Psalms 88 (ESV)

18 verses · English Standard Version · Essentially literal

The ESV balances word-for-word accuracy with modern English readability. Favored by scholars and pastors for study and preaching, it preserves the structure of the original Hebrew and Greek while using clear, contemporary language.

Psalms Chapter 88 contains 18 verses and is presented here in the English Standard Version (ESV), which uses a essentially literal approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 150 chapters in Psalms.

NIVKJVNLTMSGNASB
Chapter 87Chapter 89

1O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you.

2Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!

3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.

4I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,

5like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.

6You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.

7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

8You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

9my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you.

10Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah

11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?

15Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.

16Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.

17They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.

18You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

Chapter 87Read in NIVChapter 89

About This Translation

What is Psalms 88 in the ESV?

Psalms 88 in the English Standard Version (ESV) contains 18 verses. The ESV uses a essentially literal approach, first published in 2001 (rev. 2016).

How does the ESV translate Psalms 88 differently?

The English Standard Version uses essentially literal, balancing accuracy with modern readability. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Psalms 88 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Psalms 88 (ESV)?

Psalms Chapter 88 contains 18 verses in the English Standard Version. The book of Psalms has 150 chapters total.

Psalms (ESV) — All 150 Chapters