Psalms 88

O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:

1LORD, you are the God who saves me. Day and night I cry out to you.

2Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

2Let my prayer come to you. Please listen to me when I cry.

3For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

3My soul is full of trouble. My life is close to the place of the dead.

4I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:

4People count me with those going down to the pit. I am like a man with no strength left.

5Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

5I am left alone among the dead. I am like people killed in war. They lie in their graves. You do not remember them. They are cut off from your care.

Note"Free among the dead" in the old King James wording does not mean free the way we use the word. It means left alone, or set apart, among the dead.

6Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

6You have put me in the lowest pit. It is dark down there, and very deep.

7Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.

7Your anger lies heavy on me. All your waves wash over me. Selah.

Note"Selah" is a Hebrew word that shows up in the songs of the Psalms. No one knows for sure what it meant. It may have been a mark for the music.

8Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

8You have taken my friends far away from me. You made them turn away from me. I am shut in. I cannot get out.

9Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

9My eyes are worn out from crying. LORD, I call to you every day. I hold out my hands to you.

10Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.

10Do you do wonders for dead people? Do the dead stand up and praise you? Selah.

11Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?

11Can anyone tell about your faithful love in the grave? Can anyone tell how faithful you are in the place of ruin?

12Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

12Are your wonders known in the dark? Is your goodness known in the land where all is forgotten?

13But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

13But I cry to you for help, LORD. In the morning my prayer comes to you.

NoteIn 1611 English, "prevent" meant to come before or to meet, not to stop. The verse means his morning prayer reaches God.

14LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

14LORD, why do you turn me away? Why do you hide your face from me?

15I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

15I have been hurting and close to death since I was young. I have carried the terrible things you sent. I do not know what to do.

Note"Suffer" here means to bear or live through something, not to allow it. "Distracted" here means to feel lost and without hope.

16Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

16Your burning anger has swept over me. The terrors you sent have destroyed me.

17They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

17All day long they surround me like water. They close in on me from every side.

18Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

18You have taken away the people I love. My friends are gone too. Darkness is the only friend left near me.