Psalm 88:15 kjv
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Psalm 88:15 nkjv
I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.
Psalm 88:15 niv
From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
Psalm 88:15 esv
Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
Psalm 88:15 nlt
I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
Psalm 88 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 6:4 | "For the arrows of the Almighty are in me..." | God's divine terror/affliction |
| Job 7:3-6 | "...I am allotted months of emptiness and nights of misery..." | Chronic, severe suffering unto death |
| Job 13:15 | "Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him..." | Despair yet acknowledging God |
| Ps 6:1 | "O Lord, rebuke me not in Your anger, nor discipline me in Your wrath!" | Acknowledging divine anger as source |
| Ps 38:2-3 | "For Your arrows have sunk into me, and Your hand has come down on me..." | God's hand bringing illness/affliction |
| Ps 42:7 | "Deep calls to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls..." | Overwhelmed by deep suffering |
| Ps 77:2 | "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord..." | Persistent suffering and crying out |
| Ps 102:4 | "My heart is stricken like grass and has withered..." | Emotional/physical wasting |
| Ps 143:4 | "Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled." | Spirit overwhelmed, deep internal distress |
| Lam 3:1-6 | "I am the man who has seen affliction..." | Experience of profound, pervasive suffering |
| Lam 3:19-20 | "Remember my affliction and my wanderings... my soul is humbled..." | Lingering bitterness, soul cast down |
| Isa 53:3 | "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows..." | Messiah's suffering, a man acquainted with woe |
| Isa 53:10 | "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief." | God's role in inflicting suffering |
| Jer 15:10 | "Woe is me, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man of strife..." | Feeling cursed from birth, constant trouble |
| Mt 26:38 | "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death..." | Christ's emotional agony before death |
| Mk 14:33-34 | "...and He began to be very distressed and troubled..." | Christ's overwhelmed mental state |
| Lk 22:44 | "And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly..." | Christ's extreme suffering in Gethsemane |
| 2 Cor 12:7-9 | "A thorn was given me in the flesh... to keep me from exalting myself." | Chronic affliction, enduring with God's power |
| Heb 5:7-8 | "In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers... with loud cries..." | Christ's suffering, learning obedience |
| Rev 6:16 | "...and say to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us..." | Desired escape from divine wrath |
Psalm 88 verses
Psalm 88 15 Meaning
Psalm 88:15 conveys the psalmist's profound and unceasing suffering, a torment that has afflicted him from his earliest days. He describes a life lived at the precipice of death, where he has continuously endured the terrors sent by God Himself, resulting in a state of utter mental and emotional disarray and helplessness. This verse encapsulates a life dominated by divine wrath and an overwhelming sense of abandonment.
Psalm 88 15 Context
Psalm 88 is an intensely personal and profoundly dark lament. It stands as unique among the psalms because, unlike almost all other laments which end with a turn towards hope, trust, or a vow of praise, Psalm 88 concludes in unremitting darkness and isolation. The superscription identifies the author as Heman the Ezrahite, a wise man and a chief musician during David's and Solomon's time (1 Chr 2:6, 1 Kgs 4:31).
The psalm's context portrays a soul consumed by an pervasive affliction, feeling completely forsaken by both human companions and by God Himself. Heman feels that God's wrath rests heavily upon him (v. 6-7, 16), that he is counted among the dead (v. 4-5), and that his close friends have been estranged from him (v. 8, 18). This verse (88:15) fits into a progression where the psalmist recounts the long-standing nature and the depth of his suffering, reiterating his chronic distress before escalating to even more profound feelings of abandonment and overwhelming terror in the following verses. It highlights that his struggle is not a fleeting moment but a constant, debilitating reality experienced since his earliest conscious memory.
Psalm 88 15 Word analysis
Afflicted (עָנִי, ʿānî): From the root meaning "to humble, to afflict." It speaks of one who is bowed down, poor, suffering, or lowly. This is not a superficial discomfort but a deep state of distress, hardship, and wretchedness. It can refer to physical, social, or spiritual destitution.
and about to die (גוֵעַ, gowēaʿ): This participle implies a continuous state of drawing one's last breath, perpetually expiring. It is not merely "I was near death once" but "I am in the process of dying," a lingering and profound weakness that has rendered him an almost lifeless shell.
from my youth (מִנֹּעַר, minnōʿar): This phrase emphasizes the chronicity and duration of the psalmist's suffering. It suggests a life marked by continuous struggle and anguish from the very beginning, highlighting an existential and persistent nature to his pain. This isn't recent but ingrained in his very being.
I suffer (נָשָׂאתִי, nāśāʾtî): Derived from the verb nasa', meaning "to lift, bear, carry, endure, support." This is a strong perfect tense verb, indicating that he has continually borne or carried these terrors, implying a weighty and enduring burden he has endured for an extended period, suggesting deep internal weariness from sustaining the torment.
your terrors (אֵמֶיךָ, êmeykā): This crucial phrase directly attributes the source of his torment to God. Emah refers to dread, fear, panic, terror, or horror. The suffix "-ekah" makes it "Your terrors," indicating that the psalmist perceives God Himself as the one sending, allowing, or causing these terrifying experiences. This highlights the unique spiritual and psychological anguish he attributes directly to the Almighty.
I am helpless (אָפֻצָה, āpûṣâ): This word's root (pûṣ) means "to be scattered, dispersed, broken apart." In the Niphil perfect, it means to be startled, stunned, thrown into confusion, or lose one's composure. The King James Version translates this as "I am distracted," which captures the sense of having one's thoughts and emotions so overwhelmed and scattered that one cannot function. The NASB and ESV "I am overcome" or "I am helpless" convey the finality of this internal state of breaking down.
"I am afflicted and about to die from my youth": This phrase paints a picture of a life consumed by suffering and always on the brink of collapse. It's a statement of ongoing, severe illness or distress that has defined the psalmist's entire existence since childhood, offering no respite.
"I suffer Your terrors; I am helpless": This phrase attributes the crushing suffering directly to divine intervention, portraying God not as a distant comforter but as the immediate cause of his terrifying experience. The subsequent internal breakdown ("I am helpless") highlights the profound and disorienting impact of these perceived divine terrors on the psalmist's mental and emotional state, leaving him utterly incapacitated.
Psalm 88 15 Bonus section
The intense darkness of Psalm 88, particularly in this verse, sets it apart within the biblical canon. It functions as a counter-narrative to common Prosperity Gospel teachings, reminding believers that suffering, even profound and unexplained, can be part of the righteous person's life without indicating a lack of faith or an unaddressed sin. Some theological interpretations see Psalm 88 as one of the most significant Messianic psalms, prefiguring the unadulterated spiritual and physical agony of Christ on the cross and in Gethsemane, when He cried out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Ps 22:1, Mt 27:46). Jesus, as one "acquainted with grief," experienced a profound sense of isolation and suffering from divine wrath, bearing the terror of sin for humanity. Thus, Psalm 88:15 provides a language for the extreme depths of human and ultimately, Christ's suffering, demonstrating that even the holiest can plumb the depths of utter abandonment while still calling to God.
Psalm 88 15 Commentary
Psalm 88:15 provides a stark and arresting depiction of relentless suffering, making it one of the Bible's most poignant expressions of raw despair. The psalmist experiences a continuous, life-long affliction, feeling perpetually at death's door. The "terrors" he endures are not random events but are perceived as directly emanating from God Himself, indicating an overwhelming sense of divine wrath or judgment, whether perceived or actual. This internal and external siege has utterly fragmented his mind and spirit, rendering him distracted, helpless, and devoid of internal peace. Unlike many laments that begin with anguish but resolve in hope, this verse, embedded in Psalm 88, shows a soul consumed by unending dread. It reminds believers that faith can coexist with profound despair and that the spectrum of human suffering includes deep, unceasing pain where even God's presence feels terrifying rather than comforting.