Psalm 88-89

Complete Jewish Bible

88 ⁽⁰⁾A song. A psalm of the sons of Korach. For the leader. Set to “Sickness that Causes Suffering.” A maskil of Heiman the Ezrachi.

²⁽¹⁾Adonai, God of my salvation,
when I cry out to you in the night,
³⁽²⁾let my prayer come before you,
turn your ear to my cry for help!
⁴⁽³⁾For I am oversupplied with troubles,
which have brought me to the brink of Sh’ol.
⁵⁽⁴⁾I am counted among those going down to the pit,
like a man who is beyond help,
⁶⁽⁵⁾left by myself among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave —
you no longer remember them;
they are cut off from your care.

⁷⁽⁶⁾You plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into dark places, into the depths.
⁸⁽⁷⁾Your wrath lies heavily on me;
your waves crashing over me keep me down. (Selah)
⁹⁽⁸⁾You separated me from my close friends,
made me repulsive to them;
I am caged in, with no escape;
¹⁰⁽⁹⁾my eyes grow dim from suffering.

I call on you, Adonai, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾Will you perform wonders for the dead?
Can the ghosts of the dead rise up and praise you? (Selah)
¹²⁽¹¹⁾Will your grace be declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹³⁽¹²⁾Will your wonders be known in the dark,
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

¹⁴⁽¹³⁾But I cry out to you, Adonai;
my prayer comes before you in the morning.
¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾So why, Adonai, do you reject me?
Why do you hide your face from me?

¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾Since my youth I have been miserable, close to death;
I am numb from bearing these terrors of yours.
¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me,
your terrors have shriveled me up.
¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾They surge around me all day like a flood,
from all sides they close in on me.
¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾You have made friends and companions shun me;
the people I know are hidden from me.

89 ⁽⁰⁾A maskil of Eitan the Ezrachi:

²⁽¹⁾I will sing about Adonai’s acts of grace forever,
with my mouth proclaim your faithfulness to all generations;
³⁽²⁾because I said, “Grace is built to last forever;
in the heavens themselves you established your faithfulness.”

⁴⁽³⁾You said, “I made a covenant with the one I chose,
I swore to my servant David,
⁵⁽⁴⁾‘I will establish your dynasty forever,
build up your throne through all generations.’” (Selah)

⁶⁽⁵⁾Let the heavens praise your wonders, Adonai,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the angels.
⁷⁽⁶⁾For who in the skies can be compared with Adonai?
Which of these gods can rival Adonai,
⁸⁽⁷⁾a God dreaded in the great assembly of the holy ones
and feared by all around him?

⁹⁽⁸⁾Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot!
Who is as mighty as you, Yah?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
¹⁰⁽⁹⁾You control the raging of the sea;
when its waves rear up, you calm them.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾You crushed Rahav like a carcass;
with your strong arm you scattered your foes.
¹²⁽¹¹⁾The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
you founded the world and everything in it.
¹³⁽¹²⁾You created north and south;
Tavor and Hermon take joy in your name.

¹⁴⁽¹³⁾Your arm is mighty, your hand is strong,
your right hand is lifted high.
¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
grace and truth attend you.

¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾How happy are the people who know the joyful shout!
They walk in the light of your presence, Adonai.
¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾They rejoice in your name all day
and are lifted up by your righteousness,
¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾for you yourself are the strength in which they glory.
Our power grows by pleasing you,
¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾for our shield comes from Adonai —
our king is from the Holy One of Isra’el.

²⁰⁽¹⁹⁾There was a time when you spoke in a vision;
you declared to your loyal [prophets],
“I have given help to a warrior,
I have raised up someone chosen from the people.
²¹⁽²⁰⁾I have found David my servant
and anointed him with my holy oil.
²²⁽²¹⁾My hand will always be with him,
and my arm will give him strength.
²³⁽²²⁾No enemy will outwit him,
no wicked man overcome him.
²⁴⁽²³⁾I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
²⁵⁽²⁴⁾My faithfulness and grace will be with him;
through my name his power will grow.
²⁶⁽²⁵⁾I will put his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
²⁷⁽²⁶⁾He will call to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
²⁸⁽²⁷⁾I will give him the position of firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁹⁽²⁸⁾I will keep my grace for him forever,
and in my covenant be faithful with him.
³⁰⁽²⁹⁾I will establish his dynasty forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens last.

³¹⁽³⁰⁾“If his descendants abandon my Torah
and fail to live by my rulings,
³²⁽³¹⁾if they profane my regulations
and don’t obey my mitzvot,
³³⁽³²⁾I will punish their disobedience with the rod
and their guilt with lashes.
³⁴⁽³³⁾But I won’t withdraw my grace from him
or be false to my faithfulness.
³⁵⁽³⁴⁾I will not profane my covenant
or change what my lips have spoken.
³⁶⁽³⁵⁾I have sworn by my holiness once and for all;
I will not lie to David —
³⁷⁽³⁶⁾his dynasty will last forever,
his throne like the sun before me.
³⁸⁽³⁷⁾It will be established forever, like the moon,
which remains a faithful witness in the sky.” (Selah)

³⁹⁽³⁸⁾But you spurned your anointed one,
rejected and vented your rage on him.
⁴⁰⁽³⁹⁾You renounced the covenant with your servant
and defiled his crown in the dust.
⁴¹⁽⁴⁰⁾You broke through all his defenses
and left his strongholds in ruins.
⁴²⁽⁴¹⁾All who pass by plunder him;
he is an object of scorn to his neighbors.
⁴³⁽⁴²⁾You raised up the right hand of his foes
and made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴⁴⁽⁴³⁾You drive back his drawn sword
and fail to support him in battle.
⁴⁵⁽⁴⁴⁾You brought an end to his splendor
and hurled his throne to the ground.
⁴⁶⁽⁴⁵⁾You cut short the days of his youth
and covered him with shame. (Selah)

⁴⁷⁽⁴⁶⁾How long, Adonai? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your fury burn like fire?
⁴⁸⁽⁴⁷⁾Remember how little time I have!
Was it for no purpose that you created all humanity?
⁴⁹⁽⁴⁸⁾Who can live and not see death?
Who can save himself from the power of the grave? (Selah)
⁵⁰⁽⁴⁹⁾Where, Adonai, are the acts of grace you once did,
those which, in your faithfulness, you swore to David?
⁵¹⁽⁵⁰⁾Remember, Adonai, the taunts hurled at your servants,
which I carry in my heart [from] so many peoples!
⁵²⁽⁵¹⁾Your enemies, Adonai, have flung their taunts,
flung them in the footsteps of your anointed one.