cause to be far from me friend and neighbor.”
29. Psalm 88:18 tn Heb “those known by me, darkness.”