Psalms 88

1 O LORD [the Eternal, sovereign God], the God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] of my salvation [rescue, deliverance], day [daily, continually] and night [in the darkness, in times of trouble] I cry out [with a loud voice, in distress] before You [in Your presence, with reverence]. word study 2 May my prayer [enter into Your presence] come before You; incline [turn, bend] Your ear [give ear, listen] to my cry [loud cry, plea for help]. word study 3 For my soul [inner being, my whole self] is full of troubles [evils, difficulties], and my life [existence, mortal span] draws near [approaches, comes close] to Sheol [the grave, the underworld]. word study 4 I am counted [reckoned, numbered] among those descending [going down] to the Pit [the underworld, Sheol, hell]. I am like [as, comparable to] a man [a person, a mortal] without [lacking, having no] strength [help, power]. word study 5 I am forsaken [abandoned, cast off] among the dead [like corpses], like the slain [pierced ones] who lie in the grave [the underworld, a place of darkness], whom You remember [think of, recall] no more [not at all], who are cut off [separated, removed] from Your care [hand, protection]. word study 6 You have laid me in the lowest [deepest, darkest] Pit [place of darkness, abyss], in the darkest [most obscure, profound] of the depths [profoundest, most extreme]. word study 7 Your wrath [intense anger, fierce indignation] weighs heavily [crushingly, oppressively] upon me; all Your waves [turbulent waters, overwhelming forces] have submerged [overwhelmed, drowned] me [in a sea of trouble, with all my struggles]. Selah word study 8 You have removed [taken away, put far away] my friends from me; You have made me [an abomination] repulsive to them; I am confined [shut up, trapped] and cannot escape [come forth, go out]. word study 9 My eyes [wasting away, growing dim] grow dim with grief [affliction, trouble]. I call [cry out, invoke] to You daily, O LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]; I spread out my hands [in prayer, supplication] to You. word study 10 Do You work [show, perform] wonders [miracles, marvelous deeds] for the dead [those who have passed away, departed spirits]? Do departed spirits [the dead, those who have deceased] rise up [arise, come back to life] to praise [give thanks, glorify] You? Selah word study 11 Can Your loving devotion [faithful love, kindness] be proclaimed [declared, told] in the grave [house of the dead, place of destruction], Your faithfulness [trustworthiness, reliability] in Abaddon [destruction, place of final destruction] ? word study 12 Will Your [miraculous, wonderful] wonders [miracles that you perform] be known [recounted, told] in the [deep, utter] darkness [land of forgetfulness], or Your [faithful, steadfast] righteousness [faithfulness, loyalty] in the land [place, region] of oblivion [forgetfulness, Abaddon, destruction]? word study 13 But to You [unto thee], O LORD [Yehovah], I cry [have cried] for help; in the morning [early] my prayer [petition, request] comes [shall come, prevent] before You [in Your presence]. word study 14 Why, O [Yehovah] LORD, do You [cast off] reject me? Why do You [turn away] hide Your face [Your presence, Your countenance] from me? word study 15 From my [youthful, early] youth I was afflicted [sick, troubled] and near [at the point of, ready for] death. I have borne [suffered, endured] Your terrors [fearsome judgments, dreadful acts]; I am [exist in a state of, feel] in [deep, utter] despair [hopelessness, desperation]. word study 16 Your [fierce, intense] wrath [anger, indignation] has swept over me [passed over, gone over]; Your [terrible, fearful] terrors [dread, horror] have destroyed [cut me off, broken] me. word study 17 All day long [daily, constantly] they engulf me [like a flood, surrounding me] like water [completely, overwhelming me]; they enclose me [surrounding me] on every side [together, as one]. word study 18 You have removed [taken away, put far from] my beloved [lover, dear one] and my friend [close companion, acquaintance]; darkness [the place of shadows, absence of light] is my closest [most intimate, nearest] companion [the one who stays with me]. word study