2Lord, the God of my salvation, I call out by day;

at night I cry aloud in your presence.a

3Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry.b

4*For my soul is filled with troubles;c

my life draws near to Sheol.

5I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit;

I am like a warrior without strength.

6My couch is among the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave.

You remember them no more;

they are cut off from your influence.

7You plunge me into the bottom of the pit,

into the darkness of the abyss.

8Your wrath lies heavy upon me;

all your waves crash over me.d

Selah

9Because of you my acquaintances shun me;

you make me loathsome to them;e

Caged in, I cannot escape;

10my eyes grow dim from trouble.

All day I call on you, Lord;

I stretch out my hands to you.

11*Do you work wonders for the dead?

Do the shades arise and praise you?f

Selah

12Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave,

your faithfulness among those who have perished?*

13Are your marvels declared in the darkness,

your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

14But I cry out to you, Lord;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

15Why do you reject my soul, Lord,

and hide your face from me?

16I have been mortally afflicted since youth;

I have borne your terrors and I am made numb.

17Your wrath has swept over me;

your terrors have destroyed me.g

18All day they surge round like a flood;

from every side they encircle me.

19Because of you friend and neighbor shun me;h

my only friend is darkness.