Psalm 88:14
New International Version
Why, LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?

New Living Translation
O LORD, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me?

English Standard Version
O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?

Berean Standard Bible
Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?

King James Bible
LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

New King James Version
LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

New American Standard Bible
LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

NASB 1995
O LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

NASB 1977
O LORD, why dost Thou reject my soul? Why dost Thou hide Thy face from me?

Legacy Standard Bible
O Yahweh, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

Amplified Bible
O LORD, why do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?

Christian Standard Bible
LORD, why do you reject me? Why do you hide your face from me?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
LORD, why do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?

American Standard Version
Jehovah, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me?

Contemporary English Version
Why do you reject me? Why do you turn from me?

English Revised Version
LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Why do you reject my soul, O LORD? Why do you hide your face from me?

Good News Translation
Why do you reject me, LORD? Why do you turn away from me?

International Standard Version
Why, LORD, have you rejected me? Why have you hidden your face from me?

Majority Standard Bible
Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?

NET Bible
O LORD, why do you reject me, and pay no attention to me?

New Heart English Bible
LORD, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me?

Webster's Bible Translation
LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

World English Bible
Yahweh, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Why, O YHWH, do You cast off my soul? You hide Your face from me.

Young's Literal Translation
Why, O Jehovah, castest Thou off my soul? Thou hidest Thy face from me.

Smith's Literal Translation
Wherefore, O Jehovah, wilt thou cast off my soul? wilt thou hide thy face from me?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Lord, why castest thou off my prayer: why turnest thou away thy face from me?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Lord, why do you reject my prayer? Why do you turn your face away from me?

New American Bible
Why do you reject my soul, LORD, and hide your face from me?

New Revised Standard Version
O LORD, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
O LORD, forsake not my soul, and turn not thy face from me.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Do not forget my soul, LORD JEHOVAH, and do not turn your face from me!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
LORD, why castest Thou off my soul? Why hidest Thou Thy face from me?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Wherefore, O Lord, dost thou reject my prayer, and turn thy face away from me?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Day and Night I Cry Out Before You
13But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me? 15From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.…

Cross References
Job 30:20
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me.

Lamentations 3:8
Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.

Psalm 22:1-2
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning? / I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

Habakkuk 1:2
How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?

Job 23:3-4
If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. / I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.

Psalm 13:1-2
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? / How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me?

Psalm 77:7-9
“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again? / Is His loving devotion gone forever? Has His promise failed for all time? / Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger shut off His compassion?” Selah

Psalm 10:1
Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

Psalm 42:9
I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?”

Matthew 27:46
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Mark 15:34
At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Luke 18:7
Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay in helping them?

John 11:32
When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? / As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” / No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ...


Treasury of Scripture

LORD, why cast you off my soul? why hide you your face from me?

Lord

Psalm 43:2
For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Psalm 77:7-9
Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? …

Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

hidest

Psalm 13:1
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

Psalm 44:24
Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

Psalm 69:17
And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.

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Psalm 88
1. A prayer containing a grievous complaint.














Why, O LORD
The psalmist begins with a poignant question directed to the LORD, using the covenant name "Yahweh" (יהוה) in Hebrew. This name signifies God's eternal presence and faithfulness to His people. The use of "Why" indicates a deep sense of confusion and distress. The psalmist is not questioning God's authority but is expressing a heartfelt plea for understanding. In the context of a conservative Christian perspective, this reflects the believer's struggle to reconcile God's promises with their current suffering, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture, especially in the lamentations of Job and Jeremiah.

do You reject my soul?
The word "reject" comes from the Hebrew root "זָנַח" (zanach), which means to cast off or spurn. The psalmist feels a profound sense of abandonment, not just physically but at the very core of his being—his "soul" (נֶפֶשׁ, nephesh). This term encompasses the whole person, indicating that the psalmist feels utterly forsaken. Historically, this reflects the experience of Israel during times of exile or divine judgment, where the people felt cut off from God's presence. In a broader theological context, it echoes the cry of Jesus on the cross, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46), highlighting the depth of human suffering and the longing for divine intervention.

Why do You hide Your face from me?
The phrase "hide Your face" is a common biblical metaphor for the withdrawal of God's favor and presence. In Hebrew, "face" (פָּנִים, panim) often represents God's attention and blessing. When God "hides His face," it signifies a break in the relationship, often due to sin or disobedience. However, in this psalm, there is no confession of sin, suggesting that the psalmist's suffering is not a direct result of personal wrongdoing. This aligns with the conservative Christian understanding of suffering as sometimes being a test of faith or a means of spiritual growth, as seen in the lives of Joseph, Job, and the early apostles. Theologically, it underscores the mystery of God's ways and the believer's call to trust in His ultimate goodness, even when His presence seems distant.

(14) Castest thou off.--The idea is that of throwing away something with loathing. (Comp. Psalm 43:2.)

Verse 14. - Lord, why cutest thou off my soul? The psalmist speaks here, like Job, as one aggrieved. What has he done to be "cast off"? He is evidently not aware of having sinned any grievous sin, and does not understand why he is visited with such grievous sufferings. Why hidest thou thy face from me? Perhaps it is his insensibility, his unconsciousness of real sins and shortcomings, that has drawn down upon the psalmist his chastisement.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Why,
לָמָ֣ה (lā·māh)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

O LORD,
יְ֭הוָה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

do You reject
תִּזְנַ֣ח (tiz·naḥ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2186: Reject, forsake, fail

me?
נַפְשִׁ֑י (nap̄·šî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

Why do You hide
תַּסְתִּ֖יר (tas·tîr)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 5641: To hide, conceal

Your face
פָּנֶ֣יךָ (pā·ne·ḵā)
Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

from me?
מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ (mim·men·nî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of


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OT Poetry: Psalm 88:14 Yahweh why do you reject my soul? (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 88:13
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