A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You.
Parallel translations
- WEB A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Suffering of Affliction.” A contemplation by Heman, the Ezrahite. Yahweh, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you.
- KJV O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
- NKJV O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.
- NASB Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.
- NLT O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night.
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
Heman cries to the LORD, the God of his salvation, day and night in deep distress. Even in darkness, he addresses God as his Savior.
Overview
Psalm 88 is the Bible's darkest lament, yet it opens by naming Yahweh as 'the God of my salvation.' Heman's persistent crying shows faith clinging to God amid unrelieved suffering. This honest anguish, addressed to God, foreshadows Christ's own cries from the depths of His passion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 27
- Isa 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Ps 22:2I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
- Luke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- Ps 86:3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.
- Ps 27:9Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation.
- 1 Kgs 4:31He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.
- Ps 53:1For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good.
- Titus 3:4–7But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
- Gen 49:18I await Your salvation, O LORD.
- Luke 2:37and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
- Ps 51:14Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
- Titus 2:13as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
- Luke 2:30For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
- Ps 65:5With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
- Ps 68:19Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah
- Luke 1:47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
- Ps 27:1Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
- Ps 79:9Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
- Ps 24:5He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from the God of his salvation.
- Ps 140:7O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.
- Ps 62:7My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
- Neh 1:6let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.
- Isa 62:6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
- 1 Chr 2:6The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara—five in all.
- 1 Th 3:10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking from your faith.
- Titus 2:10not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.
- 2 Tim 1:3I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 88:1 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.