Psalm 87-88

Easy-to-Read Version

A song of praise from the Korah family.

87 The Lord built his city on the holy hills.
² He loves the gates of Zion more than any other place in Israel.
³Wonderful things are said about you, City of God. Selah

⁴God says, “Some of my people live in Egypt^[a] and Babylon.
    Some of them were born in Philistia, Tyre, and even Ethiopia.”
⁵But about Zion he says,
    “I know each and every person born there.”
    It is the city built by God Most High.
⁶The Lord keeps a list of all his people,
    and he knows where each of them was born. Selah

⁷At the festivals, people will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Zion.”

A song from the Korah family. To the director: About a painful sickness. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

88 Lord God, you are my Savior.
    I have been praying to you day and night.
²Please pay attention to my prayers.
    Listen to my prayers for mercy.
³My soul has had enough of this pain!
    I am ready to die.
⁴People already treat me like a dead man,
    like someone too weak to live.
⁵Look for me among the dead,
    like a body in the grave.
I am one of those you have forgotten,
    cut off from you and your care.
⁶You put me in that hole in the ground.
    Yes, you put me in that dark place.
⁷Your anger presses down on me like a heavy weight.
    It’s like one wave after another pounding against me. Selah

⁸You made my friends leave me.
    They all avoid me like someone no one wants to touch.
Like a prisoner in my house, I cannot go out.
⁹    My eyes hurt from crying.
Lord, I pray to you constantly!
    I lift my arms in prayer to you.
¹⁰Do you do miracles for the dead?
    Do ghosts rise up and praise you? No! Selah

¹¹The dead in their graves cannot talk about your faithful love.
    People in the world of the dead^[b] cannot talk about your faithfulness.
¹²The dead who lie in darkness cannot see the amazing things you do.
    Those in the world of the forgotten cannot talk about your goodness.
¹³Lord, I am asking you to help me!
    Early each morning I pray to you.
¹⁴Lord, why have you abandoned me?
    Why do you refuse to listen to me?
¹⁵I have been sick and weak since I was young.
    I have suffered your anger, and I am helpless.
¹⁶Your anger covers me like a flood.
    Your attacks are killing me.
¹⁷They surround me on every side.
    I feel like a drowning man.
¹⁸You caused my friends and loved ones to leave me.
    Now darkness is my closest friend.

Notas al pie

Psalm 87:4 Egypt Literally, “Rahab.” This name means the “Dragon.” It became a popular name for Egypt.
Psalm 88:11 the world of the dead Or “Abaddon,” a Hebrew name meaning “death” or “destruction.” See Rev. 9:11.