Psalm 88

English Standard Version

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.
²Let my prayer come before you;
^(F)incline your ear to my cry!

³For my soul is full of troubles,
    and ^(G)my life draws near to ^(H)Sheol.
⁴I am counted among those who ^(I)go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
⁵like 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.
⁶You have put me in ^(L)the depths of the pit,
    in the ^(M)regions dark and ^(N)deep.
⁷Your wrath ^(O)lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with ^(P)all your waves. Selah

⁸You 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.
¹⁰Do you work wonders for the dead?
    ^(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹²Are your ^(W)wonders known in ^(X)the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of ^(Y)forgetfulness?

¹³But I, O Lord, cry ^(Z)to you;
    ^(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴O Lord, why ^(AB)do you cast my soul away?
    Why ^(AC)do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[c]
¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me;
    your ^(AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷They ^(AE)surround me like a flood ^(AF)all day long;
    they ^(AG)close in on me together.
¹⁸You have caused ^(AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.^[d]