| 88:1 |
O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. |
| 88:2 |
May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. |
| 88:3 |
For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. |
| 88:4 |
I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. |
| 88:5 |
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. |
| 88:6 |
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. |
| 88:7 |
Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah |
| 88:8 |
You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; |
| 88:9 |
my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you. |
| 88:10 |
Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Selah |
| 88:11 |
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? |
| 88:12 |
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? |
| 88:13 |
But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. |
| 88:14 |
Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? |
| 88:15 |
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair. |
| 88:16 |
Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. |
| 88:17 |
All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. |
| 88:18 |
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend. |
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