TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
Thou hast put away H7368 mine acquaintance H3045 H8794 far H7368 H8689 from me; thou hast made H7896 H8804 me an abomination H8441 unto them: I am shut up H3607 H8803, and I cannot come forth H3318 H8799.
Complete Jewish Bible
You separated me from my close friends, made me repulsive to them; I am caged in, with no escape;
Berean Standard Bible
You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
American Standard Version
Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me; Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
World English Bible Messianic
You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can’t escape.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance farre from me, and made mee to be abhorred of them: I am shut vp, and cannot get foorth.
Young's Literal Translation
Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me, Thou hast made me an abomination to them, Shut up--I go not forth.
In the KJVVerse 15,317 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Psalms 88 verses 1–9
1 ¶ A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
5 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
8 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.
9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
It should seem, by the titles of this and the following psalm, that Heman was the penman of the one and Ethan of the other. There were two, of these names, who were sons of Zerah the son of Judah, Ch1 2:4, Ch1 2:6. There were two others famed for wisdom, Kg1 4:31, where, to magnify Solomon's wisdom, he is said to be wiser than Heman and Ethan. Whether the Heman and Ethan who were Levites and precentors in the songs of Zion were the same we are not sure, nor which of these, nor whether any of these, were the penmen of these psalms. There was a Heman that was one of the chief singers, who is called the king's seer, or prophet, in the words of God (Ch1 25:5); it is probable that this also was a seer, and yet could see no comfort for himself, an instructor and comforter of others, and yet himself putting comfort away from him. The very first words of the psalm are the only words of comfort and support in all the psalm. There is nothing about him but clouds and darkness; but, before he begins his complaint, he calls God the God of his salvation, which intimates both that he looked for salvation, bad as things were, and that he looked up to God for the salvation and depended upon him to be the author of it. Now here we have the psalmist,
I. A man of prayer, one that gave himself to prayer at all times, but especially now that he was in affliction; for is any afflicted? let him pray. It is his comfort that he had prayed; it is his complaint that, notwithstanding his prayer, he was still in affliction. He was, 1. Very earnest in prayer: "I have cried unto thee (Psa 88:1), and have stretched out my hands unto thee (Psa 88:9), as one that would take hold on thee, and even catch at the mercy, with a holy fear of coming short and missing of it." 2. He was very frequent and constant in prayer: I have called upon thee daily (Psa 88:9), nay, day and night, Psa 88:1. For thus men ought always to pray, and not to faint; God's own elect cry day and night to him, not only morning and evening, beginning every day and every night with prayer, but spending the day and night in prayer. This is indeed praying always; and then we shall speed in prayer, when we continue instant in prayer. 3. He directed his prayer to God, and from him expected and desired an answer (Psa 88:2): "Let my prayer come before thee, to be accepted of thee, not before men, to be seen of them, as the Pharisees' prayers." He does not desire that men should hear them, but, "Lord, incline thy ear unto my cry, for to that I refer myself; give what answer to it thou pleasest."
II. He was a man of sorrows, and therefore some make him, in this psalm, a type of Christ, whose complaints on the cross, and sometimes before, were much to the same purport with this psalm. He cries out (Psa 88:3): My soul is full of troubles; so Christ said, Now is my soul troubled; and, in his agony, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death, like the psalmist's here, for he says, My life draws nigh unto the grave. Heman was a very wise man, and a very good man, a man of God, and a singer too, and one may therefore suppose him to have been a man of a cheerful spirit, and yet now a man of sorrowful spirit, troubled in mind, and upon the brink of despair. Inward trouble is the sorest trouble, and that which, sometimes, the best of God's saints and servants have been severely exercised with. The spirit of man, of the greatest of men, will not always sustain his infirmity, but will droop and sink under it; who then can bear a wounded spirit?
III. He looked upon himself as a dying man, whose heart was ready to break with sorrow (Psa 88:5): "Free among the dead (one of that ghastly corporation), like the slain that lie in the grave, whose rotting and perishing nobody takes notice of or is concerned for, nay, whom thou rememberest no more, to protect or provide for the dead bodies, but they become an easy prey to corruption and the worms; they are cut off from thy hand, which used to be employed in supporting them and reaching out to them; but, now there is no more occasion for this, they are cut off from it and cut off by it" (for God will not stretch out his hand to the grave, Job 30:24); "thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, as low as possible, my condition low, my spirits low, in darkness, in the deep (Psa 88:6), sinking, and seeing no way open of escape, brought to the last extremity, and ready to give up all for gone." Thus greatly may good men be afflicted, such dismal apprehensions may they have concerning their afflictions, and such dark conclusions may they sometimes be ready to make concerning the issue of them, through the power of melancholy and the weakness of faith.
IV. He complained most of God's displeasure against him, which infused the wormwood and the gall into the affliction and the misery (Psa 88:7): Thy wrath lies hard upon me. Could he have discerned the favour and love of God in his affliction, it would have lain light upon him; but it lay hard, very hard, upon him, so that he was ready to sink and faint under it. The impressions of this wrath upon his spirits were God's waves with which he afflicted him, which rolled upon him, one on the neck of another, so that he scarcely recovered from one dark thought before he was oppressed with another; these waves beat against him with noise and fury; not some, but all, of God's waves were made use of in afflicting him and bearing him down. Even the children of God's love may sometimes apprehend themselves children of wrath, and no outward trouble can lie so hard upon them as that apprehension.
V. It added to his affliction that his friends deserted him and made themselves strange to him. When we are in trouble it is some comfort to have those about us that love us, and sympathize with us; but this good man had none such, which gives him occasion, not to accuse them, or charge them with treachery, ingratitude, and inhumanity, but to complain to God, with an eye to his hand in this part of the affliction (Psa 88:8): Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me. Providence had removed them, or rendered them incapable of being serviceable to him, or alienated their affections from him; for every creature is that to us (and no more) that God makes it to be. If our old acquaintance be shy of us, and those we expect kindness from prove unkind, we must bear that with the same patient submission to the divine will that we do other afflictions, Job 19:13. Nay, his friends were not only strange to him, but even hated him, because he was poor and in distress: "Thou hast made me an abomination to them; they are not only shy of me, but sick of me, and I am looked upon by them, not only with contempt, but with abhorrence." Let none think it strange concerning such a trial as this, when Heman, who was so famed for wisdom, was yet, when the world frowned upon him, neglected, as a vessel in which is no pleasure.
VI. He looked upon his case as helpless and deplorable: "I am shut up, and I cannot come forth, a close prisoner, under the arrests of divine wrath, and no way open of escape." He therefore lies down and sinks under his troubles, because he sees not any probability of getting out of them. For thus he bemoans himself (Psa 88:9): My eye mourneth by reason of affliction. Sometimes giving vent to grief by weeping gives some ease to a troubled spirit. Yet weeping must not hinder praying; we must sow in tears: My eye mourns, but I cry unto thee daily. Let prayers and tears go together, and they shall be accepted together. I have heard thy prayers, I have seen thy tears.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–9. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 88
"You have put Mine acquaintance far from Me" [Psalm 88:8]. If we understand by acquaintance those whom He knew, it will be all men; for whom knew He not? But He calls those acquaintance, to whom He was Himself known, as far as they could know Him at that season: at least so far forth as they knew Him to be innocent, although they considered Him only as a man, not as likewise God. Although He might call the righteous whom He approved, acquaintance, as He calls the wicked unknown, to whom He was to say at the end, "I know you not." [Matthew 7:23] In what follows, "and they have set Me for an abhorrence to themselves;" those whom He called before "acquaintance," may be meant, as even they felt horror at the mode of that death: but it is better referred to those of whom He was speaking above as His persecutors. "I was delivered up, and did not get forth." Is this because His disciples were without, while He was being tried within? [Matthew 26:56] Or are we to give a deeper meaning to the words, "I cannot get forth" as signifying, "I remained hidden in My secret counsels, I showed not who I was, I did not reveal Myself, was not made manifest"?
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 88:8 starkly portrays the psalmist Heman's profound and multi-faceted suffering, articulating an overwhelming sense of social isolation and inescapable confinement. This verse is a raw, desperate cry of abandonment, where human relationships have been not merely strained but actively severed, and the psalmist perceives himself as an object of utter revulsion to those once close to him. It powerfully encapsulates the psalm's unique and unyielding lament, expressing the depths of despair without the customary turn towards hope or divine intervention, emphasizing the psalmist's complete entrapment in his affliction.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 88:8 employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of profound despair. The psalmist's declaration that God has "put away mine acquaintance far from me" and "made me an abomination unto them" utilizes Hyperbole, likely exaggerating the degree of human rejection to express the overwhelming intensity of his subjective experience of isolation and revulsion. This vivid imagery is coupled with a powerful Metaphor in "I am shut up, and I cannot come forth," which portrays a state of imprisonment that extends beyond mere physical bonds to encompass spiritual, emotional, and social confinement, emphasizing his utter helplessness. The entire psalm is a quintessential Lament, a genre characterized by direct address to God, complaint, petition, and expressions of trust, though Psalms 88 notably omits the typical turn to trust or praise. The psalmist's direct attribution of his suffering to God's actions ("Thou hast put away," "thou hast made me") is an example of Anthropomorphism, where divine agency is described in human terms, reflecting the psalmist's deep conviction that his plight is divinely ordained, even if the reasons remain inscrutable.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 88:8 confronts the challenging theological truth that God's sovereignty extends even to the most profound human suffering and abandonment. The psalmist's raw and direct attribution of his plight to God forces us to grapple with the mystery of divine providence, where God is not merely passive in the face of human pain but is perceived as an active agent, even in the severing of relationships and the onset of profound isolation. This psalm provides sacred validation for the experience of feeling utterly forsaken by both God and humanity, offering a legitimate space for the articulation of unmitigated despair without immediate resolution. It serves as a stark reminder that faith does not always preclude the darkest nights of the soul, where the only recourse is a desperate cry to a God who seems distant or even hostile. This profound lament serves as a crucial counterpoint to psalms of deliverance, ensuring the full spectrum of human experience and honest prayer is represented within the biblical witness.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 88:8 offers profound validation and empathy for those experiencing the depths of isolation, rejection, and confinement. In a world that often pressures individuals to maintain a facade of strength, to quickly find solutions, or to present only their "best" selves, this psalm grants permission to sit in the raw, unfiltered pain of abandonment. It teaches us that it is not only acceptable but biblically affirmed to express profound despair to God, even when hope seems absent and the reasons for suffering are unclear. For those who feel "shut up" by overwhelming circumstances, chronic illness, mental anguish, or social ostracism, Heman's honest cry provides a voice and a pathway to bring their deepest hurts before the Lord. It underscores the vital importance of communal empathy and the urgent need for the church to be a place where such suffering can be openly acknowledged, borne, and ministered to, even when easy answers are elusive. Ultimately, this psalm invites us to a deeper understanding of lament as a legitimate, necessary, and often transformative form of prayer, fostering a radical honesty with God in our darkest moments.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why is Psalms 88 often called "the darkest psalm" and what does this verse contribute to that reputation?
Answer: Psalms 88 is widely considered "the darkest psalm" because, unlike most other laments in the Psalter, it concludes without any discernible shift towards hope, trust, or a resolution of the psalmist's suffering. The psalm ends with the chilling declaration, "darkness is my only friend" (Psalms 88:18). Psalms 88:8 contributes significantly to this reputation by detailing the psalmist's complete social abandonment and perceived divine rejection. The lines "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" articulate a comprehensive and inescapable state of isolation and confinement. This verse removes any human comfort or escape, leaving the psalmist utterly alone in his suffering, thereby deepening the psalm's pervasive sense of unmitigated despair and contributing to its unique, unresolved conclusion in the biblical canon.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 88:8, with its raw and agonizing depiction of abandonment, rejection, and inescapable confinement, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Heman's cry of being "put away" by acquaintances and made an "abomination" chillingly foreshadows the ultimate social and spiritual ostracism experienced by Christ. On the cross, Jesus was not only forsaken by His disciples and reviled by humanity, but He bore the full weight of humanity's sin, becoming "sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21), and in doing so, became an "abomination" in the eyes of a holy God. This led to His agonizing cry of dereliction, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). The psalmist's feeling of being "shut up, and I cannot come forth" resonates deeply with Christ's experience in the tomb, confined by death. Yet, unlike Heman, Christ's confinement was temporary and purposeful. His glorious resurrection from the grave on the third day (Luke 24:1-7) shattered the bonds of death and the power of the grave, demonstrating His ultimate victory over the very forces that confined the psalmist. Thus, in Christ, the profound despair of Psalms 88 is not merely validated but ultimately transcended, offering hope, liberation, and eternal life to all who feel "shut up" and abandoned, knowing that the One who understands their deepest pain has conquered it for them.