Psalms 88–18
Psalm 88:1-18
Psa.88.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מזמור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבני: PREP
- קרח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- מחלת: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- לענות: VERB,qal,inf
- משכיל: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- להימן: PREP
- האזרחי: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Ps.42:1 (structural): Header also begins 'For the director; a maskil of the sons of Korah' — same designation (maskil; Sons of Korah) and cultic/musical direction as Psalm 88.
- Ps.44:1 (structural): Begins with 'For the director; a maskil of the sons of Korah' — another example of a Korahite maskil with the same liturgical/authorial heading.
- Ps.84:1 (structural): 'For the director; of the Korahites' — shares the 'sons of Korah' and 'for the director' heading elements, reflecting the Korahite collection of psalms.
- Ps.89:1 (verbal): 'A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite' — parallels Psalm 88's rare attribution to an 'Ezrahite' (Heman the Ezrahite) and the use of 'maskil' as a technical literary-musical term.
Alternative generated candidates
- A song. A maskil of the sons of Korah. For the leader; upon Mahalath Leannoth. A contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.
- A song; a maskil of the sons of Korah. For the director, on Mahalath Leannoth— a maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
Psa.88.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישועתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צעקתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- בלילה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נגדך: PREP+PRON,2,ms
Parallels
- Psalm 22:2 (verbal): Shares the same language of crying to God by day and by night — a depiction of continual lament and appeal to God.
- Luke 18:7-8 (thematic): Parable of the persistent widow; echoes the motif of crying continually to God (or for justice) day and night and trusting God to respond.
- Psalm 18:46 (verbal): Uses the phrase 'God of my salvation' (or similar language) as a title for the LORD, paralleling 'יהוה אלהי ישועתי' in Psalm 88:2.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (thematic): Commands believers to 'pray without ceasing,' reflecting the Psalmist's continuous calling upon God day and night.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out to you day; at night I raise my voice before you.
- O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry to you by day; I call to you by night before you.
Psa.88.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- תפלתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
- הטה: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,sg
- אזנך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- לרנתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
Parallels
- Psalm 102:1 (verbal): Almost identical petition: “Hear my prayer, O LORD; and let my cry come unto thee,” matching the request that the prayer come before God and that He incline His ear.
- Psalm 86:6 (verbal): Directly echoes the plea for divine attention: “Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications,” paralleling the call to incline God’s ear to the cry.
- Psalm 39:12 (verbal): Similar language of urgent petition: “Hear my prayer, LORD; and give ear unto my cry,” reflecting the same appeal for God to listen to the psalmist’s lament.
- Psalm 5:1–2 (verbal): “Give ear to my words... Hearken unto the voice of my cry” — an early psalm with the same motif of asking God to hear and attend to the psalmist’s plea.
- Psalm 130:1 (thematic): “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD” — thematically aligned as a distressing cry to God seeking His attentive hearing and mercy.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.
- Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.
Psa.88.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- שבעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברעות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- וחיי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- לשאול: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- הגיעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Job 10:21-22 (verbal): Speaks of going to the land of darkness/the shadow of death — a direct parallel to 'my life draweth nigh unto Sheol' (approach of death/Sheol).
- Job 17:13 (verbal): Job says the grave is his house and he has made his bed in darkness, echoing the motif of life drawing near to Sheol/grave.
- Isaiah 38:10 (verbal): Hezekiah/Isaiah language of departing to the gates of Sheol and the cutting off of days parallels the theme of life nearing the grave/Sheol.
- Lamentations 3:17-19 (thematic): The prophet laments a soul bereft of peace and full of misery — thematically parallel to 'my soul is full of troubles' and the sense of imminent death and despair.
Alternative generated candidates
- For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave.
- For my soul is full of troubles; my life draws near to Sheol.
Psa.88.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נחשבתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,-,sg
- עם: PREP
- יורדי: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,pl
- בור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- כגבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- איל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 14:15 (verbal): Uses the same downward-to-the-pit/Sheol imagery (‘brought down to Sheol…to the far reaches of the pit’), echoing the motif of being counted among those who descend to the pit.
- Job 7:9 (thematic): Speaks of going down to Sheol and not returning (‘As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up’), paralleling the psalm’s sense of being among the dead.
- Psalm 6:5 (thematic): Both verses underline the finality of death/Sheol and its separation from God’s praise (‘For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?’), matching the psalm’s despair.
- Psalm 22:6 (thematic): Expresses profound humiliation and social/spiritual rejection (‘I am a worm and not a man; scorned by mankind and despised’), resonating with the psalmist’s image of being as one reduced or powerless.
- 1 Samuel 2:6 (verbal): Uses similar language of the LORD’s dealings with life and death (‘The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to Sheol and raises up’), paralleling the theme of being brought down to the pit.
Alternative generated candidates
- I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
- I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
Psa.88.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- במתים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חפשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כמו: PREP
- חללים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שכבי: VERB,qal,impv,2,f,sg
- קבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- זכרתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- והמה: PRON,3,m,pl
- מידך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נגזרו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 6:5 (verbal): Both verses assert that in death there is no remembrance of God (or God’s remembrance is absent), echoing the idea that the dead are beyond divine notice.
- Psalm 30:9 (thematic): A lament about the futility or loss once one goes to the grave—'what profit is there... when I go down to the pit?' parallels being like those cut off and lying in the grave.
- Isaiah 38:18 (allusion): Hezekiah’s statement that Sheol cannot thank or remember God resonates with Psalm 88’s claim that the dead are not remembered and are cut off from God's hand.
- Job 10:21-22 (thematic): Job’s depiction of going to the land of darkness and gloom—excluded from light and life—parallels the imagery of lying among the dead and being severed from God’s care.
Alternative generated candidates
- I am like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more; they are cut off from your hand.
- Like the slain, free among the dead, like those who lie in the grave— whom you remember no more; they are cut off from your hand.
Psa.88.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שתני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בבור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחתיות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- במחשכים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במצלות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jonah 2:2 (verbal): Uses pit/Sheol imagery—crying out from the depths; parallels the motif of being in the deep/pit and cut off from help.
- Isaiah 38:18 (thematic): Speaks of those 'who go down to the pit' and their inability to praise or be remembered by God—echoes the sense of abandonment in the pit.
- Job 10:21-22 (thematic): Describes going to a land of darkness and the shadow of death, mirroring the motifs of deepest darkness and the pit in Psalm 88:7.
- Psalm 139:8 (allusion): Contrasts Psalm 88 by affirming God's presence even 'if I make my bed in Sheol,' highlighting Psalm 88's sense of divine absence in the pit.
- Psalm 143:3 (thematic): The psalmist laments lying in darkness like the dead and being brought low into deep places—similar language of depths, darkness, and exclusion from God's favor.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have placed me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths.
- You have laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the deeps.
Psa.88.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- סמכה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- חמתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2ms
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- משבריך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2ms
- ענית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Psalm 42:7 (verbal): Uses almost identical imagery—'deep calls to deep... all your breakers and your waves have gone over me' echoing the sense of being overwhelmed by divine waters/angry waves.
- Psalm 69:1–2 (verbal): Speaker complains of being engulfed by waters and overwhelmed (KJV/NRSV: 'the deep calleth unto the deep... all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me'), paralleling the motif of divine wrath as inundating waves.
- Jonah 2:3–5 (thematic): Jonah describes being surrounded and sunk by waters ('the waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me'), reflecting the same experience of being overwhelmed as punishment or distress.
- Psalm 18:4–5 (18:5–6 MT) (thematic): David portrays death/floods and cords surrounding him—image of being engulfed and crushed that parallels the psalmist's sense of being overwhelmed by God's anger and waves.
- Lamentations 3:1–3 (thematic): The speaker depicts severe affliction and enclosure by suffering ('He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness'), resonating with Psalm 88's portrayal of divine wrath pressing upon the psalmist.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your wrath lies heavy upon me; all your breakers overwhelm me. Selah.
- Your wrath lies heavy upon me; all your breakers you have brought upon me. Selah.
Psa.88.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הרחקת: ADJ,f,pl,def
- מידעי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
- שתני: VERB,hiph,perf,2,m,sg
- תועבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כלא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- אצא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 69:8 (verbal): Speaks of becoming estranged from kin—"I have become a stranger to my brothers"—paralleling the isolation and removal from acquaintances in Ps 88:9.
- Psalm 31:11 (verbal): Declares being a reproach and object of scorn among the people, echoing Ps 88:9's language of being made an abomination to others.
- Psalm 142:4 (thematic): Expresses the speaker's experience of having no one to know or help him—parallel theme of abandonment and solitude in Ps 88:9.
- Job 19:13-19 (thematic): Job describes alienation from relatives, friends' hostility, and being mocked—closely parallels Ps 88:9's motifs of removal, revulsion, and confinement.
- Lamentations 3:52-53 (thematic): Describes enemies gaping and rejoicing over the speaker's misery and God enclosing him—resonates with Ps 88:9's sense of being shut up and made loathsome to others.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have removed my acquaintances far from me; you have made me an object of loathing to them. I am confined and cannot go out.
- You have removed my acquaintances far from me; you have made me loathsome to them— I am shut in so I cannot go out.
Psa.88.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- דאבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,pl
- מני: PREP+PRON,1,_,sg
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- קראתיך: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שטחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- כפי: PREP
Parallels
- Psalm 143:6 (verbal): Uses the same gesture—"I stretch out my hands to you"—a close verbal and devotional parallel to the outstretched-hands motif in Ps 88:10.
- Psalm 22:2 (thematic): "My God, my God... all day long I cry" — echoes the theme of continual daily crying out to God and experiencing apparent distance or silence.
- Lamentations 3:8 (verbal): "When I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer" — similar language of crying/calling to God and the experience of unheeded plea, matching the lament tone of Ps 88:10.
- Psalm 6:6 (thematic): "I am worn out from my groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping" — parallels the physical signs of grief (flooded eyes/tears) and persistent mourning expressed in Ps 88:10.
- 1 Timothy 2:8 (allusion): "I desire that men pray... lifting holy hands" — a later New Testament echo of the prayer posture of outstretched hands found in Ps 88:10, connecting posture and prayer practice.
Alternative generated candidates
- My eyes grow dim with sorrow; I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
- My eye wastes away from sorrow; I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
Psa.88.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלמתים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- פלא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- רפאים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יקומו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- יודוך: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Psalm 6:5 (verbal): Asks rhetorically who will praise God from the realm of the dead/Sheol — closely parallels Ps 88:11's question about wonders or praise being known among the dead.
- Psalm 115:17 (thematic): Declares that the dead do not praise the LORD and those who go down to silence cannot give thanks — same theme that the realm of the dead is a place where God’s works are not declared.
- Psalm 30:9 (verbal): Uses similar language ('will the dust praise you? will it tell of your faithfulness?') questioning whether one in the grave can proclaim God's wonders, mirroring Ps 88:11's imagery.
- Isaiah 38:18-19 (allusion): Hezekiah/Isaiah lament that Sheol cannot thank or praise God and that the dead cannot declare his steadfast love — a prophetic parallel to the idea that God’s wonders are not made known among the dead.
Alternative generated candidates
- Can the dead praise you? Will those who go down into silence declare your faithfulness? Selah.
- Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up and praise you? Selah.
Psa.88.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- היספר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בקבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חסדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- אמונתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- באבדון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 30:9 (verbal): Asks whether the dust/earth can praise God or tell of his faithfulness—very close wording and theme (the dead cannot praise God; 'tell of your faithfulness').
- Psalm 6:5 (thematic): States that in death there is no remembrance of the LORD or praise in Sheol, echoing the despair that God's steadfast love/faithfulness cannot be proclaimed from the grave.
- Isaiah 38:18-19 (verbal): Hezekiah observes that Sheol/death cannot thank or praise God nor hope for his truth—language and idea parallel the question whether God's steadfast love/faithfulness is declared in the grave.
- Psalm 115:17 (thematic): Affirms that the dead do not praise the LORD, reinforcing the theological motif that those in Sheol cannot proclaim God's lovingkindness or faithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is your steadfast love told in the grave, your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
- Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Psa.88.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- היודע: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg,def
- בחשך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וצדקתך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2ms
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- נשיה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 12:22 (verbal): Speaks of God revealing 'deep things of darkness' and bringing shadows to light—language and theme closely parallel the question about God's wonders being known in darkness.
- Daniel 2:22 (verbal): Declares that God 'reveals deep and secret things' and 'knows what is in the darkness,' echoing the verse’s concern with God's knowledge and works in darkness.
- Psalm 139:11-12 (thematic): Affirms that darkness is not hidden from God and that night is as light to him, thematically paralleling the idea of God's wonders and righteousness being present or known in darkness.
- Psalm 139:8 (thematic): States that God is present even in Sheol/‘the land of the dead,’ paralleling the verse’s reference to God’s righteousness being known in the 'land of forgetfulness' (Sheol).
Alternative generated candidates
- Who will proclaim your wonders in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
- Are your wonders known in the darkness, your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Psa.88.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שועתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
- ובבקר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תפלתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
- תקדמך: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg+PRON,2,ms
Parallels
- Psalm 5:3 (verbal): Explicitly mentions morning prayer before God: “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you,” echoing Ps. 88:14’s ‘in the morning shall my prayer come before you.’
- Psalm 18:6 (verbal): Lament/cry motif: “In my distress I called upon the LORD… my cry came before him,” paralleling Ps. 88:14’s language of crying to the LORD and the prayer coming before him.
- Psalm 102:1–2 (verbal): Direct petitionary language—“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee”—closely parallels the plea and expectation that the prayer reaches the LORD in Ps. 88:14.
- Psalm 130:1 (thematic): The basic motif of crying out from distress—“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD”—matches the lament’s appeal in Ps. 88:14 to the LORD with morning supplication.
- Lamentations 3:55 (thematic): A lament’s calling on God in desperate circumstances—“I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit”—resonates with Ps. 88:14’s cry and prayer directed to the LORD amid suffering.
Alternative generated candidates
- But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
- But I—to you, O LORD—cry aloud; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psa.88.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למה: ADV
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- תזנח: VERB,qal,imperf,2,m,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- תסתיר: VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,sg
- פניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 10:1 (verbal): Almost identical complaint: 'Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?' — both plead with God about perceived divine absence and hiddenness.
- Psalm 13:1 (verbal): Directly parallels the motif and language: 'How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? ... Will you hide your face from me?' — same theme of abandonment and God hiding his face.
- Psalm 22:1 (thematic): Expresses a related cry of abandonment: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' — a theologically resonant laments about God’s apparent forsaking.
- Job 23:8-9 (thematic): Job's words about seeking God but not finding him and God hiding himself ('I go forward, but he is not there... he hideth himself') echo the experience of divine absence and hidden face.
- Exodus 33:20 (structural): God's refusal to let Moses see his face ('You cannot see my face') provides a background motif of divine hiddenness that illuminates lamenters' complaints about God hiding his face.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why, O LORD, do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from me?
- O LORD, why do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from me?
Psa.88.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- וגוע: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מנער: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נשאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אמיך: NOUN,f,sg,poss2ms
- אפונה: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 40:17 (verbal): Nearly identical wording and content — confession of poverty and need and appeal for God’s timely help and deliverance.
- Psalm 86:1-2 (verbal): Direct plea for God’s attention based on the speaker’s poverty and need (’bow down thine ear… for I am poor and needy’).
- Psalm 71:5 (thematic): Affirms dependence on God from youth (’Thou art my trust from my youth’), paralleling the speaker’s lifelong affliction and reliance on God.
- Psalm 22:1-2 (thematic): Expression of abandonment and desperate cry to God (’My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’), echoing the tone of despair in the verse.
- Psalm 13:1-2 (verbal): Complains of God’s apparent hiding of his face and delayed help (’How long... wilt thou hide thy face from me?’), paralleling the appeal for God not to delay.
Alternative generated candidates
- I am afflicted and near death; from my youth I have suffered—by your terrors I am overcome.
- I am afflicted and near death from my youth up; I suffer your terrors—I am helpless.
Psa.88.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- עברו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- חרוניך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- בעותיך: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- צמתותני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Lamentations 3:1 (thematic): The speaker attributes his severe suffering to the 'rod of his wrath'—parallel to Psalm 88:17's depiction of God's wrath and terrors falling on and cutting off the petitioner.
- Job 16:8–9 (verbal): Job describes God's heavy hand and tearing him in wrath (crushing/afflicting the speaker), using language of divine violence and devastation similar to the psalmist's experience of God's terrors cutting him off.
- Psalm 38:2 (thematic): Here bodily suffering and lack of soundness are explicitly ascribed to God's indignation, echoing Psalm 88:17's linking of the psalmist's ruin to divine wrath and terror.
- Nahum 1:6 (thematic): The rhetorical question 'Who can stand before his indignation?' parallels Psalm 88:17's theme of God's overwhelming wrath/terrors that overpower and cut off the sufferer.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your fierce anger has passed over me; your terrors have cut me off.
- Your wrath has passed over me; your terrors have cut me off.
Psa.88.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סבוני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הקיפו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- יחד: ADV
Parallels
- Jonah 2:3 (verbal): Jonah says the waters closed in over him and surrounded him, using the same image of being enclosed by water as a metaphor for overwhelming distress.
- Psalm 69:2 (thematic): Speaks of sinking into deep waters and being overwhelmed—same motif of water as a symbol of peril and crushing trouble.
- Psalm 18:4 (2 Sam 22:5) (verbal): Describes being overwhelmed by torrents/streams of destruction, paralleling the image of being surrounded and engulfed by water-like forces.
- Psalm 124:4 (thematic): Imagery of streams/waters that would have overwhelmed the community mirrors the Psalm 88 motif of being surrounded by waters (threats) that close in.
- Psalm 42:7 (thematic): 'Deep calls to deep' and 'your breakers and waves' going over the psalmist evokes the same sense of being engulfed by overwhelming waters and distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- They surround me like water all day long; together they close around me.
- They surround me like water all day; together they close in upon me.
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah; for the director; according to Mahalath Leannoth — a contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.
O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out by day; I call to you by night.
Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my plea.
For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
I am like one bereaved among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave — whom you remember no more; they are cut off from your hand.
You have placed me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me; all your breakers have you brought down upon me. Selah.
You have removed my companions far from me; you have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut in and cannot go out.
My eye wastes away with grief; I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
Will you work wonders for the dead? Will the shades rise up to praise you? Selah.
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Yet I, O LORD, cry to you, and in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O LORD, do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from me?
I am afflicted and near death from my youth; I have borne your terrors.
Your wrath has passed over me; your terrors have cut me off; they have beset me.
They surround me like water all day; they close in upon me together.