88:1  O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.

88:2  Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry!

88:3  For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has drawn near to Sheol.

88:4  I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man without strength,

88:5  Forsaken among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And they are cut off from Your hand.

88:6  You have put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the depths.

88:7  Your wrath has rested upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah.

88:8  You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out.

88:9  My eye has wasted away because of affliction; I have called upon You every day, O LORD; I have spread out my hands to You.

88:10  Will You perform wonders for the dead? Will the departed spirits rise {and} praise You? Selah.

88:11  Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?

88:12  Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

88:13  But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

88:14  O LORD, why do You reject my soul? {Why} do You hide Your face from me?

88:15  I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.

88:16  Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.

88:17  They have surrounded me like water all day long; They have encompassed me altogether.

88:18  You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are {in} darkness.