Psalms 88:1-6

Psalm 88 ¹ 

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; ²  a well-written song ³  by Heman the Ezrachite.

88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! ⁴ 

By day I cry out

and at night I pray before you. ⁵ 

88:2 Listen to my prayer! ⁶ 

Pay attention ⁷  to my cry for help!

88:3 For my life ⁸  is filled with troubles

and I am ready to enter Sheol. ⁹ 

88:4 They treat me like ¹⁰  those who descend into the grave. ¹¹ 

I am like a helpless man, ¹² 

88:5 adrift ¹³  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ¹⁴ 

88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, ¹⁵ 

in the dark places, in the watery depths.

[88:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.

[88:1]  ² tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.

[88:1]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[88:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “O Lord God of my deliverance.” In light of the content of the psalm, this reference to God as the one who delivers seems overly positive. For this reason some emend the text to אַלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי (’alohay shivva’tiy, “[O Lord] my God, I cry out”). See v. 13.

[88:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”

[88:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.

[88:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[88:3]  ⁸ tn Or “my soul.”

[88:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “and my life approaches Sheol.”

[88:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I am considered with.”

[88:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[88:4]  ¹² tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”

[88:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[88:6]  ¹⁵ tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.