I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to (B)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil[a] of (C)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (D)God of my salvation,
I (E)cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
(F)incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and (G)my life draws near to (H)Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (I)go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom (J)you remember no more,
for they are (K)cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in (L)the depths of the pit,
in the (M)regions dark and (N)deep.
7 Your wrath (O)lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with (P)all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused (Q)my companions to shun me;
you have made me (R)a horror[b] to them.
I am (S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 (T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I (U)spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your (W)wonders known in (X)the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of (Y)forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, cry (Z)to you;
(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why (AB)do you cast my soul away?
Why (AC)do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[c]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your (AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They (AE)surround me like a flood (AF)all day long;
they (AG)close in on me together.
18 You have caused (AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.[d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
- Psalm 88:8 Or an abomination
- Psalm 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Psalm 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion
Cross references
- Psalm 88:1 : Ps. 42, title
- Psalm 88:1 : Ps. 53, title
- Psalm 88:1 : 1 Kgs. 4:31; 1 Chr. 2:6
- Psalm 88:1 : See Ps. 24:5
- Psalm 88:1 : Ps. 22:2; Luke 18:7
- Psalm 88:2 : See Ps. 31:2
- Psalm 88:3 : [Ps. 107:18]
- Psalm 88:3 : See Ps. 16:10
- Psalm 88:4 : See Ps. 28:1
- Psalm 88:5 : [Ps. 31:12]
- Psalm 88:5 : Isa. 53:8
- Psalm 88:6 : [Ps. 63:9]
- Psalm 88:6 : ver. 12, 18; Ps. 143:3; Lam. 3:6
- Psalm 88:6 : Ps. 69:15
- Psalm 88:7 : [Ps. 32:4]
- Psalm 88:7 : Ps. 42:7
- Psalm 88:8 : ver. 18; Ps. 142:4; See Job 19:13
- Psalm 88:8 : Job 30:10
- Psalm 88:8 : Jer. 32:2
- Psalm 88:9 : [Ps. 6:7]
- Psalm 88:9 : See Job 11:13
- Psalm 88:10 : [Ps. 6:5]
- Psalm 88:12 : Ps. 89:5
- Psalm 88:12 : ver. 6; Job 10:21
- Psalm 88:12 : [Eccles. 9:5]
- Psalm 88:13 : Ps. 30:2
- Psalm 88:13 : See Ps. 5:3
- Psalm 88:14 : See Ps. 44:9
- Psalm 88:14 : See Job 13:24
- Psalm 88:16 : Job 6:4; 9:34
- Psalm 88:17 : See Ps. 118:10-12
- Psalm 88:17 : Ps. 86:3
- Psalm 88:17 : Ps. 18:4; 22:16; [Ps. 118:10]
- Psalm 88:18 : See Job 19:13, 14