Psalms 88:1–18

¹ A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You. ² May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. ³ For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. ⁴ I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength. 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. ⁶ You have laid me in the lowest Pit, in the darkest of the depths. ⁷ Your wrath weighs heavily upon me; all Your waves have submerged me. Selah ⁸ You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape. ⁹ My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You. ¹⁰ Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah ¹¹ Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon ? ¹² Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion? ¹³ But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You. ¹⁴ Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me? ¹⁵ From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair. ¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me. ¹⁷ All day long they engulf me like water; they enclose me on every side. ¹⁸ You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.