Aa
Psalm 88
A Cry of Desperation
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.88:0 1Kg 4:31; 1Ch 2:6
1 Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out before you day and night.88:1 Ps 22:2; 86:3; Lk 18:7
2May my prayer reach your presence;
listen to my cry.88:2 Ps 18:6; 31:2; 86:1

3For I have had enough troubles,
and my life is near Sheol.88:3 Ps 16:10; 116:3
4I am counted among those going down to the Pit.88:4 Ps 28:1; 143:7
I am like a man without strength,88:4 Ps 61:2
5abandoned88:5 Or set free among the dead.
I am like the slain lying in the grave,88:5 Ps 31:12
whom you no longer remember,
and who are cut off from your care.88:5 Or hand88:5 Ps 31:22; Is 53:8

6You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit,
in the darkest places, in the depths.88:6 Ps 69:15; 86:13; Ezk 26:20
7Your wrath weighs heavily on me;88:7 Ps 32:4; 39:10
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.88:7 Ps 42:7Selah
8You have distanced my friends from me;
you have made me repulsive to them.88:8 Jb 19:13–22; Ps 31:11
I am shut in and cannot go out.
9My eyes are worn out from crying.88:9 Ps 6:7; 31:9
Lord, I cry out to you all day long;88:9 Ps 86:3
I spread out my hands to you.88:9 Ps 143:6

10Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise you?88:10 Ps 6:5; 30:9Selah
11Will your faithful love be declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Abaddon?88:11 Jb 26:6; Pr 15:11; 27:20
12Will your wonders be known in the darkness
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?88:12 Ec 9:5

13But I call to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer meets you.88:13 Ps 5:3; 119:147
14 Lord, why do you reject me?88:14 Ps 43:2
Why do you hide your face from me?88:14 Jb 13:24; Ps 10:1; 13:1
15From my youth,
I have been suffering and near death.
I suffer your horrors; I am desperate.88:15 Jb 31:23
16Your wrath sweeps over me;
your terrors destroy me.88:16 Jb 6:4; 9:34
17They surround me like water all day long;
they close in on me from every side.88:17 Ps 22:12,16; 118:10–12
18You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me;
darkness is my only friend.88:18 Or from me, my friends. Oh darkness!88:18 Jb 19:13; Ps 31:11; 38:11