[1] LORD, God of my salvation, by day I cry out, even at night, before you— [2] let my prayer reach you! Turn your ear to my outcry [3] because my whole being is filled with distress; my life is at the very brink of hell. [4] I am considered as one of those plummeting into the pit. I am like those who are beyond help, [5] drifting among the dead, lying in the grave, like dead bodies—those you don’t remember anymore, those who are cut off from your power. [6] You placed me down in the deepest pit, in places dark and deep. [7] Your anger smothers me; you subdue me with it, wave after wave. Selah [8] You’ve made my friends distant. You’ve made me disgusting to them. I can’t escape. I’m trapped! [9] My eyes are tired of looking at my suffering. I’ve been calling out to you every day, LORD—I’ve had my hands outstretched to you! [10] Do you work wonders for the dead? Do ghosts rise up and give you thanks? Selah [11] Is your faithful love proclaimed in the grave, your faithfulness in the underworld? [12] Are your wonders known in the land of darkness, your righteousness in the land of oblivion? [13] But I cry out to you, LORD! My prayer meets you first thing in the morning! [14] Why do you reject my very being, LORD? Why do you hide your face from me? [15] Since I was young I’ve been afflicted, I’ve been dying. I’ve endured your terrors. I’m lifeless. [16] Your fiery anger has overwhelmed me; your terrors have destroyed me. [17] They surround me all day long like water; they engulf me completely. [18] You’ve made my loved ones and companions distant. My only friend is darkness.
