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Psalm 88:5-11
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 88:5-11
New Catholic Bible
5 I am numbered among those who go down to the pit;[a]
all strength has failed me.
6 I have been abandoned among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no longer
and whom your hand has abandoned.[b]
7 [c]You have lowered me into the depths of the pit,
into the darkest regions of the abyss.
8 Your wrath lies heavy upon me;
all your waves engulf me. Selah
9 You have caused my closest friends to shun me
and made me hateful in their sight.
I am shut in with no means of escape,[d]
10 and my eyes grow dim[e] with my suffering.
[f]Every day I call out to you, O Lord,
and spread out my hands to you.
11 Do you perform wonders[g] for the dead?
Do the shades rise up and give you praise? Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:5 The psalmist is alive but dead (see Pss 6:6; 107:18) as to his contemporaries (see Pss 22:30; 28:1; 143:7; Prov 1:12). Pit: see note on Ps 30:2.
- Psalm 88:6 As far as the psalmist is concerned, he is already in the pit (see note on Ps 6:6), where he cannot call upon God to remember him and come to his aid (see Pss 25:7; 74:2; 106:4).
- Psalm 88:7 For some reason God has let a flood of troubles overwhelm the suppliant so that he remains deprived of all human consolation (see Ps 142:7; Lam 3:7).
- Psalm 88:9 Friends interpret the suffering of the suppliant as a punishment from God and remain aloof from him lest they also be struck with it.
- Psalm 88:10 Eyes grow dim: see note on Ps 6:8.
- Psalm 88:10 The psalmist prays to be saved in order to continue to praise the Lord for his wondrous deeds, for those in the grave can no longer do so (see notes on Pss 6:6; 9:2).
- Psalm 88:11 Wonders: see note on Ps 9:2. Rise up: i.e., a simple act of rising to give praise in the kingdom of the dead (see Isa 14:9)—not a bona fide resurrection from the dead.
