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 of the descendants of Korah. For the music director. To the tune “Mahalath Leannoth.” A maskil by Heman the Ezrahite Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you day and night.
2 May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
Please listen to my prayer; hear my words as I plead with you.
My life is full of troubles, and my death is approaching. (Sheol h7585)
4 I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength.
I'm counted among the dying; a man with 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.
I am abandoned among the dead, lying like a corpse in the grave, forgotten and beyond your care.
6 You have laid me in the lowest Pit, in the darkest of the depths.
You have placed me in a deep pit, in the depths of darkness.
7 Your wrath weighs heavily upon me; all Your waves have submerged me.
Your hostility crushes me; you are drowning me under your crashing waves. (Selah)
8 You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
You have made my friends avoid me by making me look repulsive to them. I'm trapped, I can't go out.
9 My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
I've cried my eyes out begging you every day for your help, Lord, holding out my hands to you.
10 Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?
Do you do miracles among the dead? Do the dead stand up to praise you? (Selah)
11 Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Your faithful love—is it mentioned in the grave? Your trustworthiness—is it discussed in the place of destruction?
12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
Are the wonderful things you do known in the darkness? Is your goodness known in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You.
But I cry out to you for help; every morning I pray to you.
14 Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?
Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn away from me?
15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
I have been sick since I was young, often at death's door. I have had to bear the terrible things you've done to me. I'm in despair!
16 Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.
Your anger has overcome me; the terrible things you do have destroyed me.
17 All day long they engulf me like water; they enclose me on every side.
They surround me all the time like floodwaters, swallowing me up.
18 You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
You have made my family and friends avoid me. Darkness is my only friend.
