Section-by-Section Notes

(Click on a verse number or section title to jump to the related notes.)

Verse		Section
1		Superscription
2		Afflicted and Fearing Death
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11		Facing Death
12
13
14		Afflicted and Continuing to Pray
15
16
17
18
19

Afflicted and Fearing Death (vv. 2-10)

Facing Death (vv. 11-13)

Vv. 11-13 constitute a significant and well distinguished section in the psalm. It marks the rhetorical climax of the psalm, which is closely followed by the emotional climax in v. 14. The macro speech act governing this section is that of persuasion. The psalmist, emotionally determined to plead with God, is speaking to YHWH's common sense, trying to convince him that saving him is in his own interest. The common ground assumption here is that YHWH is jealous for his reputation in the world of the living.^[1] If YHWH does not save the psalmist and he eventually dies, then he will not be able to praise YHWH for his wonders and spread the word about YHWH's faithful love and righteousness. This rhetoric implies another important assumption, namely that YHWH’s policies do not include interfering in Sheol: "There are no wondrous acts of truthfulness and commitment and faithfulness in the realm of the dead and, therefore, no wonders to acknowledge and confess in the way they can be confessed in this world so as to bring honor to YHWH."^[2] This praise-less quality of death is found in a number of references within the Bible (see, e.g. Pss 6:6; 30:10; 115:17; Isa 38:18-19). It is only in the world of the living that YHWH is praised (see, e.g. Isa 38:19; Pss 115:17; 118:17; 119:175).^[3]

Following a long series of death-related words in vv. 2-10, we see an interesting balance, in vv. 11-13, between death-related words (highlighted in grey in the following visual) and words denoting God's (=the source of life) loving attributes (highlighted in light blue). This marks a shift in the psalm from despair to submission that will reach its completion in the emotional climax in v. 14, culminating in the light of the morning and the realization that whatever God does, it is always motivated by his faithfulness and loving character.

Technically, the psalmist achieves this rhetoric goal by a sophisticated usage of a set of (pseudo-)disjunctive interrogatives that are the syntactic infrastructure of each of these three verses. “A disjunctive question is sometimes a mere stylistic feature, used in cases of synonymous parallelism...^[4] especially in poetry.”^[5] The usage of these pseudo-disjunctive interrogatives initiates a rhetorical effect of an indirect speech act: while the sentence type is interrogative, the illocution type is assertive, as there are no open questions here at all, but rather strong negations implied. Rather than asking, the psalmist is asserting that YHWH is absent from the Underworld, does not perform wonders to the dead and is consequently not praised by them. Therefore, the formal question "Do you perform wonders for the dead?" (in v. 11a) entails a negation: "You do not perform wonders for the dead!"
The rhetorical effect is further enhanced by a significant shift in terms of the participants in this section: the psalmist disappears altogether. Having lamented his miserable conditions in all the preceding verses to no avail, focusing on himself, he turns to a new tactic: it is as if he is not a factor anymore, with this whole section becoming a theoretic theological argumentation on the relation (or rather lack of) between YHWH and the dead.
Poetically, vv. 11-13 make up the core of the second chiasm in the psalm, as already explained in v. 6. The following visual shows the position of vv. 11-13 within the second chiasm. It is enveloped by vv. 7-10 and vv. 14-19, which are related to each other chiastically.

Afflicted and Continuing to Pray (vv. 14-19)

This third part of Ps 88 (vv. 14-19) repeats a number of the themes of the first section (vv. 2–10).

In terms of participants, the psalmist reappears here after having disappeared in vv. 11-13, while the dead disappear for good. From this point and until the end of the psalm, the psalm will be characterized by an interaction between YHWH and the psalmist.

Vv. 14-19, the concluding section of the psalm, also constitute the enveloping end section of chiasm #2, with the beginning section in vv. 7-10. Both envelop the core section in vv. 11-13 and are framed by an inclusio marked by מחשך. The following sub-sections define the chiasm: (1) vv. 7-9 / vv. 17-19: a shared theme (affliction and shunning of friends); similar beginnings (focal עָלַי); similar motives (wrath-water-friends); YHWH (active) and psalmist (passive) participants. (2) v. 10a / v. 16: a shared theme: suffering and gradual fading; repeated root: עני; repeated alliteration: נִי; YHWH absent. (3) v. 10bc / v. 14-15: a shared theme: invocation; repeated temporals: יוֹם / בֹּקֶר; repeated vocatives: YHWH; repeated alliterations: שִׁטַּחְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ / אֵלֶיךָ שִׁוַּעְתִּי ; YHWH and psalmist both participants. The following visual focuses on this chiasm:

Verse-by-Verse Notes

Reformatted to ver. 2 layout up to v. 3.

Psalm 88 Text

Text (Hebrew)	Verse	Text (CBC) The Close-but-clear translation (CBC) exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text according to how we understand its syntax and word-to-phrase-level semantics. It is not intended to be used as a stand-alone translation or base text, but as a supplement to Layer-by-Layer materials to help users make full use of these resources.
שִׁ֥יר מִזְמ֗וֹר לִבְנֵ֫י קֹ֥רַח	1	A song. A psalm. By the sons of Korah.
לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ עַל־מָחֲלַ֣ת לְעַנּ֑וֹת		For the director. About illness, for self-affliction.
מַ֝שְׂכִּ֗יל לְהֵימָ֥ן הָאֶזְרָחִֽי׃		A maskil. By Heman the Ezrahite.
יְ֭הוָה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י	2	YHWH, God of my salvation,
יוֹם־צָעַ֖קְתִּי בַלַּ֣יְלָה נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃		I have been crying out day and night before you.
תָּב֣וֹא לְ֭פָנֶיךָ תְּפִלָּתִ֑י	3	May my prayer find favor with you!
הַטֵּֽה־אָ֝זְנְךָ֗ לְרִנָּתִֽי׃		Incline your ear to my cry!
כִּֽי־שָֽׂבְעָ֣ה בְרָע֣וֹת נַפְשִׁ֑י	4	For I am weary of troubles,
וְחַיַּ֗י לִשְׁא֥וֹל הִגִּֽיעוּ׃		And my life has reached Sheol.
נֶ֭חְשַׁבְתִּי עִם־י֣וֹרְדֵי ב֑וֹר	5	I am counted with those who go down to the Pit.
הָ֝יִ֗יתִי כְּגֶ֣בֶר אֵֽין־אֱיָֽל׃		I have become just like a man who has no strength.
בַּמֵּתִ֗ים חָ֫פְשִׁ֥י	6	[I am] an outcast among the dead,
כְּמ֤וֹ חֲלָלִ֨ים ׀ שֹׁ֥כְבֵי קֶ֗בֶר		just like the slain ones who are lying in the tomb,
אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹ֣א זְכַרְתָּ֣ם ע֑וֹד		whom you do not remember anymore,
וְ֝הֵ֗מָּה מִיָּדְךָ֥ נִגְזָֽרוּ׃		and [who] have been cut off from your care.
שַׁ֭תַּנִי בְּב֣וֹר תַּחְתִּיּ֑וֹת	7	You have put me in the lowest pit,
בְּ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים בִּמְצֹלֽוֹת׃		in dark places, in watery depths.
עָ֭לַי סָמְכָ֣ה חֲמָתֶ֑ךָ	8	Your outbursts of wrath have been lying heavily on me,
וְכָל־מִ֝שְׁבָּרֶ֗יךָ עִנִּ֥יתָ סֶּֽלָה׃		and you have been afflicting me with all your waves. Selah.
הִרְחַ֥קְתָּ מְיֻדָּעַ֗י מִ֫מֶּ֥נִּי	9	you have caused my acquaintances to shun me.
שַׁתַּ֣נִי תוֹעֵב֣וֹת לָ֑מוֹ		You have made me repulsive to them.
כָּ֝לֻ֗א		[You have made me] shut in,
וְלֹ֣א אֵצֵֽא׃		so that I cannot get out.
עֵינִ֥י דָאֲבָ֗ה מִנִּ֫י עֹ֥נִי	10	My eyes have languished from misery.
קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְהוָ֣ה בְּכָל־י֑וֹם		I have been calling to you, YHWH, every day.
שִׁטַּ֖חְתִּי אֵלֶ֣יךָ כַפָּֽי׃		I have been spreading out my hands to you.
הֲלַמֵּתִ֥ים תַּעֲשֶׂה־פֶּ֑לֶא	11	Do you perform wonders for the dead?
אִם־רְ֝פָאִ֗ים יָק֤וּמוּ ׀ יוֹד֬וּךָ סֶּֽלָה׃		Do the departed spirits rise up to praise you? Selah.
הַיְסֻפַּ֣ר בַּקֶּ֣בֶר חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ	12	Is your faithful love recounted in the tomb?
אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְךָ֗ בָּאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃		[Is] your faithfulness [recounted] in the place of destruction?
הֲיִוָּדַ֣ע בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ פִּלְאֶ֑ךָ	13	Can your wonders be known in the dark region?
וְ֝צִדְקָתְךָ֗ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ נְשִׁיָּֽה׃		And [can] your righteousness [be known] in the land of oblivion?
וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ אֵלֶ֣יךָ יְהוָ֣ה שִׁוַּ֑עְתִּי	14	But I have been crying out to you for help, YHWH,
וּ֝בַבֹּ֗קֶר תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י תְקַדְּמֶֽךָּ׃		and my prayer will keep welcoming you in the morning.
לָמָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה תִּזְנַ֣ח נַפְשִׁ֑י	15	Why, YHWH, do you keep rejecting me?
תַּסְתִּ֖יר פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃		[Why] do you keep hiding your face from me?
עָ֘נִ֤י אֲנִ֣י וְגֹוֵ֣עַ מִנֹּ֑עַר	16	I [have been] afflicted and close to death from [my] youth,
נָשָׂ֖אתִי אֵמֶ֣יךָ		I’ve been suffering your terrifying assaults,
אֶפּוֹרָה׃		and keep being torn apart.
עָ֭לַי עָבְר֣וּ חֲרוֹנֶ֑יךָ	17	Your outbursts of wrath have been sweeping over me;
בִּ֝עוּתֶ֗יךָ צִמְּתוּנִי׃		Your terrifying assaults have been destroying me.
סַבּ֣וּנִי כַ֭מַּיִם כָּל־הַיּ֑וֹם	18	They have been surrounding me like water constantly;
הִקִּ֖יפוּ עָלַ֣י יָֽחַד׃		They have been closing in on me together.
הִרְחַ֣קְתָּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי אֹהֵ֣ב וָרֵ֑עַ	19	You have caused all my friends and companions to shun me;
מְֽיֻדָּעַ֥י מֵחֹשֶׁךְ׃		You have caused my acquaintances to shun my distress.

Superscription (v. 1)

v. 1

1a	שִׁ֥יר מִזְמ֗וֹר לִבְנֵ֫י קֹ֥רַח לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ עַל־מָחֲלַ֣ת לְעַנּ֑וֹת	A song. A psalm. By the sons of Korah. For the director. About illness, for self-affliction.
1b	מַ֝שְׂכִּ֗יל לְהֵימָ֥ן הָאֶזְרָחִֽי׃	A maskil. By Heman the Ezrahite.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

A song. A psalm. By the sons of Korah. For the director. About illness, for self-affliction. A maskil. By Heman the Ezrahite.

Notes

The superscription of Ps 88 is the longest in the Psalter with the highest number of terms "which may suggest the importance of this extraordinary psalm to the community."^[6]

The sons of Korah (בְּנֵי קֹרַח): "According to Exod 6:21—24, the Korahites are descendants of Levi through Kohath and Izhar... The Korahites were a guild of temple singers according to 2Chr 20:19... The Korah material is probably from the later stages of the tradition and may reflect Levitical conflict with the priestly hierarchy supported by exiles returning from Babylon after 515 B.C., led by such leaders as Ezra and Nehemiah. It is possible that the Korahites were members of a Levitical group who were active in Palestine during the exile... The present material in the OT points not to a subordination of the Korahite status as priests but to a continuation of their function as Levites under the supervision of the Aaronite-Zadokite priests (note Num 4:17—20)."^[7]
The Psalter contains 11 Korahite psalms, all in the second (Pss 42-48^[8]) and third book (Pss 84-85; 87-88). The common theme to all the Korhaite psalms is the desire to be near God and be given attention by him.^[9] We see some common expressions and themes shared between Ps 88 and other Korahite psalms.^[10]
The meaning of the Hebrew phrase עַל־מָחֲלַ֣ת translated as about illness is uncertain, though, as Tate explains, "it is often assumed to be a tune or chanting pattern to be used with the psalm."^[11] Mowinckel^[12] suggests that mahalath is equal to “song” or “playing instrument” (probably a “reed-pipe”) and suggests the reference is to the flute or “flute playing,” which he argues would indicate a psalm of lament (reed pipes/flutes were played at lamentation ceremonies; cf. Jer 48:36). However, he argues that in 88:1 the phrase עַל-מָחֲלַת means “in connection with (properly ‘over’) illness” and relates to purification from illness.^[13] We will adopt Mowinckel's reading as our preferred one, as it fits with the content of the psalm, whose main theme is the suffering of a man who is probably very sick. Eerdmans'^[14] interesting theory supports this reading. He notes that in Assyrian incantation texts for healing, the name of the patient had to be mentioned when they were recited, and he supposes that such is the case in the use of Pss 53 and 88. The עַל-מָחֲלַת... would mean “on account of the sickness of ...,” with the name of the sufferer added in each case.

The interpretation of לְעַנּוֹת as "for penance" is suggested by Mowinckel, who reads לְעַנּוֹת as a Pi'el infinitive construct from the root עני (properly “to humiliate / abase") and argues that it indicates that the psalm was used as a psalm of penitence and lamentation, probably in rituals associated with purification from illness.^[15] This purpose, however, does not seem to be matched by the psalm itself, where the psalmist does not show penitence or profess a sin.^[16] We prefer to understand this infinitive form to mean for self-affliction, a possible ellipsis of the idiom עִנָּה נֶפֶשׁ "to humble oneself" (cf. Ps 35:13).^[17] The infinitive is read as a purpose clause indicating the religious function of the psalm, implying a continuous action which reflects the process of purification. Since the English simple infinitive is unmarked in terms of aspect, the continuous aspect is not reflected in our CBC.
The adjective Ezrahite (אֶזְרָחִי)^[18] may be understood as either a gentilic reference to Heman's being a progeny of Zerah, the son of Judah (1 Chr 2:6) or as "native" (i.e. “from a pre-Israelite family”), derived from the noun אֶזְרָח. There seems to be a confusion between two figures called Heman, one from Judah (see above) and one who was among the Korahite Levite singers in the temple (cf. 1 Chr 6:18, 22). "There seems to be no real answer to all this confusion. We are probably dealing with more than one Heman in the traditions... The inscription is probably a double one, perhaps derived from two different sources, possibly indicating that a Heman psalm has been taken into a Korahite collection, regardless of the lineage of Heman."^[19]

v. 2

2a	יְ֭הוָה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י	YHWH, God of my salvation,
2b	יוֹם־צָעַ֖קְתִּי בַלַּ֣יְלָה נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃	I have been crying out day and night before you.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

YHWH, God of my salvation, I have been crying out day and night before you because I am suffering and desperate and you answer those in covenant with you who pray to you.

Notes

The opening phrase of the psalm (superscription excluded) is the vocative YHWH, God of my salvation (יְ֭הוָה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יְשׁוּעָתִ֑י). The position of this vocative defines the addressee, YHWH, the only addressee throughout the whole psalm, serving as an opening formula to this direct personal "missive" to him.
By invoking to YHWH here and in v. 10bc, the psalmist insists that he has fulfilled his part of the covenant and is expecting YHWH to fulfill his part (which will be stated in the next verse).

The vocative YHWH is repeated four times in the psalm, in the three invocations in vv. 2a, 10b, 14a and 15a. We can notice that the vocative moves one slot forward from one invocation to the next one. However, the last vocative in the series, in v. 15, moves one slot backwards. Poetically, the moving forward of YHWH from one invocation to the next one symbolizes YHWH's gradual distancing from the psalmist (from the latter's perspective). However, following the emotional climax in v. 14b, we see YHWH getting nearer to the psalmist again: the psalmist realizes in v. 14b that YHWH has in fact not abandoned him and switches from despair to submission.

V. 2b has a difficult syntax for two reasons: (1) day (יוֹם) is used adverbially without a preposition, which does not seem to be attested elsewhere in the Bible; (2) day... night (יוֹם... לַיְלָה) are asyndetic (have no conjunction) and are separated from each other by the verb צָעַ֖קְתִּי. Our preferred analysis of this line is as made of two asyndetic clauses, with the verb elided in the second one, to get "I have been crying out by day [and I have been crying] at night before you."^[20] For the sake of simplicity though, we rendered this verse in the CBC as "I have been crying out day and night before you." This reading enables a satisfying macrosyntactic analysis: day is fronted as a frame setter, orienting the reader temporally concerning the rest of the clause, while its initial position in the clause sets up expectation of the word pair (day/night), standing in a balanced position to the night initiating the second clause. The latter is fronted to mark scalar focus: "even at night."

vv. 3–4

3a	תָּב֣וֹא לְ֭פָנֶיךָ תְּפִלָּתִ֑י	May my prayer find favor with you!
3b	הַטֵּֽה־אָ֝זְנְךָ֗ לְרִנָּתִֽי׃	Incline your ear to my cry!
4a	כִּֽי־שָֽׂבְעָ֣ה בְרָע֣וֹת נַפְשִׁ֑י	For I am weary of troubles,
4b	וְחַיַּ֗י לִשְׁא֥וֹל הִגִּֽיעוּ׃	and my life has reached Sheol.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

May my prayer find favor with you, you, who have your eyes and ears tuned towards all human beings, who listen to people's prayers and answer them! Incline your ear to my cry! You, who are aware of my miserable conditions, do something about it and save me! For I am weary of troubles and I have reached a point where my existence is unbearable. I am seriously ill and dying, and my life has reached Sheol. I am at the gates of Sheol, namely, about to die, and only you can redeem me from there!

Notes

The soul (נֶפֶשׁ) as the essence of man stands for the man himself and often functions as a paraphrase for the personal pronoun, especially in poetry and ornate discourse,^[21] thus נַפְשִׁי my soul = אֲנִי I.
Sheol (שְׁאוֹל) is the Biblical denomination for the underworld, the realm of the dead, located under the Earth (Amos 9:2; Ezek 31:17; Prov 5:5). People who are about to die consider themselves to be in or at the gates of Sheol (Ps 30:4; 2 Sam 22:6; Jonah 2:3), but YHWH can always redeem them from there (Hos 13:14; Jonah 2:3; Pss 30:4; 49:16).

The idiom בָּא לִפְנֵי (lit. "come before") is understood as "find favor / be approved with someone." ^[22]
The verb translated be weary of (שָֹבַע) is a qatal verb understand to stand for a present state.^[23]
The preposition in (בְּ) introducing the argument of the verb "be weary of" (שָֹבַע) indicates "the person or thing, which is the object of a mental act"^[24] a similar semantic relation as that of the verb שָׁמַח בְּ "rejoice in."
The noun life (חַיִּים) is always morphologically plural. Most of such nouns are abstract in meaning^[25] (cf. the note on תוֹעֵבוֹת in v. 9b), though here the verb is also third plural.

v. 5

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
5a	נֶ֭חְשַׁבְתִּי עִם־י֣וֹרְדֵי ב֑וֹר	I am counted with those who go down to the Pit.
5b	הָ֝יִ֗יתִי כְּגֶ֣בֶר אֵֽין־אֱיָֽל׃	I have become just like a man who has no strength.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

I am counted with those who go down to the Pit, namely, the netherworld - everyone knows of my miserable condition. I have become just like a man who has no strength. I used to be a strong, productive man contributing to society, but now I have lost my strength so I am no longer valuable to society, which considers me as an unproductive individual.

Notes

Note for V. 5

v. 5b The relative clause here is asyndetic, with the retrospective pronoun לוֹ being omitted, common in poetry (JM §158c).

Note for V. 5

v. 5a: בּוֹר

Many translations take בור literally as pit, translating the phrase as "those who go down to the pit" (NIV,ESV), some capitalize the word "those who go down to the Pit" (ISV), and some understand it metaphorically as "those who go down to the grave" (NET). Here the explicit translation is preferred.

v. 5: The meaning of אֱיָל

The noun אֱיָל is a hapax legomenonThat is, the term only occurs once in Biblical Hebrew. in the Bible. It is derived of the root אול with the primary polysemous meanings of "to be in front"/"to be strong"; comp. אֵל "god"; Arb. ʾawwal "first" (HALOT). BDB takes this noun as a loan-word from Aramaic with the meaning "help" (comp. Syr. ʾiyālā "help"). Also noteworthy is the derived noun אֱיָלוּת (Ps 22:20), also a hapax legomenon, which in the context of its psalm probably means "help". The noun אֱיָל is read as such in LXX (ἄνθρωπος ἀβοήθητος "a helpless man") and Peshitta (see ʾiyālā above). On the other hand, The Vulgate iuxta Hebr. has invalidus ("impotent") so as Targum which has בר נש דלית ליה חילא ("a man who has no strength").

We prefer to follow Tate 1990, 396 who, like the Vulgate and Targum, reads אֱיָל as "strength". This reading, etymologically justified (see above), fits in better with the direct context: the noun גֶּבֶר (in contrast to אִישׁ) is often marked in terms of qualities of manhood such as courage and strength (see Venn Diagram below). The reading of אֱיָל as strength is backed by most modern translations (NIV, NLT, ESV, NKJV et alia).

v. 5: גֶּבֶר

Note for V. 5

Verbs of perception in qatal often have present tense stative value. Modern translations all render נֶחְשַׁבְתִּי as a present state.
The attributive participle יוֹרְדֵי is not marked in terms of tense or aspect, and since the context is not decisive enough here, there are various options. Tate (1990:396) suggests an attractive reading of the participle as an imminent future ('those about to go to the Pit'). Nevertheless we take the consensual choice among Modern Translations to read that participle as a present gnomic one. This is further backed by the Greek and Latin present participle καταβαινόντων and descendentibus.
The verb הָיָה is either stative ('to be') or dynamic-inchoative ('to become'). A qatal present stative is rare (cf. JM §111i, Gen 42:31), therfore we choose the inchoative reading, supported by Goldingay:2007; Dahood:1974. Cf. also Gen 3:22.

v. 6

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
6a	בַּמֵּתִ֗ים חָ֫פְשִׁ֥י	[I am] an outcast among the dead,
6b	כְּמ֤וֹ חֲלָלִ֨ים ׀ שֹׁ֥כְבֵי קֶ֗בֶר	just like the slain who are lying in the tomb,
6c	אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹ֣א זְכַרְתָּ֣ם ע֑וֹד	whom you do not remember anymore,
6d	וְ֝הֵ֗מָּה מִיָּדְךָ֥ נִגְזָֽרוּ׃	and [who] have been cut off from your care.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

[I am] an outcast, despised and excommunicated among the dead, just like the slain who died in battle, despised as well in the Netherworld, since they were buried in mass graves and who are lying in the tomb, whom you do not remember anymore since the dead are forgotten by you, and [who] have been cut off from your care and have no channel of communication with you. In the same way, you have forgotten and forsaken me,and I have no hope.

Notes

Note for V. 6

v. 5b-6 The preferred reading follows the MT division between vv. 5 and 6, the same one that is found in Jerome, Peshitta, TgPs and reflected by almost all Modern translations. We prefer to maintain this division between v.5 and v.6, as the clause במתים חפשי is strongly related to the content of v. 6: חפשי and חללים both designate the lowest rank among the dead (cf. Hossfeld and Zenger 2005, 395). Additionally, 2 Chr 26:21 offers an interesting relation between בית החפשית and the verb נגזר (similarly to what we see in v. 6). For further discussion on v. 6, see The Meaning of חָפְשִׁי in Ps 88:6.

v. 5b-6 alt #1 Alternative follows the division between vs. 5 and 6 as found in the LXX only and which takes במתים חפשי as part of the previous clause in v. 5b, instead of its own new clause.

Note for V. 6

v. 6: The metaphor יַד יהוה

The "hand of God" is used as an anthropomorphising metaphor, in most cases with relation to strength, power and punishment. In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in particular we find that metaphor with the meaning of God's aid, care or providence, e.g. בָּא אֶל-יְרוּשָׁלִַם כְּיַד-אֱלֹהָיו הַטּוֹבָה עָלָיו (Ezra 7:9) "he arrived in Jerusalem... since the beneficent hand of his God was upon him." (ISV) . We prefer to read this metaphor in a similar way in our verse too, backed by some of the modern translations as well (NIV, NLT, CSB).

Note for V. 6

v. 6: The meaning of חָפְשִׁי

For a detailed description, see The Meaning of חָפְשִׁי in Ps 88:6.

Note for V. 6

The attributive participle שֹׁכְבֵי is not marked in terms of tense or aspect. We take the relative tense here to be simultaneous with a stative aspect, backed by LXX καθεύδοντες and Jerome dormientes present participles.
Verbs of perception in qatal like זְכַרְתָּם often have present tense stative value. "Active verbs which have a stative or quasi-stative meaning are treated like stative verbs. They are mainly verbs expressing a state of mind... Likewise the verb זָכַר is treated like a stative verb, e.g. זָכַרְנוּ 'we remember'" (JM 2018: 112a). Modern translations also all render it as a present state.
The lack of movement prompts us to render נִגְזָרוּ in English as a present perfect (instead of a simple past).

v. 7

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
7a	שַׁ֭תַּנִי בְּב֣וֹר תַּחְתִּיּ֑וֹת	You have put me in the lowest pit,
7b	בְּ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים בִּמְצֹלֽוֹת׃	in dark places, in watery depths.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

You are ultimately responsible for my conditions, as you have put me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in watery depths of Sheol, like Jeremiah, who was sent down into the pit. Did I anger you, like Jeremiah angered the king? Are you punishing me for something I did?

Notes

Note for V. 7

v. 7 בִּמְצֹלוֹת LXX and Peshitta have the alternative metathetic reading בְּצַלְמָוֶת. Although this reading is viable and fits perfectly within the context, we prefer to keep the MT reading, because of the recurring motif in the psalm of "water" as one of the major elements mentioned in the metaphorical description of the psalmist's miserable condition (cf. vv. 8, 18), neatly complementing the two other elements mentioned in our verse, namely the "pit" and the "darkness." (cf. Poetic Feature "The primordial elements").

Note for V. 7

v. 7: The meaning of תַּחְתִּיּוֹת

The substantivized adjective תַּחְתִּי, always in abstract feminine form (either singular or plural) is a superlative of place: “the bottom of” (lit. “the lowest/deepest place of”), e.g. תַחְתִּית הָהָר “the foot of the mountain”, Exod 19:17. In our verse it may be understood as “a pit which is situated at the lowest places”. This phrase, as well as the similar אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית orאֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּיּוֹת is often a synonym of the Sheol. In Ezek 31:14 the latter stands parallel to יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר (cf. vs. 5).

Note for V. 7

The lack of movement prompts us to render שַׁתַּנִי in English as a present perfect (instead of a simple past).

v. 8

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
8a	עָ֭לַי סָמְכָ֣ה חֲמָתֶ֑ךָ	Your outbursts of wrath have been lying heavily on me,
8b	וְכָל־מִ֝שְׁבָּרֶ֗יךָ עִנִּ֥יתָ סֶּֽלָה׃	and you have been afflicting [me] with all your waves. Selah.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

Your outbursts of wrath have been lying heavily on me, like a priest putting his hands on a sacrifice or on a scapegoat bearing the sins of all the people. Am I being treated as a scapegoat like this, since I am innocent? And you have been afflicting [me] with all your waves, as a means of testing me. Did I anger you, like Jonah, who ran from you? Are you afflicting me, so that I should turn back to you? But I am here calling out to you, like he did before you delivered him from the depths! Selah.

Notes

Note for V. 8

v. 8: חֲמָתֶךָ

The whole clause depicts a very material picture in which the wrath of YHWH weighs (or lies heavily) upon the psalmist. That requires a rephrasing of the simple "wrath" into "the outbursts of wrath", namely the "materialistic" form that YHWH's wrath assumes. Same comment for חֲרוֹנֶיךָ in v. 17.

v. 8: סָמְכָה

The most common use of this verb is in the collocation סָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל said of the priest laying or leaning his hand on the sacrifice (e.g. Exod 29:10). Our verse has an intransitive occurrence of that verb, which is also found in Ezek 24:2, in which it is said that the king of Babylon "leaned" against Jerusalem, namely started a siege over it. Both Ezek 24:2 and our verse have in common the oppressive nature of the leaning, and we therefore gloss the verb in our verse as "lies heavily on" (cf. Ps 32.4).

v. 8: ענה

Note for V. 8

The lack of movement and an habitual process prompts us to render סָמְכָה in English as a present perfect progressive.
The lack of movement and an habitual process prompts us to render עִנִּיתָ in English as a present perfect progressive.

v. 9

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
9a	הִרְחַ֥קְתָּ מְיֻדָּעַ֗י מִ֫מֶּ֥נִּי	You have caused my acquaintances to shun me.
9b	שַׁתַּ֣נִי תוֹעֵב֣וֹת לָ֑מוֹ	You have made me repulsive to them.
9c	כָּ֝לֻ֗א וְלֹ֣א אֵצֵֽא׃	[You have made me] shut in, so that I cannot get out.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

You have caused my acquaintances to shun me, like you did to Job. I am lonely and nobody wants to be near me. You have made me repulsive to them, considered unclean, to be avoided and as good as dead. [You have made me] shut in, so that I cannot get out. Like lepers who are excommunicated and quarantined, I am confined to one place and locked in like Jeremiah, because I am undesirable to everyone.

Notes

Note for V. 9

v. 9b תּוֹעֵבוֹת The noun תּוֹעֵבוֹת in our verse is in plural of abstraction: "An abstract noun is quite often expressed by a plural, which properly speaking aims at the various concrete manifestations of a quality or of a state" (JM §136g-h). LXX has a singular noun for תּוֹעֵבוֹת, perhaps so as to bring about agreement between the subject of the verbal notion of the noun תּוֹעֵבָה and the psalmist (singular).
v. 9c The last clause (starting with כָּלֻא) is elliptical in terms of subject and verb. The preferred interpretation considers שַׁתַּנִי as the underlying verb, with כָּלֻא an object complement. This interpretation was chosen for the sake of harmony with the first part of the verse, with YHWH serving as subject and active agent of all three actions (cf. also the refuting argument for the alternative just below).

v. 9c alt The alternative reading assumes a nominal clause with an underlying pronominal subject אֲנִי understood. Although supported by most modern translations (+LXX) it seems less desirable, as a nominal clause with an elided subject is rare when not preceded by הנה and not in third person (JM §154c). This is enhanced by the fact that such a reading would entail a change of subject that would have been expected to be overtly marked (YHWH --> I)

Note for V. 9

v. 9: מִמֶּנִּי

The English verb "to shun" takes the accusative, but the Hebrew one is derived of the root רחק and thus retains its argument with the preposition מ of alienation (i.e. distance oneself from >> shun; cf. van der Merwe §39.14.3).

Note for V. 9

The lack of movement prompts us to render הִרְחַקְתָּ in English as a present perfect (instead of a simple past).
The lack of movement prompts us to render שַׁתַּנִי in English as a present perfect (instead of a simple past). "The Qal passive participle mostly denotes a completed action or a state" (cf. JM §121q).
The combination of the dynamic verb שַׁתַּנִי (read as a present perfect like in the previous line) with the passive participle כָּלֻא, a present simultaneous stative, prompts us to translate the clause as 'you have shut me in [so that until now I am shut in]'."
The modality of 'possibility' for אֵצֵֽא is understood as a combination of posteriority & reference point movement, since 'possibility' is analyzed as a semantic derivative of futurity ('I will go out at any point in the future' --> 'I am able to go out now').

v. 10

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
10a	עֵינִ֥י דָאֲבָ֗ה מִנִּ֫י עֹ֥נִי	My eyes have languished from misery.
10b	קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְהוָ֣ה בְּכָל־י֑וֹם	I have been calling to you, YHWH, every day.
10c	שִׁטַּ֖חְתִּי אֵלֶ֣יךָ כַפָּֽי׃	I have been spreading out my hands to you.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

My eyes have languished from misery, lacking strength, since I have been waiting for too long for you to answer. I have been calling to you, YHWH, every day because I believe that by praying to you, you may save me, like you did Jonah, Job and Jeremiah. I have been spreading out my hands to you, demonstrating that my hands are empty and opening myself in helplessness. I am helpless!

Notes

Note for V. 10

v.10 מֶנִּי The form מֶנִּי, common in the Psalms, is a poetic variant of the preposition מִן with the addition of a paragogic yod (cf. JM §103d).

v. 10 alt #1 Alternative offers a viable reading not attested by any ancient version or modern translation. In addition to that, the following facts speak against this reading:

דָאֲבָה and עֹנִי belong to the same contextual domain.
The root עני is repeated three times, and always in the "complaining" parts, never in the framing statements of appeal (vv. 2-3, 10b-c, 14).
v. 10a and 10b will be less balanced in terms of poetic words if we take מִנִּי עֹנִי to be part of 10b.
The atnah at בְּכָל-יוֹם is a strong indication for this phrase to be considered as part of 10b, not 10c.

Note for V. 10

v. 10: עֵינִי דָאֲבָה

The rare verb דָאַב normally denotes the languishing of the soul (נֶפֶשׁ) (cf. Deut 28:65; Jer 31:11, 24). It is only in our verse that this verb describes the eye. However, "The 'eye(s)' is a synecdoche for the whole person, an indicator of the vitality and health of a person (cf. 1Sam 14:27, 29; Deut 34:7; Ps 19:9; Ezra 9:8) or of the lack of vitality and of depleted strength (Gen 27:1; Job 17:7; Ps 6:8; 38:11; Lam 5:17)" (Goldingay 2007). The choice of eye instead of soul in our verse was probably motivated by the intended pun between עֵינִי and עֹנִי in the same line. Both LXX (ἠσθένησαν) and Jerome (langŭērunt) render this verb with an equivalent of the general verb "to languish" or "to become weak". We therefore prefer the more general "languishes" to the translation suggested by some modern translations with the more specific "grows dim", which is restricted to the eyes only.

Note for V. 10

v. 10: singular of עַיִן standing for the plural

The singular of עַיִן may stand in poetry for both eyes, e.g. פַּלְגֵי-מַיִם תֵּרַד עֵינִי עַל-שֶׁבֶר בַּת-עַמִּי. (Lam 3:48) "Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed." (NIV), in which only one eye crying is obviously impossible. It can also be seen in various idioms such as שָֹם עֵינוֹ עַל (to look to one's good); רָעָה עֵֵינוֹֹ עַל (envy). The plural is therefore the preferred reading in our verse too, supported by LXX.

Note for V. 10

Morphologically and semantically a stative verb, the qatal דָאֲבָה is taken in this case to stand for a perfect inchoative ('languished'), as is rendered by many modern translations and commentaries.
The lack of movement & an habitual process (indicated by the context) prompts us to render קְרָאתִיךָ in English as a present perfect progressive.
The lack of movement & an habitual process (indicated by the context) prompts us to render שִׁטַּחְתִּי in English as a present perfect progressive.

Facing death (vv. 11-13)

Vv. 11-13 constitute a significant and well distinguished section in the psalm. It marks the rhetorical climax of the psalm, which is closely followed by the emotional climax in v. 14. The macro speech act governing this section is that of persuasion. The psalmist, emotionally determined to plead with God, is speaking to YHWH's common sense, trying to convince him that saving him is in his own interest. The common ground assumption here is that YHWH is jealous for his reputation in the world of the living.^[26] If YHWH does not save the psalmist and he eventually dies, then he will not be able to praise YHWH for his wonders and spread the word about YHWH's faithful love and righteousness. This rhetoric implies another important assumption, namely that YHWH’s policies do not include interfering in Sheol: "There are no wondrous acts of truthfulness and commitment and faithfulness in the realm of the dead and, therefore, no wonders to acknowledge and confess in the way they can be confessed in this world so as to bring honor to YHWH."^[27] This praise-less quality of death is found in a number of references within the Bible (see, e.g. Pss 6:6; 30:10; 115:17; Isa 38:18-19). It is only in the world of the living that YHWH is praised (see, e.g. Isa 38:19; Pss 115:17; 118:17; 119:175).^[28]
Technically, the psalmist achieves this rhetoric goal by a sophisticated usage of a set of (pseudo-)disjunctive interrogatives that are the syntactic infrastructure of each of these three verses. “A disjunctive question is sometimes a mere stylistic feature, used in cases of synonymous parallelism...^[29] especially in poetry.”^[30] The usage of these pseudo-disjunctive interrogatives initiates a rhetorical effect of an indirect speech act: while the sentence type is interrogative, the illocution type is assertive, as there are no open questions here at all, but rather strong negations implied. Rather than asking, the psalmist is asserting that YHWH is absent from the Underworld, does not perform wonders to the dead and is consequently not praised by them. Therefore, the formal question "Do you perform wonders for the dead?" (in v. 11a) entails a negation: "You do not perform wonders for the dead!"
The rhetorical effect is further enhanced by a significant shift in terms of the participants in this section: the psalmist disappears altogether. Having lamented his miserable conditions in all the preceding verses to no avail, focusing on himself, he turns to a new tactic: it is as if he is not a factor anymore, with this whole section becoming a theoretic theological argumentation on the relation (or rather lack of) between YHWH and the dead.
Poetically, vv. 11-13 make up the core of the second chiasm in the psalm, as already explained in v. 6. The following visual shows the position of vv. 11-13 within the second chiasm. It is enveloped by vv. 7-10 and vv. 14-19, which are related to each other chiastically.

Following a long series of death-related words in vv. 2-10, we see an interesting balance, in vv. 11-13, between death-related words (highlighted in grey in the following visual) and words denoting God's (=the source of life) loving attributes (highlighted in light blue). This marks a shift in the psalm from despair to submission that will reach its completion in the emotional climax in v. 14, culminating in the light of the morning and the realization that whatever God does, it is always motivated by his faithfulness and loving character.

v. 11

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
11a	הֲלַמֵּתִ֥ים תַּעֲשֶׂה־פֶּ֑לֶא	Do you perform wonders for the dead?
11b	אִם־רְ֝פָאִ֗ים יָק֤וּמוּ ׀ יוֹד֬וּךָ סֶּֽלָה׃	Do the departed spirits rise up to praise you? Selah.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

Do you perform wonders for the dead? No, you do not! There is no coming back from Sheol. Therefore, it is your last chance to save me. Do the departed spirits rise up to praise you? No, they do not! Only the living praise you. So remember, I am more useful to you alive than dead. When you save, you are praised for that. What a preferable outcome than my death! Selah.

Notes

Note for V. 11

v. 11: הֲ - אִם construction Both הֲ and אִם are taken as interrogative particles, working on the higher level of discourse. אִם is commonly found in disjunctive yes/no mutually exclusive questions ("is it X or Y?"). In few cases in the Bible we find אִם functioning as an independent interrogative particle, namely neither in a disjunctive nor in a conditional clause setting, but introducing an independent clause of its own (1Kings 1:27; Is 29:16), which strongly suggests that it can function other than as a subordinating conjunction (cf. JM §161d-e). We therefore give it a particle status in our analysis.
v. 11b The verbal sequence יָקוּמוּ יוֹדוּךָ is analyzed as an (asyndetic) hendiadys.
The word סֶּלָה is absent in LXX.
vv. 11-13: The rhetorical function of the disjunctive question of the הֲ... אִם... type

“A disjunctive question is sometimes a mere stylistic feature, used in cases of synonymous parallelism... especially in poetry” (Joüon-Muraoka §161e). The rhetorical force of such constructions is that of a strong negation implied. This explains the additional “No!” in brackets in the paraphrase. It is important to convey the function of that particular formation to our translator teams.

Note for V. 11

v. 11, 13 : singular of פֶּלֶא as a collective noun

We find in poetry the singular of פֶּלֶא representing the totality of wonders that have been performed by God, e.g. אֶזְכּוֹר מַעַלְלֵי-יָהּ כִּי-אֶזְכְּרָה מִקֶּדֶם פִּלְאֶךָ (Psa 77:12) "I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old" (ESV), in which פֶּלֶא stands parallel to the plural מַעַלְלֵי-יָהּ. The plural reading is backed by the ancient translations.

Note for V. 11

The lack of reference point movement and gnomic aspect prompt us to translate תַּעֲשֶׂה in English as a simple present tense. The same analysis applies to the next verses 11b-12.
The hendiadys יָקוּמוּ יוֹדוּךָ should be rendered in translation by a subordination of the second verb to the first one. In many languages the former may be best rendered by an infinitive ("to praise you").

v. 12

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
12a	הַיְסֻפַּ֣ר בַּקֶּ֣בֶר חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ	Is your faithful love recounted in the tomb?
12b	אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְךָ֗ בָּאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃	[Is] your faithfulness [recounted] in the place of destruction?

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

Is your faithful love recounted in the tomb? No, it is not! [Is] your faithfulness [recounted] in the place of destruction? No, it is not! Because there are no wondrous acts of truthfulness carried out in the realm of the dead and no one to confess them in that world, to bring you praise. You can show your faithful love to me now by saving me, but only as long as I am alive. If you do that, I will tell the whole world of it.

Notes

Note for V. 12

v. 12 Just like in v. 13, the interrogative particle הֲ spans over both parts of the disjunctive question. In fact, the question here is merely rhetoric and not disjunctive: "Double questions... need not always be mutually exclusive; frequently the disjunctive form serves (especially in poetic parallelism) merely to repeat the same question in different words, and thus to express it more emphatically... The second member may, therefore, just as well be connected by a simple וְ" (Gesenius §150h). We therefore assume an elided waw here, like the one explicit in v. 13. This waw is also attested in LXX and some Hebrew manuscripts.

Note for V. 12

v. 12: בַּקֶּבֶר

Taking the context into account, בַּקֶּבֶר can be understood metonymically as the "realm of the dead", in which case the definite article is semantically interpreted as "Identifiability - unique referent".

Note for V. 12

v. 12: אֲבַדּוֹן

The verbal noun אֲבַדּוֹן, literally "destruction" (cf. Job 31:12) is likewise translated in LXX and Jerome. However, in most other places it is metonymically used as "place of destruction" with clear reference to death, and is so translated by Targum as "the house of destruction". We find an ambiguity with some places identifying this "place of destruction" as the underworld (cf. Prov 15:11; Job 26:6), while in our verse it stands parallel to the physical tomb itself. "Physically, it means being in the grave, which is itself visibly the place of destruction. As a term for Sheol, Destruction, too, comes only here in the Psalms (but see Job 28:22; Prov. 15:11)... When you take the rock off a tomb to put another body there, you can see that death is a place of destruction. The body dissolves" (Goldingay 2007).

Note for V. 12

The lack of reference point movement & gnomic aspect prompt us to translate יְסֻפַּר in English as a simple present tense.

v. 13

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
13a	הֲיִוָּדַ֣ע בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ פִּלְאֶ֑ךָ	Can your wonders be known in the dark region?
13b	וְ֝צִדְקָתְךָ֗ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ נְשִׁיָּֽה׃	And [can] your righteousness [be known] in the land of oblivion?

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

Can your wonders be known in the dark region? No, they cannot! And [can] your righteousness [be known] in the land of oblivion, namely, Sheol, the inhabitants of which are forgotten by you? No, it cannot! Because there are no wonders to acknowledge there, and therefore no one in that place can be aware of any. Therefore, if you perform a wonder for me by saving me, I will tell the whole world of it so that your righteousness is known.

Notes

Note for V. 13

v. 13: אֶרֶץ נְשִׁיָּה

LXX has a passive participle "a forgotten land" (καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ἐν γῇ ἐπιλελησμένῃ;), which strengthens the semantic analysis of this construct chain as of a verb with its object. The Hebrew noun נְשִׁיָּה itself is a verbal noun of the קְטִילָה pattern derived from the root נשי ('forget').

Note for V. 13

v. 11, 13: singular of פֶּלֶא as a collective noun

See note under v. 11.

v. 13: חֹשֶׁךְ used figuratively

The direct context of חֹשֶׁךְ, namely vv. 12-13 each of which appear in parallel, reveals a sequence of places which serve as the locations of each its respective clauses: בקבר, באבדון and בארץ נשיה. It therefore calls for a similar reading of בחשך, metonymically, as "place of darkness" or "dark region" referring to the world of the dead, rather than as a natural phenomenon in our world, namely "at night, when it's dark". This reading is backed by NET and NIV.

Note for V. 13

The modality of 'possibility' for יִוָּדַע is understood as a combination of posteriority & reference point movement, since 'possibility' is analyzed as a semantic derivative of futurity ('Your wonders will be known at any point in the future' --> 'Your wonders are able to be known now').

Afflicted and continuing to pray (vv. 14-19)

Vv. 14-19, the concluding section of the psalm, also constitute the enveloping end section of chiasm #2, with the beginning section in vv. 7-10. Both envelop the core section in vv. 11-13 and are framed by an inclusio marked by מחשך. The following sub-sections define the chiasm: (1) vv. 7-9 / vv. 17-19: a shared theme (affliction and shunning of friends); similar beginnings (focal עָלַי); similar motives (wrath-water-friends); YHWH (active) and psalmist (passive) participants. (2) v. 10a / v. 16: a shared theme: suffering and gradual fading; repeated root: עני; repeated alliteration: נִי; YHWH absent. (3) v. 10bc / v. 14-15: a shared theme: invocation; repeated temporals: יוֹם / בֹּקֶר; repeated vocatives: YHWH; repeated alliterations: שִׁטַּחְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ / אֵלֶיךָ שִׁוַּעְתִּי ; YHWH and psalmist both participants. The following visual focuses on this chiasm:

In terms of participants, the psalmist reappears here after having disappeared in vv. 11-13, while the dead disappear for good. From this point and until the end of the psalm, the psalm will be characterized by an interaction between YHWH and the psalmist.

v. 14

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
14a	וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ אֵלֶ֣יךָ יְהוָ֣ה שִׁוַּ֑עְתִּי	But I have been crying out to you for help, YHWH,
14b	וּ֝בַבֹּ֗קֶר תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י תְקַדְּמֶֽךָּ׃	and my prayer will keep welcoming you in the morning.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

But I have been crying out to you for help, YHWH, because only you can save those who believe in you and you will be consequently praised, and my prayer will keep welcoming you in the morning, since daybreak is the time when you appear to deliver and since I have not given up yet!

Notes

Note for V. 14

The waw opening the verse is not understood as a coordinative one connecting v.14 with v.13, but as a marker of a topic-shift (אני), beginning a new section in the psalm. It is therefore represented in the diagram as an element belonging to clause-level.

Note for V. 14

The lack of movement and an habitual process (indicated by the context) prompts us to render שִׁוַּעְתִּי in English as a present perfect progressive.
The lack of reference point movement and yiqtol verbal form prompt us to read תְקַדְּמֶךָּ as an imperfective future with implied habituality that is anchored in the present: "my prayer will keep welcoming you, as it has up until now."

v. 15

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
15a	לָמָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה תִּזְנַ֣ח נַפְשִׁ֑י	Why, YHWH, do you keep rejecting me?
15b	תַּסְתִּ֖יר פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃	[Why] do you keep hiding your face from me?

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

Why, YHWH, do you keep rejecting me? [Why] do you keep hiding your face from me, ignoring me and withdrawing your favors from me? Are you angry at me and punishing me? I am innocent, am I not?

Notes

Note for V. 5

v. 5b The relative clause here is asyndetic, with the retrospective pronoun לוֹ being omitted, common in poetry (JM §158c).

Note for V. 5

v. 5a: בּוֹר

Many translations take בור literally as pit, translating the phrase as "those who go down to the pit" (NIV,ESV), some capitalize the word "those who go down to the Pit" (ISV), and some understand it metaphorically as "those who go down to the grave" (NET). Here the explicit translation is preferred.

v. 5: The meaning of אֱיָל

The noun אֱיָל is a hapax legomenonThat is, the term only occurs once in Biblical Hebrew. in the Bible. It is derived of the root אול with the primary polysemous meanings of "to be in front"/"to be strong"; comp. אֵל "god"; Arb. ʾawwal "first" (HALOT). BDB takes this noun as a loan-word from Aramaic with the meaning "help" (comp. Syr. ʾiyālā "help"). Also noteworthy is the derived noun אֱיָלוּת (Ps 22:20), also a hapax legomenon, which in the context of its psalm probably means "help". The noun אֱיָל is read as such in LXX (ἄνθρωπος ἀβοήθητος "a helpless man") and Peshitta (see ʾiyālā above). On the other hand, The Vulgate iuxta Hebr. has invalidus ("impotent") so as Targum which has בר נש דלית ליה חילא ("a man who has no strength").

We prefer to follow Tate 1990, 396 who, like the Vulgate and Targum, reads אֱיָל as "strength". This reading, etymologically justified (see above), fits in better with the direct context: the noun גֶּבֶר (in contrast to אִישׁ) is often marked in terms of qualities of manhood such as courage and strength (see Venn Diagram below). The reading of אֱיָל as strength is backed by most modern translations (NIV, NLT, ESV, NKJV et alia).

v. 5: גֶּבֶר

Note for V. 5

Verbs of perception in qatal often have present tense stative value. Modern translations all render נֶחְשַׁבְתִּי as a present state.
The attributive participle יוֹרְדֵי is not marked in terms of tense or aspect, and since the context is not decisive enough here, there are various options. Tate (1990:396) suggests an attractive reading of the participle as an imminent future ('those about to go to the Pit'). Nevertheless we take the consensual choice among Modern Translations to read that participle as a present gnomic one. This is further backed by the Greek and Latin present participle καταβαινόντων and descendentibus.
The verb הָיָה is either stative ('to be') or dynamic-inchoative ('to become'). A qatal present stative is rare (cf. JM §111i, Gen 42:31), therfore we choose the inchoative reading, supported by Goldingay:2007; Dahood:1974. Cf. also Gen 3:22.

v. 16

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
16a	עָ֘נִ֤י אֲנִ֣י וְגֹוֵ֣עַ מִנֹּ֑עַר	I have been afflicted and close to death from youth.
16b	נָשָׂ֖אתִי אֵמֶ֣יךָ אֶפּוֹרָה׃	I’ve been suffering your terrifying assaults, and keep being torn apart.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

I have been afflicted and close to death from youth. I have forgotten what well-being feels like and have been feeling hopeless and lonely for so many years. I’ve been suffering your terrifying assaults. I am terrified and tired of living under constant terror, and keep being torn apart consequently, totally without strength.

Notes

Note for V. 16

v. 16 יָגֵעַ LXX, Jerome, and Peshitta have יָגֵעַ instead of גֹּוֵעַ. We consider the former a dispreferred emendation, as גוע is lectio difficilior. The reason is that גוע, a perfective glossed as "expire one's last breath" is not attested anywhere in the Bible in its participle form. This would turn it into an imperfective-telic verb ("to be about to expire one's last breath"), a hard but very possible (and highly graphic) reading. In addition to that, since the psalm is obsessive with the idea of death, we take גוע as the preferred reading, also supported by all modern translations.

v. 16b alt #1 נִשֵֹּאתִי אִמָּךָ Alternative is based on the LXX (ὑψωθεὶς δὲ ἐταπεινώθην) and Peshitta (ܐܬܬܪܝܡܬ ܘܐܬܡܟܟܬ), which can be translated as: ‘I'm lifted up and (then) brought low’. The alternative is made possible through a revocalisation of both words: נִשֵֹּאתִי is read as a Niph'al verb instead of Qal, while אִמָּךָ is read as a Niph'al verb of the root מככ (‘be brought low, humiliated’) instead of the noun אֵמֶיךָ, with an omission of the mater lectionis in the MT. This reading is dispreferred as it is not clear how ‘being lifted up’ is compatible with the message of the psalm, especially as the preceding line is emphasizing how he's been afflicted since youth. The MT text, on the other hand, fits well with the psalm's message.

v. 16c אָפוּנָה The MT reading אָפוּנָה from the unattested root פונ is emended here to אֶפּוֹרָה from the root פור (cognate to פרר "tear/break") to get "I keep being torn apart") in Niphal. This text is attested in 4Q98c, which Longacre and Strawn (2022) argue is part of the proto-Massoretic 4Q85. Skehan et al. (2000) explains LXX ἐξηπορήθην "I am desperate" as onomatopoeia for the 4Q98c reading, although the meaning is different. BHS suggests an emendation to אָפוּגָה "I keep being numb" from the root פוג, which otherwise it not supported by any version and fits in less with the context. For a full analysis of this line, see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b.

Note for V. 16

v. 16: אֵמָיךָ

In a similar way to the analysis of חֲמָתֶךָ in v. 8, the general term אֵמִים "terrors" could be better rephrased in a materialistic and countable form of e.g. "terrifying assaults". The same goes for בִּעוּתֶיךָ in the next verse, a synonym of אֵמָיךָ.

v. 16b: The form and meaning of the verb אֶפּוֹרָה

For a detailed analysis, see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b.

Note for V. 16

A nominal clause in v. 16a has the implied semantics in grey (see next line for an explanation of the analysis).
The participle גֹוֵעַ indicates an on-going state that started in the past and has been extending continuously until the present point. It is best rendered in English with a present perfect continuos tense, but may be rendered with other tenses in other languages (for example, with a present tense)
The lack of movement and an habitual process (indicated by the context) prompts us to render נָשָׂאתִי in English as a present perfect progressive.
Formally identical to a cohortative form, we understand אֶפּוֹרָה semantically as a yiqtol one and prefer to take the paragogic ה as a stylistic coloring, rather than a cohortative marker: "... forms chosen merely for euphony... due to considerations of rhythm" (Gesenius §108g); cf. also JM §114c, footnote #3). Similar instances, all from poetry, are Jer 4:21, 6:10, Ps 57:5. ** for emendation see exegetical issue on v. 16d (MT: אָפֽוּנָה)

v. 17

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
17a	עָ֭לַי עָבְר֣וּ חֲרוֹנֶ֑יךָ	Your outbursts of wrath have been sweeping over me;
17b	בִּ֝עוּתֶ֗יךָ צִמְּתוּנִי׃	your terrifying assaults have been destroying me.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

Your outbursts of wrath have been sweeping over me. Like Job, I do not know why you are furious with me. Have I unknowingly sinned against you? Or are you testing me like you tested Job? Your terrifying assaults, acting as my enemies, have been destroying me. You appointed them to afflict me the same way you let Satan afflict Job.

Notes

Note for V. 17

v. 17 צִמְּתוּתֻנִי MT has an anomalous form, which Gesenius calls "barbarous"(cf. §55d). Seemingly a Pilel" form (with its second ת), the shuruq vowel at the first ת, is not compatible with the expected morphology of Pilel. The MT form seems to be a corruption of the 3rd person plural qatal ending. We therefore go with the emendation of BHS (supported by some medieval Hebrew manuscripts) and prefer to read the form as the basic Piel צִמְּתוּנִי.

Note for V. 17

v. 17 צִמְּתוּתֻנִי MT has an anomalous form, which Gesenius calls "barbarous"(cf. §55d). Seemingly a Pilel form (with its second ת), the shuruq vowel at the first ת, is not compatible with the expected morphology of Pilel. The MT form seems to be a corruption of the 3rd person plural qatal ending. We therefore go with the emendation of BHS (supported by some medieval Hebrew manuscripts) and prefer to read the form as the basic Piel צִמְּתוּנִי.

Note for V. 17

v. 17: חֲרוֹנֶיךָ

For the paraphrase "outbursts of wrath", cf. comment for חֲמָתֶךָ in v. 8 above.

v. 17: עָלַי

In addition to the concrete spatial sense of the preposition על, definitely an element in the picture depicted in this verse, it often has a nuance of hostility, e.g., עָלָיו עָלָה שַׁלְמַנְאֶסֶר מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר in 2 Kgs 17:3 (cf. Waltke & O’Conner §11.2.13.14).

Note for V. 17

The lack of movement and an habitual process prompts us to render עָבְרוּ in English as a present perfect progressive.
The lack of movement and an habitual process prompts us to render צִמְּתוּנִי in English as a present perfect progressive. ** for emendation verse-by-verse note v. 17b (MT: צִמְּתוּתֻֽנִי)

v. 18

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
18a	סַבּ֣וּנִי כַ֭מַּיִם כָּל־הַיּ֑וֹם	They have been surrounding me like water constantly;
18b	הִקִּ֖יפוּ עָלַ֣י יָֽחַד׃	they have been closing in on me together.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

They have been surrounding me like water constantly just like you did to Jonah. Do you want me to turn back from something like him? They have been closing in on me together, like enemies do. I have no way out. Is this the end? I am totally dependent on your deliverance.

Notes

Note for V. 18

v. 18: כַּמַּיִם

The definite article here identifies "water" as the natural element. As such, the reference here is to a general characteristic of water, namely that of "swirling around". English has no definite article in such cases, hence the translation.

v. 18: כָּל־הַיּוֹם

When כל- is attached to a singular definite noun, the definiteness of this noun can be understood as either inclusive (denoting a class) or identifiable (denoting a specific referent), which in turn may influence the way we understand the entire כל construction as denoting, respectively, each member in the group (e.g. כל-העיר "each of all cities") or entirety of one entity (e.g. כל-העיר "the entire city"). In the case of the particular phrase כל-היום, we can therefore have two options, namely "each of all days" --> "all the time, constantly" (Gen 6:5) or "the entire day" --> "all day long" (Nu 11:32). JM §139, footnote 2, has a whole discussion of this particular phrase, where the environments which condition each of these readings are listed. According to their definitions, our כל-היום should be understood as "all the time". Although LXX, Jerome, Targum and the modern translations take it as "the whole day", we prefer to read it as JM suggests, also because it fits in better with the message of the psalmist who emphasizes his ongoing misery from youth, his praying to God every day, etc.

Note for V. 18

v. 18: יָחַד

The noun יָחַד ("unitednees) is, bar one instance, always used adverbially with the sense of "together, in union", cf. JM §126d

Note for V. 18

The lack of movement and a continuous process prompts us to render סַבּוּנִי in English as a present perfect progressive, with the notion of graduality.
The lack of movement and a continuous process (indicated by the context) prompts us to render הִקִּיפוּ in English as a present perfect progressive.

v. 19

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
19a	הִרְחַ֣קְתָּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי אֹהֵ֣ב וָרֵ֑עַ	You have caused all my friends and companions to shun me;
19b	מְֽיֻדָּעַ֥י מֵחֹשֶׁךְ׃	[you have caused] my acquaintances [to shun my] distress.

Click to read Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in italics provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in bold.

You have caused all my friends and companions to shun me; [you have caused] my acquaintances [to shun my] distress, like you did to Job. I am lonely and everyone avoids my presence, because they think my distress is contagious. Will I die as an outcast or will you finally answer me?

Notes

Note for V. 19

v. 19b מְיֻדָּעַי מֵחֹשֶׁךְ The preferred reading is based on a revocalisation of the text which matches both LXX and Jerome. This reading suggests a parallelism between 19a and 19b, with the verb implied in 19b, and מֵחֹשֶׁךְ parallel to מִמֶּנִּי, to get: You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me, (and you have caused) my acquaintances (to shun) distress (which is my condition)." "Darkness" can figuratively be used for "distress" as can be seen in passages such as Ps 18:29. The reason for this reading to have been chosen as the preferred one is that, in addition to requiring no emendation, it results in an elegant parallelism and unproblematic grammar. An alternative reading takes מַחְשָׁךְ as an adverbial indicating directionality ("you pushed my acquaintances into darkness"), but that reading is not viable grammatically and contextually. For the full argumentation, see exegetical issue on v. 19b.

v. 19b alt #1 The explicit MT version, represented by ESV, lit. "My acquaintances are darkness" involves no emendation, but is a hard reading. Some understand it as "My acquaintances have become darkness," i.e. "I cannot see my acquaintances anymore". The problem with this reading is that מַחְשָׁךְ means "a dark place" and not "darkness".

v. 19b alt #2 This alternative reading takes מַחְשָׁךְ as an adverbial locative ("my acquaintances are in darkness"), but that reading is not viable grammatically and contextually.

v. 19b alt #3 Many modern translations read this line as "darkness is my closest friend." This requires changing the plural possessive suffix into a singular one through a simple revocalization. Dahood 1968, 307 reads this line in the same way, but with no revocalisation, explaining מידעי as pluralis majestatis, which seems less likely for an entity of unauthoritative nature such as a friend. Additionally, a different word order would have been expected in this case (see exegetical issue The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:19b).

v. 19b alt #4 This reading is suggested by Rashi and some manuscripts, and assumes a שֹ instead of a שׁ so as to get a different noun derived from the root חשֹך "spare." The translation should be "My acquaintances are withheld (from me)." This reading is not represented by any modern translation and is less preferred because it abolishes the reading with the root חשׁך, which is a repeated root across the psalm with a poetic significance. It could, however, be an intentional pun playing on the equivocal reading of the ש letter; cf. analysis of Ps. 5, where a similar ambiguity arises in the very last word of the psalm.

v. 19b alt #5 This reading involves an anacoluthon: it starts with a continuation of the parallelism initiated in the previous line, which is then immediately interrupted, switching into an exclamatory fragment מַחְשָׁךְ: "[you caused] my acquaintances [to stay away from me]... darkness!". This strong and plausible reading is suggested by some exegetes. For the full argumentation, see exegetical issue on v. 19b.

v. 19b alt #6 This reading follows Vulgate's "abstulisti" assuming, along the same lines of alternative #4, the root חשֹך, to get the translation "You have withheld my acquaintances (from me)". In addition to the reasons against alt #4, which apply here as well, this reading is not preferred as it involves an emendation of the text.

Note for V. 19

v. 19: רֵעַ

Note for V. 19

The lack of movement and a continuous process (indicated by the context) prompts us to render הִרְחַקְתָּ in English as a present perfect progressive.

Legends

Grammatical diagram

The grammar layer visually represents the grammar and syntax of each clause. It also displays alternative interpretations of the grammar. (For more information, click "Grammar Legend" below.)

Visualization	Description
	The clause is represented by a horizontal line with a vertical line crossing through it, separating the subject and the verb.
	The object is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause. Infinitives and participles may also have objects. If the direct object marker (d.o.m.) is present in the text, it appears in the diagram immediately before the object. If the grammar includes a secondary object, the secondary object will appear after the object, separated by another vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause.
	The subject complement follows the verb (often omitted in Hebrew) separated with a line leaning toward the right. It can be a noun, a whole prepositional phrase or an adjective. The later two appear modifying the complement slot.
	When a noun further describes or renames the object, it is an object complement. The object complement follows the object separated by a line leaning toward the right.
	In a construct chain, the noun in the absolute form modifies the noun in the construct form.
	Participles are indicated in whatever position in the clause they are in with a curved line before the participle. Participles can occur as nominal, where they take the place of a noun, predicate, where they take the place of a verb, or attributive, where they modify a noun or a verb similar to adjectives or adverbs.
	Infinitives are indicated by two parallel lines before the infinitive that cross the horizontal line. Infinitive constructs can appear as the verb in an embedded clause. Infinitive absolutes typically appear as an adverbial.
	The subject of the infinitive often appears in construct to it. In this situation, the infinitive and subject are diagrammed as a construct chain.
	The object of the infinitive is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the infinitival clause.
	Modifiers are represented by a solid diagonal line from the word they modify. They can attach to verbs, adjectives, or nouns. If modifying a verb or adjective, it is an adverb, but if modifying a noun, it is an adjective, a quantifier, or a definite article. If an adverb is modifying a modifier, it is connected to the modifier by a small dashed horizontal line.
	Adverbials are indicated by a dashed diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. These are nouns or infinitives that function adverbially (modifying either a verb or a participle), but are not connected by a preposition.
	Prepositional phrases are indicated by a solid diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. The preposition is to the left of the diagonal line and the dependent of the preposition is on the horizontal line. They can modify verbs (adverbial) or nouns (adjectival).
	Embedded clauses are indicated by a "stand" that looks like an upside-down Y. The stand rests in the grammatical position that the clause fulfills. Extending from the top of the stand is a horizontal line for the clause. If introduced by a complementizer, for example כִּי, the complementizer appears before the stand. Embedded clauses can stand in the place of any noun.
	When clauses are joined by a conjunction, they are compound clauses. These clauses are connected by a vertical dotted line. The conjunction is placed next to the dotted line.
	Within a clause, if two or more parts of speech are compound, these are represented by angled lines reaching to the two compound elements connected by a solid vertical line. If a conjunction is used, the conjunction appears to the left of the vertical line. Almost all parts of speech can be compound.
	Subordinate clauses are indicated by a dashed line coming from the line dividing the subject from the predicate in the independent clause and leading to the horizontal line of the subordinate clause. The subordinating conjunction appears next to the dashed line.
	Relative clauses also have a dashed line, but the line connects the antecedent to the horizontal line of the relative clause. The relative particle appears next to the dashed line.
	Sentence fragments are represented by a horizontal line with no vertical lines. They are most frequently used in superscriptions to psalms. They are visually similar to discourse particles and vocatives, but most often consist of a noun phrase (that does not refer to a person or people group) or a prepositional phrase.
	In the body of the psalm, a horizontal line by itself (with no modifiers or vertical lines) can indicate either a discourse particle or a vocative (if the word is a noun referring to a person or people group). A discourse particle is a conjunction or particle that functions at the discourse level, not at the grammatical level. Vocatives can appear either before or after the clause addressed to them, depending on the word order of the Hebrew.
	Apposition is indicated by an equal sign equating the two noun phrases. This can occur with a noun in any function in a sentence.

Hebrew text colors
Default preferred text	The default preferred reading is represented by a black line. The text of the MT is represented in bold black text.
Dispreferred reading	The dispreferred reading is an alternative interpretation of the grammar, represented by a pink line. The text of the MT is represented in bold pink text, while emendations and revocalizations retain their corresponding colors (see below).
Emended text	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold blue text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
Revocalized text	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold purple text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
(Supplied elided element)	Any element that is elided in the Hebrew text is represented by bold gray text in parentheses.
( )	The position of a non-supplied elided element is represented by empty black parentheses. For example, this would be used in the place of the noun when an adjective functions substantivally or in the place of the antecedent when a relative clause has an implied antecedent.

Gloss text colors
Gloss used in the CBC	The gloss used in the Close-but-Clear translation is represented by bold blue text.
Literal gloss >> derived meaning	A gloss that shows the more literal meaning as well as the derived figurative meaning is represented in blue text with arrows pointing towards the more figurative meaning. The gloss used in the CBC will be bolded.
Supplied elided element	The gloss for a supplied elided element is represented in bold gray text.

Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram

(For more information, click "Phrase-level Legend" below.)

Visualization	Description
	The prepositional phrase is indicated by a solid green oval.
	The construct chain is indicated by a solid yellow oval.
	When the conjunction ו appears at the phrase-level (not clause-level), it is indicated by a solid light purple oval.
	The article is indicated by a solid blue oval.

Expanded paraphrase

(For more information, click "Expanded Paraphrase Legend" below.)

Expanded paraphrase legend
Close but Clear (CBC) translation	The CBC, our close but clear translation of the Hebrew, is represented in bold text.
Assumptions	Assumptions which provide background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences are represented in italics.

Bibliography

BDB = Brown, Francis, Driver, Samuel R. & Briggs, Charles A. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977.

BHRG = Merwe, Christo H.J. van der, Jacobus A. Naudé, and Jan H. Kroeze. A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar [2nd ed.]. New York: Bloomsbury, 2017.

BHS = Schenker, Adrian. BIBLIA HEBRAICA STUTTGARTENSIA. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.

Dahood, Mitchell J. Psalms II, 51-100: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. 3rd ed. AB 17. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974.

Eerdmans, Bernardus Dirk The Hebrew Book of Psalms. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1947.

Gesenius, Wilhelm. Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, translated, with additions, and corrections from the author's Thesaurus and other works by Tregelles, Samuel Prideaux. London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1813-1875.

GKC = Gesenius, Wilhelm & Kautsch, Emil. A. E. Cowley (trans.) Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909.

Goldingay, John. Psalms: Psalms 42–89. Vol. 2. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Goulder, Michael D. The psalms of the sons of Korah. Sheffield:JSOT Press, 1982.

HALOT = Koehler, Ludwig & Baumgartner, Walter et al. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Leiden: Brill, 1994-2000.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51-100. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005.

IBHS = Waltke, Bruce, K. O'Connor, Michael O. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990.

JM = Joüon P. and Muraoka T. A grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Rome: Gregorian & Biblical Press, 2018.

Longacre, Drew and Strawn Brent A. "A New Identification of a Psalm Manuscript from Qumran: 4Q85 + 4Q98c". In Dead Sea Discoveries, 30/2, Leiden: Brill, 2022, pp. 152–159.

Lunn, Nicholas P. Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2006.

Miller, Cynthia. “The Pragmatics of Waw as a Discourse Marker in Biblical Hebrew Dialogue.” Zeitschrift Für Althebraistik 12, no. 2 (1999): 165–91.

Miller, Cynthia L. “Vocative Syntax in Biblical Hebrew Prose and Poetry: A Preliminary Analysis.” Semitic Studies 55, no. 1 (2010): 347–64.

Mowinckel, Sigmund. The Psalms in Israel’s Worship. Oxford: Blackwell, 1962.

Skehan, Patrick W., Eugene Ulrich & Flint, Peter W. “4Q98c. 4QPst.” In Qumran Cave 4, XI: Psalms to Chronicles, 155, plate XIX. DJD 16. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000.

Stec, David M. The Targum of Psalms: Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004.

Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 51-100. WBC 20. Dallas, Tex: Word Books, 1998.

Wendland, Ernst R. ‘“Darkness is my closest friend” (Ps 88:18b): Reflections on the saddest psalm in the Psalter’, Verbum et Ecclesia 37(1), Online Journal, 2016.

Footnotes

↑ Cf. Ps 44:27; 109:21; 51:16-18, 147:11-12, Hag 1:8.
↑ Goldingay 2007, 652
↑ See the discussion in Tate (1990, 403).
↑ The classical disjunctive interrogative is of the "Is it A or -A?" type, but in the case of vv. 11-13 we have pseudo-disjunctive interrogatives of the "Is it A or A?" type, where both parts are either synonymous or very similar in content.
↑ JM §161e
↑ Goldingay 2007, 645
↑ Tate 1990, 351
↑ Bar Ps 43 which is considered the second part of Ps 42
↑ Some of the Korahite psalms are considered Zion psalms, namely psalms praising Zion "as anticipation of its role in an idealized future." (Tate 1990, 352) In Pss 42-43 the longing to Zion is identical with longing to God (cf. Ps 43:3-4).
↑ E.g. לָמָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה תִּזְנַ֣ח נַפְשִׁ֑י תַּסְתִּ֖יר פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ in Ps 88:15 vs. לָֽמָּה־פָנֶ֥יךָ תַסְתִּ֑יר in Ps 44:25 and מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים in Ps 42:3 ׃ ; אַךְ־אֱלֹהִ֗ים יִפְדֶּ֣ה נַ֭פְשִׁי מִֽיַּד־שְׁא֑וֹל in Ps 49:16 vs. וְחַיַּ֗י לִשְׁא֥וֹל הִגִּֽיעוּ׃ in Ps 88:4.
↑ Tate 1990, 394
↑ Mowinckel 1962, 210
↑ Most modern translations as well as LXX keep mahalath; Jerome reads "chorus" (namely, 'to the musical director over the chorus'); TgPs. has "according to the prayer;" BDB understands it as a name of a tune.
↑ Eerdmans 1947, 138
↑ Cf. Tate 1990, 395
↑ LXX reads לַעֲנוֹת in Qal (“to answer”), which does not make much sense in the context, while Jerome reads in the same way morphologically, but chooses a different polysemous meaning of the root (“to sing“). It seems, however, that the kind of singing related to the root עני has to do with mass festivities and praises (cf. Exod 15:21, 1 Sam 21:12), which does not suit the general tone of the psalm.
↑ The root עני is repeated in the psalm (see v. 8) but rather refers to the affliction by YHWH.
↑ LXX has "Israelite."
↑ Cf. Tate 1990, 395. Goulder 1982, 203 may be correct to conclude that “Ezrahite” has been added to Heman in the title of Ps 88 from “Ethan the Ezrahite” in the title of Ps 89. Since Heman is reckoned as a colleague of Ethan, a link with the Korahite psalms was provided for Ps 89 by also designating Heman in 88:1 as an Ezrahite. (cf. Tate 1990, 395)
↑ Alternative grammatical analyses for this line: (a) the line is made of one clause, with day and night separated and asyndetic to form the phrase "day and night." Other than not being grammatically viable, it is also hard to account for this reading macrosyntactically. (b) BHS emends MT to אֱלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי יוֹמָ֑ם צַעֲקָתִי בַלַּיְלָה נֶגְדֶּךָ with dittography assumed in יְשׁוּעָתִי and haplography in יוֹם, but that reading is not supported by any of the ancient versions. (c) The line is made of two asyndetic clauses, with the second one being a nominal clause with an adverbial predicate: "I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night." (NLT) (d) TgPs reads: "I cry out by day; my prayer (slwty) is before you in the night." (Stec 2004, 166) The insertion of my prayer is probably a case of intentional emendation or harmonisation with the next verse that has the explicit noun תְּפִלָּתִי in both MT and LXX. (e) V. 2b is a subordinate temporal clause to the main clause in v. 3a: "So when I pray at night..." (CEV) The syntactic structure underlying this reading is of a construct chain with a verb as the nomen rectum. This particular usage of the construct chain is very common with time-determinators as nomen regens, and particularly following בְּיוֹם (N.B. our verse lacks the preposition), cf. GKC §131d. Interesting similar cases in Psalms are 102:3 and 56:10. That analysis, however, is not very convincing in our case, since the verb following יוֹם is a qatal one, thus referring to the past rather to any future point.
↑ See BDB. Most translations keep the literal phrase "my soul" (ESV), while some render it as a personal pronoun (CEV, NIV).
↑ According to Gesenius 1813-1875, 680, the preposition לִפְנֵי may undergo the semantic figurative shift in the presence of --> with the approval of ("since we only put those things which please us before our eyes"), e.g. יִֽהְי֥וּ לְרָצ֨וֹן׀ אִמְרֵי־פִ֡י וְהֶגְי֣וֹן לִבִּ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ Ps 19:15 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD," (NLT).
↑ BDB understands all instances of this verb as statives, rather than inchoatives.
↑ GKC §119l. Cf. also BHRG §39.3.iv.
↑ Cf. JM §90f
↑ Cf. Ps 44:27; 109:21; 51:16-18, 147:11-12, Hag 1:8.
↑ Goldingay 2007, 652
↑ See the discussion in Tate (1990, 403).
↑ The classical disjunctive interrogative is of the "Is it A or -A?" type, but in the case of vv. 11-13 we have pseudo-disjunctive interrogatives of the "Is it A or A?" type, where both parts are either synonymous or very similar in content.
↑ JM §161e

[1] Cf. Ps 44:27; 109:21; 51:16-18, 147:11-12, Hag 1:8.

[2] Goldingay 2007, 652

[3] See the discussion in Tate (1990, 403).

[4] The classical disjunctive interrogative is of the "Is it A or -A?" type, but in the case of vv. 11-13 we have pseudo-disjunctive interrogatives of the "Is it A or A?" type, where both parts are either synonymous or very similar in content.

[5] JM §161e

[6] Goldingay 2007, 645

[7] Tate 1990, 351

[8] Bar Ps 43 which is considered the second part of Ps 42

[9] Some of the Korahite psalms are considered Zion psalms, namely psalms praising Zion "as anticipation of its role in an idealized future." (Tate 1990, 352) In Pss 42-43 the longing to Zion is identical with longing to God (cf. Ps 43:3-4).

[10] E.g. לָמָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה תִּזְנַ֣ח נַפְשִׁ֑י תַּסְתִּ֖יר פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ in Ps 88:15 vs. לָֽמָּה־פָנֶ֥יךָ תַסְתִּ֑יר in Ps 44:25 and מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים in Ps 42:3 ׃ ; אַךְ־אֱלֹהִ֗ים יִפְדֶּ֣ה נַ֭פְשִׁי מִֽיַּד־שְׁא֑וֹל in Ps 49:16 vs. וְחַיַּ֗י לִשְׁא֥וֹל הִגִּֽיעוּ׃ in Ps 88:4.

[11] Tate 1990, 394

[12] Mowinckel 1962, 210

[13] Most modern translations as well as LXX keep mahalath; Jerome reads "chorus" (namely, 'to the musical director over the chorus'); TgPs. has "according to the prayer;" BDB understands it as a name of a tune.

[14] Eerdmans 1947, 138

[15] Cf. Tate 1990, 395

[16] LXX reads לַעֲנוֹת in Qal (“to answer”), which does not make much sense in the context, while Jerome reads in the same way morphologically, but chooses a different polysemous meaning of the root (“to sing“). It seems, however, that the kind of singing related to the root עני has to do with mass festivities and praises (cf. Exod 15:21, 1 Sam 21:12), which does not suit the general tone of the psalm.

[17] The root עני is repeated in the psalm (see v. 8) but rather refers to the affliction by YHWH.

[18] LXX has "Israelite."

[19] Cf. Tate 1990, 395. Goulder 1982, 203 may be correct to conclude that “Ezrahite” has been added to Heman in the title of Ps 88 from “Ethan the Ezrahite” in the title of Ps 89. Since Heman is reckoned as a colleague of Ethan, a link with the Korahite psalms was provided for Ps 89 by also designating Heman in 88:1 as an Ezrahite. (cf. Tate 1990, 395)

[20] Alternative grammatical analyses for this line: (a) the line is made of one clause, with day and night separated and asyndetic to form the phrase "day and night." Other than not being grammatically viable, it is also hard to account for this reading macrosyntactically. (b) BHS emends MT to אֱלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי יוֹמָ֑ם צַעֲקָתִי בַלַּיְלָה נֶגְדֶּךָ with dittography assumed in יְשׁוּעָתִי and haplography in יוֹם, but that reading is not supported by any of the ancient versions. (c) The line is made of two asyndetic clauses, with the second one being a nominal clause with an adverbial predicate: "I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night." (NLT) (d) TgPs reads: "I cry out by day; my prayer (slwty) is before you in the night." (Stec 2004, 166) The insertion of my prayer is probably a case of intentional emendation or harmonisation with the next verse that has the explicit noun תְּפִלָּתִי in both MT and LXX. (e) V. 2b is a subordinate temporal clause to the main clause in v. 3a: "So when I pray at night..." (CEV) The syntactic structure underlying this reading is of a construct chain with a verb as the nomen rectum. This particular usage of the construct chain is very common with time-determinators as nomen regens, and particularly following בְּיוֹם (N.B. our verse lacks the preposition), cf. GKC §131d. Interesting similar cases in Psalms are 102:3 and 56:10. That analysis, however, is not very convincing in our case, since the verb following יוֹם is a qatal one, thus referring to the past rather to any future point.

[21] See BDB. Most translations keep the literal phrase "my soul" (ESV), while some render it as a personal pronoun (CEV, NIV).

[22] According to Gesenius 1813-1875, 680, the preposition לִפְנֵי may undergo the semantic figurative shift in the presence of --> with the approval of ("since we only put those things which please us before our eyes"), e.g. יִֽהְי֥וּ לְרָצ֨וֹן׀ אִמְרֵי־פִ֡י וְהֶגְי֣וֹן לִבִּ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ Ps 19:15 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD," (NLT).

[23] BDB understands all instances of this verb as statives, rather than inchoatives.

[24] GKC §119l. Cf. also BHRG §39.3.iv.

[25] Cf. JM §90f

[26] Cf. Ps 44:27; 109:21; 51:16-18, 147:11-12, Hag 1:8.

[27] Goldingay 2007, 652

[28] See the discussion in Tate (1990, 403).

[29] The classical disjunctive interrogative is of the "Is it A or -A?" type, but in the case of vv. 11-13 we have pseudo-disjunctive interrogatives of the "Is it A or A?" type, where both parts are either synonymous or very similar in content.

[30] JM §161e

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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[6]

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[8]

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[30]

Psalm 88 Verse by Verse

Layers

Helps

Among the Dead

Psalm 88

Section-by-Section

Verse-by-Verse

Section-by-Section Notes

Afflicted and Fearing Death (vv. 2-10)

Facing Death (vv. 11-13)

Afflicted and Continuing to Pray (vv. 14-19)

Verse-by-Verse Notes

Psalm 88 Text

Superscription (v. 1)

v. 1

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 2

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

vv. 3–4

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 5

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 6

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 7

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 8

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 9

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 10

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

Facing death (vv. 11-13)

v. 11

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 12

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 13

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

Afflicted and continuing to pray (vv. 14-19)

v. 14

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 15

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 16

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 17

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 18

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

v. 19

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Notes

Legends

Bibliography

Footnotes