88:3 For my life 1 is filled with troubles
and I am ready to enter Sheol. 2
88:4 They treat me like 3 those who descend into the grave. 4
I am like a helpless man, 5
88:5 adrift 6 among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power. 7
88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, 8
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
88:7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free. 9
88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.
I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;
I spread out my hands in prayer to you. 10
88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits 11 rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)
88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? 12
88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced 13 in the dark region, 14
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 15
88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer confronts you.
88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me? 16
88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. 17
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. 18
88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; 19
your terrors destroy me.
88:17 They surround me like water all day long;
they join forces and encircle me. 20
88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; 21
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness. 22