> [[psalm-87|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-89|Next →]] --- # Psalm 88 ## A Despairing Lament 1 A song; a psalm of the Korahites. For the leader; according to *Mahalath*. For singing; a *maskil* of Heman the Ezrahite. ^psalm-88-1 ### I 2 LORD, the God of my salvation, I call out by day; ^psalm-88-2 at night I cry aloud in your presence. 3 Let my prayer come before you; ^psalm-88-3 incline your ear to my cry. 4 For my soul is filled with troubles; ^psalm-88-4 my life draws near to Sheol. 5 I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit; ^psalm-88-5 I am like a warrior without strength. 6 My couch is among the dead, ^psalm-88-6 like the slain who lie in the grave. You remember them no more; they are cut off from your influence. 7 You plunge me into the bottom of the pit, ^psalm-88-7 into the darkness of the abyss. 8 Your wrath lies heavy upon me; ^psalm-88-8 all your waves crash over me. *Selah* ### II 9 Because of you my acquaintances shun me; ^psalm-88-9 you make me loathsome to them; Caged in, I cannot escape; 10 my eyes grow dim from trouble. ^psalm-88-10 All day I call on you, LORD; I stretch out my hands to you. 11 Do you work wonders for the dead? ^psalm-88-11 Do the shades arise and praise you? *Selah* ### III 12 Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave, ^psalm-88-12 your faithfulness among those who have perished? 13 Are your marvels declared in the darkness, ^psalm-88-13 your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? ### IV 14 But I cry out to you, LORD; ^psalm-88-14 in the morning my prayer comes before you. 15 Why do you reject my soul, LORD, ^psalm-88-15 and hide your face from me? 16 I have been mortally afflicted since youth; ^psalm-88-16 I have borne your terrors and I am made numb. 17 Your wrath has swept over me; ^psalm-88-17 your terrors have destroyed me. 18 All day they surge round like a flood; ^psalm-88-18 from every side they encircle me. 19 Because of you friend and neighbor shun me; ^psalm-88-19 my only friend is darkness. \* (Psalm 88) A lament in which the psalmist prays for rescue from the alienation of approaching death. Each of the three stanzas begins with a call to God ([Ps 88:2], [10], [14]) and complains of the death that separates one from God. The tone is persistently grim. \* (88:4] – [8) In imagination the psalmist already experiences the alienation of Sheol. \* (88:11] – [13) The psalmist seeks to persuade God to act out of concern for divine honor: the shades give you no worship, so keep me alive to offer you praise. \* (88:12) Perished: lit., “Abaddon,” the deepest part of Sheol. a. (88:2) [Ps 77:3]. b. (88:3) [Ps 119:170]. c. (88:4] – [7) ([[psalm-28|Ps 28]]:1]; [30:4]; [40:3]; [86:13]; [143:7]; [Nm 16:33]; [Jb 17:1]; [Jon 2:7]. d. (88:8) ([[psalm-18|Ps 18]]:5]; [32:6]; [42:8]; [69:2]; [Jon 2:4]. e. (88:9) [Ps 38:12]; [79:4]; [80:7]; [123:3] – [4]; [142:8]; [Jb 12:4]; [19:13]; [Lam 3:7]; [Dn 9:16]. f. (88:11) ([[psalm-06|Ps 6]]:6]; [30:10]; [38:18]; [115:17]. g. (88:17) [Jb 6:4]; [20:25]. h. (88:19) [Jb 19:13]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[psalm-87|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-89|Next →]]