Psalm 88
World English Bible
A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Suffering of Affliction.” A contemplation by Heman, the Ezrahite.
88 Yahweh, the God of my salvation,
I have cried day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer enter into your presence.
Turn your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles.
My life draws near to Sheol.[a]
4 I am counted among those who go down into the pit.
I am like a man who has no help,
5 set apart among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more.
They are cut off from your hand.
6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me.
You have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah.
8 You have taken my friends from me.
You have made me an abomination to them.
I am confined, and I can’t escape.
9 My eyes are dim from grief.
I have called on you daily, Yahweh.
I have spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show wonders to the dead?
Do the departed spirits rise up and praise you? Selah.
11 Is your loving kindness declared in the grave?
Or your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders made known in the dark?
Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to you, Yahweh, I have cried.
In the morning, my prayer comes before you.
14 Yahweh, why do you reject my soul?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up.
While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted.
16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me.
Your terrors have cut me off.
17 They came around me like water all day long.
They completely engulfed me.
18 You have put lover and friend far from me,
and my friends into darkness.
Footnotes
- 88:3 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Psalm 88
New Living Translation
Psalm 88
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm[a] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out to you by day.
I come to you at night.
2 Now hear my prayer;
listen to my cry.
3 For my life is full of troubles,
and death[b] draws near.
4 I am as good as dead,
like a strong man with no strength left.
5 They have left me among the dead,
and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
cut off from your care.
6 You have thrown me into the lowest pit,
into the darkest depths.
7 Your anger weighs me down;
with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude
8 You have driven my friends away
by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.
9 My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
I lift my hands to you for mercy.
10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude
11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?[c]
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?
13 O Lord, I cry out to you.
I will keep on pleading day by day.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you turn your face from me?
15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.
Your terrors have paralyzed me.
17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.
They have engulfed me completely.
18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
Darkness is my closest friend.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
