Psalm 88 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Lord God, you are my Savior.\par I have been praying to you\par day and night.\par

² Please pay attention to my prayers.\par Listen to my prayers for mercy.\par

³ My soul has had enough of this pain!\par I will soon die.\par

⁴ People already treat me like a dead man,\par like a man too weak to live.\par

⁵ Look for me among the dead people.\par I am like a dead body lying in the grave,\par one of the dead people you forgot,\par cut off from you and your care.\par

⁶ You put me in that hole in the ground.\par Yes, you put me in that dark place.\par

⁷ God, you were angry at me,\par and you punished me.\par \i (SELAH {\cf2\super [501]})\i0 \par

⁸ My friends have left me.\par They all avoid me like a person\par no one wants to touch.\par I am locked in the house\par and I can’t go out.\par

⁹ My eyes hurt from \{crying about\}\par all my suffering.\par Lord, I pray to you constantly!\par I lift my arms in prayer to you.\par

¹⁰ Lord, do you do miracles for dead people?\par Do ghosts rise up and praise you?\par No!\par \i (SELAH {\cf2\super [502]})\i0 \par

¹¹ Dead people in their graves\par can’t talk about your love.\par Dead people in the world of the dead\par can’t talk about your loyalty.\par

¹² Dead people lying in darkness\par can’t see the amazing things you do.\par Dead people in the World of the Forgotten\par can’t talk about your goodness.\par

¹³ Lord, I am asking you to help me!\par Early each morning I pray to you.\par

¹⁴ Lord, why have you abandoned me?\par Why do you refuse to listen to me?\par

¹⁵ Since I was young, I was weak and sick.\par I have suffered your anger,\par I am helpless.\par

¹⁶ Lord, you were angry at me,\par and the punishment is killing me.\par

¹⁷ The aches and pains are always with me.\par I feel like I am drowning\par in my aches and pains.\par

¹⁸ And Lord, you forced all my friends\par and loved ones to leave me.\par Only darkness stayed to be with me.\par