A song. A melody of the sons of Korʹah.+ To the director; in the style of Maʹha·lath, to be sung alternately. Masʹkil of Heʹman+ the Ezʹra·hite.
88 O Jehovah, the God of my salvation,+
By day I cry out,
And by night I come before you.+
2 Let my prayer come to you,+
Incline your ear to my cry for help.+
3 For my soul has been filled with calamity,+
And my life is on the brink of the Grave.+
4 I am already counted among those going down to the pit;+
I have become a helpless man,+
5 Left among the dead
Like the slain lying in a grave,
Whom you remember no longer
And who have been separated from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in a large abyss.
7 Your rage weighs heavily on me,+
And you overwhelm me with your crashing waves. (Selah)
8 You have driven my acquaintances far away from me;+
You have made me something detestable to them.
I am trapped and cannot escape.
9 My eye is worn out because of my affliction.+
I call on you, O Jehovah, all day long;+
To you I spread out my hands.
10 Will you perform wonders for the dead?
Can those powerless in death rise up to praise you?+ (Selah)
11 Will your loyal love be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Will your wonders be known in the darkness
Or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?+
13 But I still cry to you for help, O Jehovah,+
Each morning my prayer comes before you.+
14 Why, O Jehovah, do you reject me?+
Why do you hide your face from me?+
15 From my youth on,
I have been afflicted and ready to perish;+
I am numb from the terrible things you allow me to suffer.
16 Your burning anger overwhelms me;+
Your terrors destroy me.
17 They surround me like waters all day long;
They close in on me from all sides.
18 You have driven my friends and companions far away from me;+
Darkness has become my companion.