NET Bible

Psalm 88

^88:1 O Lord God who delivers me, by day I cry out and at night I pray before you. ^88:2 Listen to my prayer. Pay attention to my cry for help. ^88:3 For my life is filled with troubles, and I am ready to enter Sheol. ^88:4 They treat me like those who descend into the grave. I am like a helpless man, ^88:5 adrift among the dead, like corpses lying in the grave whom you remember no more and who are cut off from your power. ^88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the Pit, in the dark places, in the watery depths. ^88:7 Your anger bears down on me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah) ^88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance; you make me an appalling sight to them. I am trapped and cannot get free. ^88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression. I call out to you, O Lord, all day long; I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ^88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks? (Selah) ^88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave, or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? ^88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region, or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? ^88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord; in the morning my prayer confronts you. ^88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me, and pay no attention to me? ^88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. ^88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me. ^88:17 They surround me like water all day long; they join forces and encircle me. ^88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.

^88:18 A well-written song by Ethan the Ezrahite.