From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
Parallel translations
- WEB I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted.
- KJV I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
- NKJV I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.
- NASB I was miserable and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I grow weary.
- NLT I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He has been afflicted and near death from his youth, distraught under God's terrors. His suffering has been lifelong.
Overview
Heman reveals that his affliction is not new but has marked his entire life, leaving him overwhelmed. The depth and duration of his trial intensify the lament. Such prolonged suffering reminds believers that endurance is part of the path, and points to the One who was a man of sorrows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Luke 22:44And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
- Ps 73:14For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
- Job 7:11–16Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
- Isa 53:10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
- Zech 13:7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- Job 17:11–16My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart.
- Isa 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- Job 17:1“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished; the grave awaits me.
- Ps 22:14–15I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 88:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.