Psalms 88

A song from the Korah family. To the director.[498] About a painful sickness. A maskil[499] from Heman the Ezrahite.

<1> Lord God, you are my Savior.

I have been praying to you day and night.

<2> Please pay attention to my prayers.

Listen to my prayers for mercy.

<3> My soul has had enough of this pain!

I am nearly dead.

<4> People already treat me like a dead man,

like a man too weak to live.

<5> Look for me among the dead.

I am like a dead body lying in the grave,

one of the dead you forgot,

cut off from you and your care.

<6> You put me in that hole in the ground.

Yes, you put me in that dark place.

<7> You were angry with me,

and you punished me.

<8> You made my friends leave me.

They all avoid me like someone no one wants to touch.

I am confined to the house,

and I cannot go out.

<9> My eyes hurt from crying about

all my suffering.

Lord, I pray to you constantly!

I lift my arms in prayer to you.

<10> Do you do miracles for the dead?

Do ghosts rise up and praise you? No!

Selah

<11> The dead in their graves

cannot talk about your faithful love.

People in the world of the dead

cannot talk about your faithfulness.

<12> The dead lying in darkness

cannot see the amazing things you do.

Dead people in the World of the Forgotten cannot talk about your goodness.

<13> Lord, I am asking you to help me!

Early each morning I pray to you.

<14> Lord, why have you abandoned me?

Why do you refuse to listen to me?

<15> Since I was young, I was weak and sick.

I have suffered your anger; I am helpless.

<16> You were angry with me, and the punishment is killing me.

<17> The aches and pains are always with me.

I feel like I am drowning in my aches and pains.

<18> You made all my friends

and loved ones leave me.

Now Darkness is my closest friend.