Psalms 88

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; a well-written song by Heman the Ezrachite.

88:1 O Lord God who delivers me!

By day I cry out

and at night I pray before you.

88:2 Listen to my prayer!

Pay attention to my cry for help!

88:3 For my life is filled with troubles

and I am ready to enter Sheol.

88:4 They treat me like those who descend into the grave.

I am like a helpless man,

88:5 adrift among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power.

88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit,

in the dark places, in the watery depths.

88:7 Your anger bears down on me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)

88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;

you make me an appalling sight to them.

I am trapped and cannot get free.

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you.

88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?

Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)

88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,

or your faithfulness in the place of the dead?

88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region,

or your deliverance in the land of oblivion?

88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;

in the morning my prayer confronts you.

88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me,

and pay no attention to me?

88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth.

I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain.

88:16 Your anger overwhelms me;

your terrors destroy me.

88:17 They surround me like water all day long;

they join forces and encircle me.

88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance;

those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.