Psalms 88

¹ A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, my God, I call for help by day; I cry out in the night before thee.

² Let my prayer come before thee, incline thy ear to my cry!

³ For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.

⁴ I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit; I am a man who has no strength,

⁵ like one forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom thou dost remember no more, for they are cut off from thy hand.

⁶ Thou hast put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.

⁷ Thy wrath lies heavy upon me, and thou dost overwhelm me with all thy waves. [Selah]

⁸ Thou hast caused my companions to shun me; thou hast made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

⁹ my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon thee, O LORD; I spread out my hands to thee.

¹⁰ Dost thou work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise thee? [Selah]

¹¹ Is thy steadfast love declared in the grave, or thy faithfulness in Abaddon?

¹² Are thy wonders known in the darkness, or thy saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³ But I, O LORD, cry to thee; in the morning my prayer comes before thee.

¹⁴ O LORD, why dost thou cast me off? Why dost thou hide thy face from me?

¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer thy terrors; I am helpless.

¹⁶ Thy wrath has swept over me; thy dread assaults destroy me.

¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in upon me together.

¹⁸ Thou hast caused lover and friend to shun me; my companions are in darkness.