Psalm 88 Verse-by-Verse

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Welcome to the Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 88!

The Verse-by-Verse Notes present scholarly, exegetical materials (from all layers of analysis) in a verse-by-verse format. They often present alternative interpretive options and justification for a preferred interpretation. The Verse-by-Verse Notes are aimed at consultant-level users.

The discussion of each verse of this psalm includes the following items.

1. A link to the part of the overview video where the verse in question is discussed.
2. The verse in Hebrew and English.
3. An expanded paraphrase of the verse.
4. A grammatical diagram of the verse, which includes glosses for each word and phrase.
5. A series of notes on the verse, which contain information pertaining to the interpretation of the psalm (e.g., meaning of words and phrases, poetic features, difficult grammatical constructions, etc.).

Superscription (v. 1)

v. 1

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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

Grammatical Diagram

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."
• 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)."
• The Psalter contains 11 Korahite psalms, all in the second (Pss 42-48) 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. We see some common expressions and themes shared between Ps 88 and other Korahite psalms.
• 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." Mowinckel 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. 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' 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. This purpose, however, does not seem to be matched by the psalm itself, where the psalmist does not show penitence or profess a sin. 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). 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) 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."

Afflicted and fearing death (vv. 2-10)

v. 2

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

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

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.
• 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.

• 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).
• 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." 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."

v. 3

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
3a	תָּב֣וֹא לְ֭פָנֶיךָ תְּפִלָּתִ֑י	May my prayer find favor with you!
3b	הַטֵּֽה־אָ֝זְנְךָ֗ לְרִנָּתִֽי׃	Incline your ear to my cry!

Expanded Paraphrase

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!

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The idiom בָּא לִפְנֵי (lit. "come before") is understood as "find favor / be approved with someone."

v. 4

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
4a	כִּֽי־שָֽׂבְעָ֣ה בְרָע֣וֹת נַפְשִׁ֑י	For I am weary of troubles,
4b	וְחַיַּ֗י לִשְׁא֥וֹל הִגִּֽיעוּ׃	and my life has reached Sheol.

Expanded Paraphrase

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!

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 3

Notes

• The verb translated be weary of (שָֹבַע) is a qatal verb understand to stand for a present state.
• 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" a similar semantic relation as that of the verb שָׁמַח בְּ "rejoice in."
• 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, thus נַפְשִׁי my soul = אֲנִי I.
• The noun life (חַיִּים) is always morphologically plural. Most of such nouns are abstract in meaning (cf. the note on תוֹעֵבוֹת in v. 9b), though here the verb is also third plural.
• 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).

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Pit (בּוֹר) is another term for the Netherworld (cf. Ezek 26:20; Prov 1:12; Ps 30:4; Isa 38:18). The following Venn Diagram presents a comparison between the Hebrew בּוֹר and the English pit:

• The attributive participle those who go down (יוֹרְדֵי) is not marked in terms of tense or aspect, and since the context is not decisive enough here, there are various options to analyze it. We follow the consensus among Modern Translations which reads that participle as a present gnomic one (rendered by the present simple in English).
• The verb translated as I have become (הָיִיתִי) is understood in a dynamic-inchoative sense, signifying entrance into a state. Alternatively, it is possible to interpret the verb in a stative sense: “I am”, but qatal present statives are rare.
• The preposition כ can represent either likeness ("like") or equality ("just like," "truly"), the so-called כ veritatis. Given the general tone and message of the psalm, we prefer to adopt the latter option.
• The noun man (גֶּבֶר) denotes "a man in his machismo." By placing in the same phrase both man (גֶּבֶר) and who has no strength (אֵֽין־אֱיָֽל) the psalmist creates a sharp contrast between the ideal of a man and his own reality, emphasizing his frustration of his situation. The following Venn Diagram presents a comparison between the Hebrew גֶּבֶר and the English man. Note the emphasis in Hebrew on aspects of masculinity and courage:

• The relative clause like a man who has no strength (כְּגֶ֣בֶר אֵֽין־אֱיָֽל) is asyndetic, with the retrospective pronoun לוֹ being omitted, a common phenomenon in poetry. אֵין can form a sort of asyndetic relative clause, which serves as an attribute to the preceding noun, with the force of "without."
• The noun אֱיָל only occurs here in the Bible. It is derived from 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"). We prefer to read אֱיָל as strength, following the basic meaning of its root. This reading fits in better with the direct context, as the noun גֶּבֶר (in contrast to אִישׁ) is often marked in terms of qualities of manhood such as courage and strength (see Venn Diagram above).

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

[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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Our poetic structure identifies two chiastic patterns with partial overlap (in vv. 7-10), and in the middle of each is a section constituting its core. V. 6 marks the core of the first chiasm (the core of the second chiasm is in vv. 11-13). The following visual shows the position of v. 6 within the first chiasm. It is enveloped by vv. 2-5 and vv. 7-10, which are related to each other chiastically. Both these core sections, namely v. 6 and vv. 11-13, focus on the realm of the dead and have words/themes repeated in both of them, creating a strong cohesion (מֵתִים, קֶבֶר, אֶרֶץ נְשִׁיָּה/לֹא זְכַרְתָּם). These core sections are also characterized by a similar make-up of participants, with the appearance of the dead, reappearance of YHWH and the formal absence of the psalmist.
• The first line in v. 6 [I am] an outcast among the dead (בַּמֵּתִ֗ים חָ֫פְשִׁ֥י) is part of v. 5 in LXX. Our preferred reading follows the MT division between vv. 5 and 6, the same one that is found in some ancient versions (Jerome, Syriac, Targum) and reflected by almost all Modern translations. We prefer to maintain this division, since the clause בַּמֵּתִ֗ים חָ֫פְשִׁ֥י is strongly related to the content of v. 6: חָפְשִׁי and חֲלָלִים both designate the lowest ranks among the dead ׂ(see the following note). Additionally, 2 Chron 26:21 offers an interesting relation between בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית and the verb נִגְזַר.
• The adjective חָפְשִׁי has the basic meaning of free particularly in the context of slavery. However, in v. 6 we understand this adjective as denoting a social status in the society of the dead, which we translate as an outcast, a low social class of the despised and excommunicated imported from the society of the living into the Netherworld. For a thorough discussion of this term, see The Meaning of חָפְשִׁי in Ps 88:6.
• The fronting of among the dead (בַּמֵּתִים) in the first line marks a scalar focus: "not only in the society of the living, but even in the society of the dead I am an outcast."
• The slain (חֲלָלִים) are those who died in a violent way, particularly in battle, e.g. 1 Sam 17:52, 31:8, 2 Sam 1:19, 1 Kgs 11:15, Jer 51:4. They were another despised class in the Netherworld, since they were buried in mass graves (cf. שׁׁכְבֵי קֶבֶר), if at all, e.g. Ezek 32:20-23.
• On the כ veritatis in just like the slain (כְּמוֹ חֲלָלִים), see note above on כְּגֶבֶר in v. 5.
• Verbs of perception in qatal, like you remember them (זְכַרְתָּם) in the third line, often have present tense stative value.
• The fronting of the subject הֵמָּה in the fourth line marks the beginning of the second part of the coordinated relative clause and the new syntactic role of the antecedent in this part (direct object in the first part; subject in the second part).
• The hand of God, appearing in the fourth line as יָּדְךָ, is used as an anthropomorphic 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, hence the translation from your care. This is backed by some of the modern translations as well (NIV, NLT, CSB).
• As for the fronted position of מִיָּדְךָ, it marks focus: "from your own care."

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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?

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• This section (vv. 7-10) is central in terms of the poetic structure of the psalm. As we explained in v. 6, the psalm is made of two poetic chiasms: (a) vv. 2-10 (b) vv. 7-19. Each of these chiasms is centered around a core section in v. 6 and in vv. 11-13 respectively. As we can see, vv. 7-10 constitute both the enveloping end section of chiasm #1 and the enveloping beginning section of chiasm #2. We will discuss the parallels between the various chiastic counterparts of chiasm #1 in more detail in the following verse notes 7-10. The parallels for chiasm #2 will be discussed in vv. 14-19.
• V. 7 begins a section that is three verses long (vv. 7-9), describing YHWH afflicting the psalmist. This section is framed by an inclusio with the verb שַׁתַּנִי, lit. You have put me. This section is characterized by a make-up of participants different from the one in v. 6, with the disappearance of the dead, reappearance of the psalmist (mostly as the object), and YHWH (or one of his agents) being active. The predominant emotion characterizing this section is anger towards YHWH reflected by the speech act of accusation.
• Vv. 7-9 are the chiastic counterparts to v. 5: While in v. 5 we learn that the psalmist has lost his strength and is negatively marked by society, it is in vv. 7-9 that we learn why that is so (i.e., because of YHWH). Each of these parts has one of the only occurrences of the word בּוֹר and they are framed by an inclusio marked by the two only passive verbal forms in chiasm #1:

• The psalmist's situation is reminiscent of Jeremiah's in Jer 28:6-13, who was sent down into the pit (בּוֹר) and drowned in the mud (טִיט) before being saved and taken out. This hints at a possible connection between the psalmist and Jeremiah, the latter having provoked the king's wrath and being punished by him. Consequently, one of the possible scenarios in our Story Behind The Psalm is that of the psalmist having provoked YHWH's anger and being punished by him. The following visual from Story-Behind depicts this scenario:

• The verse indicates three locations in which YHWH places the psalmist: in the lowest pit (בְּבוֹר תַּחְתִּיּוֹת), in dark places (בְּמַחֲשַׁכִּים) and in watery depths (בִּמְצֹלוֹת). This triad forms the set of chaotic primordial elements, a poetic feature in our psalm, symbolizing the chaos the psalmist's life has become, having lost his social network and control over his routine, passively being passed from the hands of one of YHWH's agents to the other.
• These three elements (darkness, water, pit) are all common images for death: pit is a synonym of a tomb; Sheol is as dark as a tomb (e.g. Job 10:21-22); deep waters are a common image for death and Sheol.
• The images of death mentioned in the previous note are an attempt to hint at the psalmist's desperate situation, reminiscent of death, but they obviously do not represent his actual reality in the world of the living. "Putting in the lowest pit, in dark places, in watery depths" may therefore be seen as images symbolizing the current situation of the psalmist as one who is sick, quarantined and dying. The following two imagery tables elaborate on these themes. Note that in the first table the pit is taken not as a tomb, but as a place of incarceration (see the note on Jeremiah above):

• 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”), as in 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,” hence "the lowest pit." This phrase, as well as the similar אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית or אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּיּוֹת is often a synonym of Sheol, as the latter lies deep under the Earth, like the deepest pit (e.g. Ezek 31:14; Ps 86:13).
• We prefer to keep the MT reading in watery depths (בִּמְצֹלוֹת), unlike the one found in LXX and Syr., since the recurring motif of "water" is one of the major images associated with the psalmist's miserable condition (cf. מִשְׁבָּרֶיךָ in v. 8; כַמַּיִם in v. 18), neatly complementing the two other elements mentioned in our verse, namely the pit (בּוֹר) and darkness (מַחְשַׁכִּים), the triad of the primordial elementsץ

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The most common use of the verb סָמַךְ 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 (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 lying heavily on (cf. Ps 32:4). What strengthens this oppressive nature is the fact that the preposition עַל often implies a nuance of hostility (see, e.g., עָלָיו עָלָה שַׁלְמַנְאֶסֶר מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר in 2 Kgs 17:3).
• The idiom סָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל is most prevalent in the Laws of sacrifice, particularly in Leviticus, said of the priest who puts his hands on the sacrifice as the final gesture before sacrificing it (see, e.g. Exod 29:15, Lev 3:2, 8, 13; 8:18, 22). It is also said of the שְׂעִיר הַחַטָּאת (the scapegoat) who bore the sins of all the people (Lev 16:21). We consider the choice of the verb סָמַךְ in this verse as intentional, creating a possible connection between the psalmist and the scapegoat. Consequently, one of the contingent scenarios in our Story Behind The Psalm is that of the psalmist having been chosen as a scapegoat by God, which may be the reason behind his suffering. The following visual from Story-Behind depicts this scenario:

• The fronting of עָלַי marks an exclusive focus: "Of all people it is on me that your outbursts of wrath have been lying heavily." This word order matches the subtext of this verse mentioned above, that of the status of the psalmist as a scapegoat chosen by YHWH of all people.
• The first line depicts a very material picture in which the wrath of YHWH lies heavily upon the psalmist. That requires a rephrasing of the simple "wrath" into the outbursts of wrath, namely the concrete and discrete form that YHWH's wrath assumes.
• In the second line we come across the theme of affliction by water. An interesting intertextual connection is established here with Jonah 2:4 (כָּל-מִשְׁבָּרֶיךָ וְגַלֶּיךָ עָלַי עָבָרוּ). Just like in the previous line, we have another scenario implied here as a possible reason behind the suffering of the psalmist: the psalmist might have provoked the wrath of God who is trying to test the psalmist and see if he turns back to him. The following visual from Story Behind depicts this scenario:

• The image of waves is, unlike in Jonah, not a realistic representation of the psalmist's situation, so that other than creating an intertextual connection to Jonah, it also poetically conveys the nature of his affliction. The following imagery table elaborates on this image:

• The fronting of כָל-מִשְׁבָּרֶיךָ marks a focus, highlighting the total and merciless character of YHWH's affliction of the psalmist, not sparing a single "wave" from him. Phrases with כֹּל are often fronted for marked focus.
• The Selahs often mark transitions or highlights in the text, and this may be the case for the Selah closing v. 8. This Selah stands in the middle of the overlapping unit (vv. 7-10), the one that marks both the end of the first chiasm and the beginning of the second one (see note above for vv. 7-10) and therefore signals a structural transition.

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• In this verse a new participant is introduced: my acquaintances (מְיֻדָּעַי), who reappear in the last verse of the psalm. The psalmist laments here the attitude of the society towards him, a theme that was also present in v. 5, the chiastic counterpart of vv. 7-9 (see visual from Poetic Structure in v. 6). The psalmist is accusing God for causing his acquaintances shun him and for making him repulsive to them. Job laments the estrangement of his relatives and friends in a similar way (cf. Job 19:13-19). The similarity to Job prompts us again to consider a possible scenario in our Story Behind The Psalm equating the situation of the psalmist to that of Job whose faith was put to the test. The following visual from Story-Behind depicts this scenario:

• The English verb to cause to shun someone (הִרְחַקְתָּ) takes the accusative, while 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).
• The second line implies another similarity between the psalmist and Job: YHWH has caused his acquaintances to shun him by making him repulsive to them, a hint at the fact that the psalmist has contracted a harsh disease distorting his physical appearance, possibly leprosy. Lepers were considered unclean and to be avoided (Lev 13:46; 2 Kgs 7:3), as good as dead (Num 12:12), and were excommunicated and required to be quarantined (Num 12:14-15; 2 Kgs 7:3, 15:5). This possibility is strengthened by the adjective חָפְשִׁי in v.6, which has a semantic relation to leprosy. This relation is elaborated on thoroughly in The Meaning of חָפְשִׁי in Ps 88:6.
• The noun תּוֹעֵבוֹת (lit. "abominations") is a plural of abstraction (to be understood as "you made me an abomination to them), which we found best to render in our CBC with the adjective repulsive.
• The inflected preposition to them (לָמוֹ) is a poetic variant of לָהֶם.
• The main clause of the third line is a sentence fragment, lacking both an overt subject and verb. Our preferred reading considers You have made me (שַׁתַּנִי) as the underlying verb, with shut in (כָּלֻא) an object complement. This reading was chosen for the sake of harmony with the first two lines of the verse, with YHWH serving as subject and active agent of all three actions.
• The word shut in (כָּלוּא) is a Qal passive participle form denoting a completed action or a state. This passive participle is elsewhere found only in Jer 32:2, another indication to the affinity between the story of Jeremiah and that of the psalmist (see note above on v. 7a).
• The waw opening the last clause so that I cannot get out (וְלֹא אֵצֵא) marks a clause of consequence ("so that...").
• The modality of 'possibility' in the yiqtol verb I cannot get out (לֹא אֵצֵא) is understood as a combination of posteriority and reference point movement, since 'possibility' is analyzed as a semantic derivative of futurity ('I will get out at any point in the future' --> '(therefore) I have the ability to get out').

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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!

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• V. 10 is made of two parts: v. 10a and v. 10bc. V. 10a is the chiastic counterpart of v. 4 (see the Poetic Structure visual in v. 6). Both are characterized by the absence of YHWH, the presence of the psalmist only and nouns denoting life and vitality: נַפְשִׁי, חַיַּי, עֵינִי. V. 10bc on the contrary is the chiastic counterpart of vv. 2-3: both are characterized by an invocation to YHWH, insisting that he has fulfilled his part of the covenant, by the repeated words יוֹם and יְהֹוָה (which also frame the first chiasm by an inclusio) and a similar vocalic pattern ש..תי אל...
• V. 10a is characterized by a remarkable repetition of the vocalic pattern נִי. This pattern appears 14 times in total in the psalm, all in the second chiasm in vv. 7-19 (bar the core section in vv. 11-13). This pattern echoes both I (אֲנִי) and afflicted (עָנִי) which in line 16a are equated in the predication I have been afflicted (עָנִי אֲנִי). The repetitive sequence ני in vv. 7-10a keeps reminding one of the psalmist's miserable conditions, culminating in v. 10a where the psalmist finally cries out loud stating his misery explicitly. At the same time, the word misery (עֹנִי) is located at the exact center of the psalm, marking misery as a central motif simultaneously placing the psalmist (אני=עני) at its very core.

• The singular of "eye" (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) 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.
• The “eye(s)” is a synecdoche for the whole person, an indicator of the vitality and health of a person (1 Sam 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). The following imagery table elaborates on that synecdochical representation of the whole body by the eye:

• The subject-verb order of v. 10a is an indication of thetic nature of the information packaging of this clause, i.e., as a unitary whole. Following a long list of accusations directed towards YHWH with a detailed breakdown of the afflictions the psalmist is enduring, comes the bottom line announcing the consequence of this whole affair: "Look now, I am depleted of vitality because of all this endless misery (a result of everything I have stated just now)."
• The rare verb languish (דָאַב) normally denotes the languishing of the soul (נֶפֶשׁ) (see Deut 28:65; Jer 31:11, 24). It is only in the present verse that this verb describes the eye. 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 and meant to highlight the alliterative pattern נִי (see note above). 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.
• The preposition from (מִנִּי), common in the Psalms, is a poetic variant of the preposition מִן with the addition of a paragogic yod. A likely reason for this form to have been chosen is that it contains the aliterative pattern נִי which is shared in by two other forms in the same line (namely עֵינִי, עֹנִי) and many others in vv. 7-9, 14-19, which together make up a poetic feature, see visual above.
• The psalmist is insisting again in v. 10b on his fulfillment of the covenant, having constantly prayed to YHWH. The vocative YHWH in v. 10b is in medial position and post-nucleus, possibly providing rhetorical highlighting to the following component. This rhetorical highlighting may be seen as a confirming focus: "Yes, every day indeed I have been calling you! Why have you not responded yet?" An alternative or complementary explanation for the position of the vocative here, from a poetic perspective, was already mentioned in v. 2.
• I have been spreading out my hands to you (שִׁטַּ֖חְתִּי אֵלֶ֣יךָ כַפָּֽי): "Openness of hands demonstrates that the hands are empty and that the suppliant knows this and opens the self in helplessness."

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. 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." 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).
• 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... especially in poetry.” 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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Both הֲ and אִם are taken as independent 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 (e.g. 1 Kgs 1:27; Isa 29:16), which strongly suggests that it can function other than as a subordinating conjunction. Thus, we understand it as a particle in our analysis.
• The lack of reference point movement & gnomic aspect prompt us to translate both yiqtol verbs in English as a present simple tense. The same analysis applies to the next verse.
• The fronting of for the dead (לַמֵּתִים) marks a contrasting focus, serving as the clause constituent on which the rhetorical yes-no question focuses: "Is it for the dead that you perform wonders (or for the living)?"
• In poetry, we find the singular of wonder (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 supported by the ancient translations.
• The fronting of the departed spirits (רְפָאִים), which on its surface looks like a marked focus, results in fact in an ironic pseudo-focus which repeats, in a different word, the already activated focus of v. 11a (on the the nature of this particular stylistic device see above). This in turn further enhances the rhetorical force of this construction.
• The verbal sequence rise up to praise you (יָקוּמוּ יוֹדוּךָ) is analyzed as an (asyndetic) hendiadys. This hendiadys 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").
• The Selahs often mark transitions or highlights in the text, and so the Selah at the end of this verse may mark the beginning of the rhetorical climax of the psalm (vv. 11-13), which is also the core of the second chiasm.

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?

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Just like in v. 13, the interrogative particle הֲ spans over both parts of the disjunctive question. The dual question here is, as described in the introduction to this section, merely rhetorical, entailing a negation rather than a genuine disjunctive question.
• The governing message of this verse, as well as the next one, is that "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."
• The lack of reference point movement and the gnomic aspect prompt us to translate both yiqtol verb in English as a present simple tense.
• Taking the context into account (cf. אֶרֶץ נְשִׁיָּֽה in v. 13b), in the tomb (בַּקֶּבֶר) can be understood metonymically as the "realm of the dead," in which case the definite article is semantically interpreted as marking identifiability of a unique referent (since the realm of the dead, the underworld, is unique).
• The word order of v. 12b, rather than being pragmatically marked, mirrors the word order of v. 12a with the verb elided.
• אֲבַדּוֹן “Abaddon” is another term for the netherworld to which the dead go. The verbal noun אֲבַדּוֹן, literally "destruction" (cf. Job 31:12) is likewise translated in LXX and Jerome. However, in most of its occurrences it is metonymically used as place of destruction with clear reference to death and Sheol: "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."

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?

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Unlike the two previous verses, we understand the verb can be known (יִוָּדַע) as implying a modality of 'possibility'. Semantically, this modality is analyzed as a combination of posteriority and reference point movement, as 'possibility' can be taken as a semantic derivative of futurity ('Your wonders will be known at any point in the future' >> '(therefore) your wonders have the potential to be known').
• As was explained in v. 11, in poetry we find the singular of פֶּלֶא representing the totality of wonders that have been performed by God.
• The direct context of חֹשֶׁךְ, namely vv. 12-13 reveals a sequence of places which serve as the locations of each predication, all referring to the underworld: בַּקֶּבֶר, בָּאֲבַדּוֹן and בְּאֶרֶץ נְשִׁיָּה. It therefore calls for a similar reading of בַּחֹשֶׁךְ, metonymically, as "place of darkness" or "dark region" referring to the world of the dead, rather than to the natural phenomenon of darkness.
• The Hebrew noun oblivion (נְשִׁיָּה) is a verbal noun of the קְטִילָה pattern derived from the root נשי ('forget'). The verbal voice may be interpreted as either active "the land of those forgetting" or passive "the land of those forgotten." Our preferred reading is the latter for two reasons: (1) The equivalent core section in v. 6 has an explicit mention of the dead being forgotten by YHWH: whom you do not remember (אֲשֶׁר לֹא זְכַרְתָּם עוֹד). (2) LXX has a passive participle "a forgotten land."
• The word order of v. 13b, rather than being pragmatically marked, mirrors the word order of v. 13a with the verb elided.

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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!

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• V. 14, and particularly the second line, is the emotional climax of the psalm and a major turning point: the psalmist commits to continue praying to YHWH, fulfilling his part of the covenant, even though he keeps being afflicted and does not know the reason for his suffering, and even if praying will not lead to his personal salvation. We saw earlier signs to that realization in vv. 11-13, where a plethora of YHWH's loving attributes were mentioned: his wonders, his faithfulness and righteousness. These having been brought to mind, the psalmist realizes that whatever YHWH does, it is motivated by his loving character. This leads him to resignation, to a complete submission to YHWH, regardless of the personal outcome that will eventually be his share. A number of signals in the text have led us to this interpretation:
  • (1) The verse starts, just like all the earlier invocations in the psalm, with a qatal verb stating that the psalmist has been praying continuously to no avail, emotionally desperate and helpless, but in the second line we suddenly encounter a surprising yiqtol form that we read as an imperfective future with implied habituality anchored in the present: "my prayer will keep welcoming you (as it has up until now)." The psalmist switches emotionally to submission and acceptance of YHWH's hidden ways.
  • (2) The psalm has up to this point been dominated by a bleak tone, manifested by a long series of "dark" words related to death. This starts changing in vv. 11-13 where YHWH's loving attributes mentioned above are introduced and balanced with those "dark words," and reaches its culmination with in the morning (בַּבֹּקֶר) in v. 14b, notably a metathesis of קֶבֶר in v. 12a (see visual below): whether he has managed to convince God or not, whether he is going to die as a scapegoat or not - death is no longer his concern, because God does everything out of his faithful love. The psalmist has now accepted this fact and therefore starts to see the light of the morning.
  • (3) As mentioned in v. 2, the psalm has four YHWH vocatives. The last one will appear right after our pivotal line, in v. 15a, where the vocative draws one slot nearer, after a gradual distancing in the first three: this might symbolize the psalmist realizing that God has not completely abandoned him as he originally thought and that his prayers are thus still worth something.

• The emotional climax is also reflected by the main story triangle in Story-Behind, where the climax of the story is exactly our verse:

• The waw conjunction opening the verse is not understood as a coordinate one connecting v. 14 with v. 13, but as a marker of a topic-shift (back to the psalmist), beginning a new section in the psalm. It is therefore represented in the diagram as an element belonging to clause-level.
• The inflected preposition to you (אֵלֶיךָ) is fronted for marked restricting focus: "I have been crying out to you (only) for help (, because I know you are the only one who can save me)."
• The position of the vocative YHWH is as a post-fronted (אֵלֶיךָ) constituent.
• Other than signalling the emotional climax (as described above), the morning (בֹּקֶר) "is supposed to be the time when God appears to deliver (e.g., Pss 90:14; 143:8)." The fronting of בַּבֹּקֶר is for a marked exclusive focus: "it is (specifically, deliberately) in the morning that my prayer will keep welcoming you."
• The phrase my prayer (תְּפִלָּתִי) marks topic activation. This word order (focus-topic) is also attested in 2 Kgs 19:23 and Isa 28:17.

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?

Expanded Paraphrase

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?

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The psalmist is pleading with YHWH in this verse to stop ignoring him. Rhetorically, this is achieved through an indirect speech act: while the sentence type is interrogative, the illocution type is directive: "Why do you keep rejecting me?" --> "Stop rejecting me!"
• The lack of reference point movement together with the yiqtol verbal forms prompt us to translate this in English as a relative imperfective present tense with implied continuity (not habituality), to get 'keep doing...'.
• For discussion of the soul (נֶפֶשׁ) as interchangeable with the personal pronoun, see the discussion above on v. 4a.
• The collocation hide one's face (הִסְתִּיר פָּנִים) is used, when said of YHWH, in two possible senses: (1) to ignore or be indifferent towards people's troubles (Ps 10:11; 13:2; 42:25), ׂׂ(2) more often, to withdraw his favor due to his anger towards sinners (Deut 31:17-18; 32:20; Isa 54:8; Jer 33:5; Ezek 39:23-24; Mic 3:4).

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• In vv. 16-18, the psalmist laments his miserable physical conditions and accuses YHWH as the one responsible for his misery, not unlike in vv. 7-10a. What makes these verses stand out is the introduction of YHWH's agents of terror, e.g. terrifying assaults (אֵמֶיךָ) in this verse, who become his messengers of affliction. Following the emotional climax in v. 14 and the realization of the psalmist that YHWH is always motivated by faithfulness, and his consequent submission to YHWH, we see an emotional shift in these verses when compared to vv. 7-10: while in the latter the dominant emotion is that of anger, the dominant ones in vv. 16-18 are those of terror and helplessness.
• The position of the nominal predicate afflicted (עָנִי) in the first line is marked, being a non-default one. In our case, עָנִי is fronted to mark a confirming focus: "Why do you keep rejecting me? I'm afflicted, as you know!"
• The participle close to death (גֹּוֵעַ) 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 tense, but may be rendered with other tenses in other languages (for example, with a present tense).
• As mentioned in the first note above, terrifying assaults (אֵמֶיךָ) are the first terror agents that are mentioned in vv. 16-19, serving as YHWH's messengers of affliction, invoking a petrifying terror with the psalmist. Similar to the analysis of חֲמָתֶךָ in v. 8, the abstract term אֵמִים "terrors" could be better rephrased in a concrete and discrete form of e.g. "terrifying assaults." The same goes for בִּעוּתֶיךָ in the next verse, a synonym of אֵמָיךָ.
• 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 the Niph'al. For a thorough analysis of this exegetical issue, see The Text and Meaning of Ps 88:16b.
• As for the morphology and verbal semantics of אֶפּוֹרָה, although it is morphologically cohortative, we understand it semantically as a yiqtol verb and prefer to take the paragogic ה as stylistic coloring, rather than a cohortative marker. In light of this analysis, a lack of reference point movement and yiqtol verbal form prompt us to translate this in English as habitual, with the nuance of keep being torn apart: with each and every assault the psalmist has no chance to recover and consequently keeps being torn apart.

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• In vv. 16-19 we see a major shift in terms of participants when compared to vv. 7-9 (see visual below): while in vv. 7-9 YHWH is the direct agent behind the affliction in four out of five acts (highlighted in purple), in vv. 17-19 it is YHWH's agents of terror (see the first note in v. 14) that are the direct agent behind the affliction in four out of five acts (highlighted in dark green). We consider that a symbolic representation of the psalmist's mitigation of his accusation of God, following the emotional shift in v. 14.

• In addition to the concrete spatial sense of the preposition over (עַל) it often has a nuance of hostility.
• The fronting of over me (עָלַי) marks an exclusive focus: "Of all people it is over me that your outbursts of wrath have been sweeping."
• The first line depicts a very material picture in which the "wraths" of YHWH sweep over the psalmist. That requires a rephrasing of the simple "wraths" into the outbursts of wrath (חֲרוֹנֶיךָ), namely the concrete and discrete form that YHWH's wrath assumes.
• terrifying assaults (בִּעוּתֶיךָ): "A second word for “terrors” is in v. 17 in the plural noun בִּעוּתִים, occurring elsewhere only in Job 6:4, though the verb בִּעֵת, “startle/ terrify,” appears in a number of places (1 Sam 16:15; Isa 21:4; Job 3:5; 7:14; 9:34; 13:11; 18:11) and the nominal בְּעָתָה, “terror/dismay,” is found in Jer 8:15; 14:19."
• The MT has the anomalous form have been destroying me (צִמְּתוּתֻנִי). Seemingly a Piʿlel form (with a reduplicated ת), the shureq vowel on the first ת, is not compatible with the expected morphology of Piʿlel. The MT form seems to be a corruption of the 3rd person plural qatal ending. Thus, we follow the emendation suggested by BHS and supported by some medieval Hebrew manuscripts, preferring to read the form as the basic Pi'el צִמְּתוּנִי.

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• This verse continues the previous one with YHWH's messengers, בִּעוּתִים, who keep afflicting the psalmist: "and they are God’s “terrors” and do his bidding, as they swirl around and close in for the kill." We have a similar image in Jonah 2:4, 6: וְנָהָר יְסֹבְבֵנִי ... אֲפָפוּנִי מַיִם עַד-נֶפֶשׁ תְּהוֹם יְסֹבְבֵנִי "and the currents swirled about me...The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me." (NIV); cf. v. 8 on the similarity with Jonah. In other psalms, human enemies are described as closing in on the psalmist in the same way as the בִּעוּתִים in our verse do (e.g. Ps 17:9-11; 22:13, 17). The following imagery table elaborates on the image of YHWH's terrifying assaults acting as human enemies:

• When כָּל- 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 כָּל- construction as denoting, respectively, each member in the group (e.g. כָּל-הָעִיר "each of all cities") or entirety of one entity (e.g. כָּל-הָעִיר "the entire city"). In the case of the particular phrase כָּל-הַיּוֹם, we can therefore have two options, namely "each of all days" --> "all the time, constantly" (e.g. Gen 6:5) or "the entire day" --> "all day long" (e.g. Num 11:32). We take the first option as our preferred one, as it fits in better with the message of the psalmist who emphasizes his ongoing misery from youth and his praying to God every day.
• The noun יָחַד "unitednees" is, bar one instance, always used adverbially with the sense of together, in union.

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.

Expanded Paraphrase

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?

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• This verse repeates the same theme as in v. 9: YHWH causing the psalmist's friends to shun him. YHWH's agents of terror which were prominent in vv. 16-18 disappear as participants and the friends (אֹהֵב) and companions (רֵעַ) reappear. For a more thorough discussion on the similarity of this theme with Job and its implication on the Story-Behind the psalm, cf. v. 9.
• The phrase all my friends and companions (אֹהֵב וָרֵעַ) is a fixed compound of two synonyms to express totality and add emotional force, which is common with ָו (with a qametz).
• The clause making up v. 19b מְיֻדָּעַי מֵחֹשֶׁךְ is the hardest to interpret textually, syntactically and semantically in the whole psalm. The clause's ellipsis has resulted in at least six different readings in both ancient and modern translations and among several exegetes. Our preferred reading is based on a revocalisation of the text which matches both the 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 all my friends and companions 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 be chosen as our preferred one is that, in addition to requiring no emendation, it results in an elegant parallelism and unproblematic grammar. Moreover, this reading has an added poetic value: as someone who considers himself as good as dead, in the realm of the dead, which is characterized as a dark place (cf. v. 13), the psalmist emanates vibes of darkness, which become de-facto identical with him. For a thorough analysis of this exegetical issue, including a review of all the different readings, see The Text and Meaning of Ps 88:19b.

Legends

Grammatical diagram

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

Grammatical Term	Definition	Diagram	Example
Clausal Additions
Subject	The subject performs the action of the active verb or receives the action of a passive verb. With intransitive verbs	Indicated at the beginning of the main clausal line, and followed by a vertical line that crosses over the main clause line (separating the subject from the predicate).
Direct Object	Object that receives the direct action of a (transitive) verb	Indicate with a vertical line up from main clausal line
Predicate adjective/ Subject complement	A word used with a linking verb (ex. "to be"), renaming or restating the subject. Can be a whole prepositional phrase.	Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. It can be on a stand if it is an embedded clause.
Object Complement	Word following a direct object to state what it has become.	Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line.
Infinitives	Can be subject, adverbial, or an infinitive construct.	Indicate with double vertical lines that cross the main clausal line. If used adverbially (ie. an embedded clause), place on a stand.
Participles	A verbal noun/adjective that can be used in three positions: (1) substantival; (2) attributive; (3) predicative.	Indicate with a round vertical line. Substantival participles are placed on a stand (they are embedded). Attributive participles are placed with a rounded line underneath what is modified.
Modifiers
Adjectives	A word modifying a noun to indicate quality, quantity, extent, or differentiating something from something else.	Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified.
Adverbs	A word that modifies a verb, adverb, adjective, prepositional phrase, clause, or sentence to express a relation (ex. manner, quality, or time).	Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified.
Construct relationships	Construction can express many different relationships between two (or more) nouns. English grammarians call this construction a ‘Construct’ (our term) or ‘Genitive’ phrase; Hebrew grammarians call it smīḵūt (סְמִיכוּת).	Indicate with a stair-step down from the modified word/clause/phrase.
Prepositional phrases	A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object and has adjectival or adverbial value	Indicate with a slanted vertical line connecting to a new clause.
Connectives	(1) Coordinating conjunctions join together words or word groups of equal grammatical rank (2) Subordinating conjunctions join a main clause and a clause which does not form a complete sentence by itself.	Indicate with a dashed line down from a vertical line marker.
Embedded clause	A clause inside another clause which can include substantival participles, adverbial infinitives, and prepositional phrases.	Indicate using stilts.
Particles
Subordinating particle	Indicates a dependent clause.	Indicate with a dashed line down from the antecedent to the pronoun.
Apposition	A word that is functioning as an explanatory equivalent as another in the sentence	Place on a line apart from the diagram but next to the word it is the equivalent of with an equal sign in between.
Vocative	Indicating a person being addressed (usually with a 2nd person verb)	Place on a line apart from the diagram next to the '()' indicating the gapped subject an equal sign in between.

Master Diagram

Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

	Prepositional phrase	Construct chain	Construct chain within a prepositional phrase	Phrase-level waw	Article and כֹּל
Diagram Shading
Definition	- A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause.	- A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state).	- Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases	- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause).	- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to

Expanded paraphrase

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

• Close but Clear (CBC) translation
• Assumptions which provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences

Bibliography

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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.

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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.

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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

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