Psalms

Chapter 88

I Cry Out before You

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. [a] A Maskil [b] of Heman the Ezrahite.

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1 O LORD, the God of my salvation,

day and night I cry out before You.

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2 May my prayer come before You;

incline Your ear to my cry.

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3 For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

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4 I am counted among those descending to the Pit.

I am like a man without strength.

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5 I am forsaken among the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom You remember no more,

who are cut off from Your care.

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6 You have laid me in the lowest Pit,

in the darkest of the depths.

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7 Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;

all Your waves have submerged me.

Selah

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8 You have removed my friends from me;

You have made me repulsive to them;

I am confined and cannot escape.

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9 My eyes grow dim with grief.

I call to You daily, O LORD;

I spread out my hands to You.

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10 Do You work wonders for the dead?

Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?

Selah

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11 Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,

Your faithfulness in Abaddon [c] ?

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12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,

or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

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13 But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;

in the morning my prayer comes before You.

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14 Why, O LORD, do You reject me?

Why do You hide Your face from me?

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15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death.

I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.

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16 Your wrath has swept over me;

Your terrors have destroyed me.

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17 All day long they engulf me like water;

they enclose me on every side.

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18 You have removed my beloved and my friend;

darkness is my closest companion.

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Footnotes