Psalms 88
1 A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You.
A Song, a Psalm for the sons of Korah. To the chief Musician. Upon Mahalath Leannoth. An instruction. Of Heman the Ezrahite. Jehovah, God of my salvation, I have cried by day [and] in the night before thee.
2 May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
Let my prayer come before thee; incline thine ear unto my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
4 I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength.
I am reckoned with them that go down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no strength:
5 I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.
Prostrate among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave; whom thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from thy hand.
6 You have laid me in the lowest Pit, in the darkest of the depths.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the deeps.
7 Your wrath weighs heavily upon me; all Your waves have submerged me.
Thy fury lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted [me] with all thy waves. (Selah)
8 You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
Thou hast put my familiar friends far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
9 My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
Mine eye consumeth by reason of affliction. Upon thee, Jehovah, have I called every day; I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
10 Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?
Wilt thou do wonders to the dead? shall the shades arise and praise thee? (Selah)
11 Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? thy faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You.
But as for me, Jehovah, I cry unto thee, and in the morning my prayer cometh before thee.
14 Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?
Why, O Jehovah, castest thou off my soul? [why] hidest thou thy face from me?
15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
I am afflicted and expiring from my youth up; I suffer thy terrors, [and] I am distracted.
16 Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.
Thy fierce anger hath gone over me; thy terrors have brought me to nought:
17 All day long they engulf me like water; they enclose me on every side.
They have surrounded me all the day like water; they have compassed me about together.
18 You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
Lover and associate hast thou put far from me: my familiar friends are darkness.
