Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness.
- BSB You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
- NKJV Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.
- NASB You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in a hiding place.
- NLT You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.
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
God has put lover and friend far from him, and his companions into darkness. The psalm ends in unrelieved loneliness and gloom.
Overview
Uniquely among the psalms, Psalm 88 closes not in hope but in darkness, with all relationships removed. Yet the very fact that it is a prayer to God shows faith holding on in the dark. Its final word, 'darkness,' is answered only in Christ, who entered the deepest darkness so that His people might at last walk in light.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ps 88:8Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
- Ps 38:11My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
- Job 19:12–15His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle.
- Ps 31:11I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 88:18 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.