Psalm 88

Psalm 88
"O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee"
Setting of Psalm 88 by Jacob Clemens non Papa, 1566
Other name	Psalm 87 "Domine Deus salutis meae die clamavi et nocte coram te"
Text	by Korahites
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 88
← Psalm 87 Psalm 89 →
Book	Book of Psalms
Hebrew Bible part	Ketuvim
Order in the Hebrew part	1
Category	Sifrei Emet
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	19

Psalm 88 is the 88th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 87. In Latin, it is known as "Domine Deus salutis meae".^[1] According to the title, it is a "psalm of the sons of Korah" as well as a "maskil of Heman the Ezrahite".

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish and Catholic liturgies as well as a part of Protestant psalmody. It has been set to music, for example by Baroque composers Heinrich Schütz in German and by Marc-Antoine Charpentier in Latin. In the 20th century, Christoph Staude and Jörg Duda set the psalm for choir or solo voice.

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Transcription

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text^[2]^[3] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

Verse	Hebrew	English translation (JPS 1917)
1	שִׁ֥יר מִזְמ֗וֹר לִבְנֵ֫י־קֹ֥רַח לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ עַל־מָחֲלַ֣ת לְעַנּ֑וֹת מַ֝שְׂכִּ֗יל לְהֵימָ֥ן הָאֶזְרָחִֽי׃‎	A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah; for the Leader; upon Mahalath Leannoth. Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.
2	יְ֭הֹוָה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י יוֹם־צָעַ֖קְתִּי בַלַּ֣יְלָה נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃‎	O LORD, God of my salvation, What time I cry in the night before Thee,
3	תָּב֣וֹא לְ֭פָנֶיךָ תְּפִלָּתִ֑י הַטֵּ֥ה אׇ֝זְנְךָ֗ לְרִנָּתִֽי׃‎	Let my prayer come before Thee, Incline Thine ear unto my cry.
4	כִּֽי־שָׂבְעָ֣ה בְרָע֣וֹת נַפְשִׁ֑י וְ֝חַיַּ֗י לִשְׁא֥וֹל הִגִּֽיעוּ׃‎	For my soul is sated with troubles, And my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
5	נֶ֭חְשַׁבְתִּי עִם־י֣וֹרְדֵי ב֑וֹר הָ֝יִ֗יתִי כְּגֶ֣בֶר אֵֽין־אֱיָֽל׃‎	I am counted with them that go down into the pit; I am become as a man that hath no help;
6	בַּמֵּתִ֗ים חׇ֫פְשִׁ֥י כְּמ֤וֹ חֲלָלִ֨ים ׀ שֹׁ֥כְבֵי קֶ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹ֣א זְכַרְתָּ֣ם ע֑וֹד וְ֝הֵ֗מָּה מִיָּדְךָ֥ נִגְזָֽרוּ׃‎	Set apart among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom Thou rememberest no more; And they are cut off from Thy hand. .
7	שַׁ֭תַּנִי בְּב֣וֹר תַּחְתִּיּ֑וֹת בְּ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים בִּמְצֹלֽוֹת׃‎	Thou hast laid me in the nether-most pit, In dark places, in the deeps.
8	עָ֭לַי סָמְכָ֣ה חֲמָתֶ֑ךָ וְכׇל־מִ֝שְׁבָּרֶ֗יךָ עִנִּ֥יתָ סֶּֽלָה׃‎	Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, And all Thy waves Thou pressest down. Selah
9	הִרְחַ֥קְתָּ מְיֻדָּעַ֗י מִ֫מֶּ֥נִּי שַׁתַּ֣נִי תוֹעֵב֣וֹת לָ֑מוֹ כָּ֝לֻ֗א וְלֹ֣א אֵצֵֽא׃‎	Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me; Thou hast made me an abomination unto them; I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
10	עֵינִ֥י דָאֲבָ֗ה מִנִּ֫י־עֹ֥נִי קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְהֹוָ֣ה בְּכׇל־י֑וֹם שִׁטַּ֖חְתִּי אֵלֶ֣יךָ כַפָּֽי׃‎	Mine eye languisheth by reason of affliction; I have called upon Thee, O LORD, every day, I have spread forth my hands unto Thee.
11	הֲלַמֵּתִ֥ים תַּעֲשֶׂה־פֶּ֑לֶא אִם־רְ֝פָאִ֗ים יָק֤וּמוּ ׀ יוֹד֬וּךָ סֶּֽלָה׃‎	Wilt Thou work wonders for the dead? Or shall the shades arise and give Thee thanks? Selah
12	הַיְסֻפַּ֣ר בַּקֶּ֣בֶר חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ אֱ֝מ֥וּנָתְךָ֗ בָּאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃‎	Shall Thy mercy be declared in the grave? Or Thy faithfulness in destruction?
13	הֲיִוָּדַ֣ע בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ פִּלְאֶ֑ךָ וְ֝צִדְקָתְךָ֗ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ נְשִׁיָּֽה׃‎	Shall Thy wonders be known in the dark? And Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
14	וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ אֵלֶ֣יךָ יְהֹוָ֣ה שִׁוַּ֑עְתִּי וּ֝בַבֹּ֗קֶר תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י תְקַדְּמֶֽךָּ׃‎	But as for me, unto Thee, O LORD, do I cry, And in the morning doth my prayer come to meet Thee.
15	לָמָ֣ה יְ֭הֹוָה תִּזְנַ֣ח נַפְשִׁ֑י תַּסְתִּ֖יר פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃‎	LORD, why castest Thou off my soul? Why hidest Thou Thy face from me?
16	עָ֘נִ֤י אֲנִ֣י וְגֹוֵ֣עַ מִנֹּ֑עַר נָשָׂ֖אתִי אֵמֶ֣יךָ אָפֽוּנָה׃‎	I am afflicted and at the point of death from my youth up; I have borne Thy terrors, I am distracted.
17	עָ֭לַי עָבְר֣וּ חֲרוֹנֶ֑יךָ בִּ֝עוּתֶ֗יךָ צִמְּתוּתֻֽנִי׃‎	Thy fierce wrath is gone over me; Thy terrors have cut me off.
18	סַבּ֣וּנִי כַ֭מַּיִם כׇּל־הַיּ֑וֹם הִקִּ֖יפוּ עָלַ֣י יָֽחַד׃‎	They came round about me like water all the day; They compassed me about together.
19	הִרְחַ֣קְתָּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי אֹהֵ֣ב וָרֵ֑עַ מְֽיֻדָּעַ֥י מַחְשָֽׁךְ׃‎	Friend and companion hast Thou put far from me, And mine acquaintance into darkness.

King James Version

O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

Commentary

It is often assumed that the Psalm is a sick Psalm.^[4]^[5] The disease which laid low the psalmist could have been leprosy or some other unclean illness.^[6]^[7] Others see rather than a specific disease, a more general calamity.^[8]^[9]

By contrast, Hermann Gunkel contends that this psalm involves accusations against the Psalmist, regarding his sins mentioned.

Neale and Littledale find it "stands alone in all the Psalter for the unrelieved gloom, the hopeless sorrow of its tone. Even the very saddest of the others, and the Lamentations themselves, admit some variations of key, some strains of hopefulness; here only all is darkness to the close."^[10]

Description

It is described Psalm for the sons of Korah, a prayer for mercy and deliverance,^[11] and a Maschil.^[12]

According to Martin Marty, a professor of church history at the University of Chicago, Psalm 88 is "a wintry landscape of unrelieved bleakness". Psalm 88 ends by saying:

You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.^[13]

Indeed, in Hebrew, the last word of the psalm is "darkness".

Uses

Judaism

Psalm 88 is recited on Hoshana Rabbah.^[14]

Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Church

Psalm 88 is part of the Six Psalms (Psalms 3, 38, 63, 88, 103 and 143) that constitute the heart of the orthros, that is to say Matins, in the Orthodox and Catholic churches of the Byzantine Rite.
In the Liturgy of the Hours revised after Vatican II, the psalm is said on Fridays as part of compline.^[15]

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 88 is appointed to be read on the morning of the seventeenth day of the month,^[16] as well as at Evensong on Good Friday.^[17]

The Scottish Psalter

The Presbyterian Scottish Psalter of 1650 rewords the psalm in a metrical form that can be sung to a tune set to the common meter.^[18]

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set the psalm in a metred version in German, "Herr Gott, mein Heiland, Nacht und Tag", SWV 185, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628. Marc-Antoine Charpentier compose around 1690 Domine Deus salutis meae , H.207, for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings, and continuo.

Verse 10 is used in a recitative of Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah. Peter Cornelius wrote a choral setting in German as the first of Drei Psalmlieder, Op. 13.^[19]

In 1986, Christoph Staude set the psalm for three-part mixed choir and orchestra. Jörg Duda set the psalm as Exaltion III, Op. 31/3, for bass-baritone, horn, bass clarinet, cello and organ.

References

^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter, Psalmus 87 (88). Archived 2017-05-07 at the Wayback Machine Medievalist.
^ "Psalms – Chapter 88". Mechon Mamre.
^ "Psalms 88 - JPS 1917". Sefaria.org.
^ Hochspringen B. Klaus Seybold, Prayer of the sick in the Old Testament (1973), p169.
^ Willy Staerk, poetry (1920).
^ Hochspringen B. Klaus Seybold, Prayer of the sick in the Old Testament (1973), 169
^ Rudolf Kittel, Psalms (1921)
^ Emil Kautzsch, The Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament II (4 1923), 113ff.
^ Hochspringen B. Klaus Seybold, Prayer of the sick in the Old Testament (1973), 169
^ Neale. A Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 3. 1871. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 90-1.
^ Psalm 88:10–18
^ Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of David Archived 2016-01-30 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Psalm 88:18 (NIV)
^ The Artscroll Tehillim page 329
^ ICEL (1976). Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours. Catholic Book Publishing Corp. 1052–1053.
^ Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 262-263
^ "The Book of Common Prayer: Proper Psalms On Certain Days" (PDF). The Church of England. p. 6. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
^ http://www.cgmusic.org/workshop/smpsalter/psalm-88.htm
^ 3 Psalmlieder, Op.13 (Cornelius, Peter): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project