You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can’t escape.
- KJV Thou 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.
- NKJV You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
- NASB You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out.
- NLT You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape.
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 removed his friends and made him repulsive to them, leaving him confined and unable to escape. His suffering includes painful isolation.
Overview
Heman laments abandonment by companions and entrapment in his affliction, adding loneliness to his sorrow. Social rejection compounds his sense of being shut in. This isolation foreshadows Christ, forsaken by friends and despised by men in His hour of suffering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 31:11Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street.
- Isa 49:7Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
- Job 30:10They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
- Jer 32:2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah.
- Zech 11:8And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.
- John 15:23–24Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
- Job 19:13–19He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Lam 3:7–9He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains.
- Ps 143:4My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.
- Ps 142:4Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.
- 1 Sam 23:18–20So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
- Ps 88:18You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
- Matt 27:21–25“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they replied.
- Job 12:14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
- John 11:57But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him.
- Job 19:8He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.
- Isa 63:3“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
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 88:8 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.