| 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. |
