Psalm 88:8 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.
Psalm 88:8 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;
Psalm 88:8 niv
You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape;
Psalm 88:8 esv
You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
Psalm 88:8 nlt
You have driven my friends away
by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.
Psalm 88 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 19:13-19 | He has put my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged... my intimate friends detest me. | Personal abandonment by close associates |
| Psa 31:11 | I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances... | Becoming an object of dread and abandonment |
| Psa 38:11 | My friends and my companions stand aloof from my plague, and my kinsmen stand far off. | Friends keeping distance during affliction |
| Lam 1:2 | Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her. | Abandonment and treachery by friends in distress |
| Mark 14:50 | And they all left him and fled. | Disciples' abandonment of Jesus |
| John 16:32 | Behold, the hour is coming... you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. | Jesus predicts disciples' scattering |
| 2 Tim 4:16 | At my first defense no one came to stand with me, but all deserted me. | Apostolic experience of desertion |
| Isa 53:3 | He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows... and we esteemed him not. | Christ as the utterly despised One |
| Psa 69:8 | I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. | Social alienation, even from family |
| Job 19:19 | All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me. | Being abhorred by once close associates |
| Lam 3:7 | He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy. | Divine action of trapping without escape |
| Lam 3:9 | He has blocked my ways with hewn stones; he has made my paths crooked. | Confinement and obstructed pathways by God |
| Job 3:23 | Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? | Feeling God has enclosed one's path |
| Job 19:8 | He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths. | Impassable confinement from divine action |
| Psa 142:7 | Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! | Plea for release from confinement |
| Jonah 2:6 | You sent me to the pit, to the deepest depths of the grave, to the nether world. | Extreme confinement, metaphorical death |
| Psa 88:6 | You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. | God placing him in the deepest affliction |
| Psa 88:7 | Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. | Direct experience of God's heavy wrath |
| Job 13:27 | You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet. | God as the agent of personal restriction |
| Job 16:9 | He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me... | Feeling direct wrath and hatred from God |
| Lam 3:1 | I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath. | Directly attributing deep suffering to God's wrath |
| Mat 27:46 | My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? | Christ's ultimate experience of divine abandonment |
Psalm 88 verses
Psalm 88 8 Meaning
Psalm 88:8 expresses the psalmist's profound isolation and despair. He feels that God Himself has caused his closest companions to withdraw and view him with disgust. This results in a state of being confined and trapped, with no possibility of escape from his dire circumstances, a condition he attributes directly to divine agency.
Psalm 88 8 Context
Psalm 88 stands out as the darkest psalm, a deep lament of one suffering intensely under what is perceived as divine wrath. There is no shift towards hope, deliverance, or praise within the psalm, ending in total darkness (v. 18). The Psalmist, Heman the Ezrahite, is not only experiencing severe physical and emotional suffering but crucially believes God Himself is the cause of his distress, rejection, and isolation. Verse 8 particularizes this general anguish by focusing on the specific outcome of his affliction: human abandonment and revulsion, directly attributed to God's action. This reflects an ancient worldview where profound suffering was often interpreted as divine punishment, making the afflicted person an outcast.
Psalm 88 8 Word analysis
- You have removed (רִחַקְתָּ - riḥaqtā): The Hebrew verb implies an active, deliberate action by God (second person singular "You"). This is not simply neglect, but a forceful separation of the psalmist from his associates, attributing direct divine agency to his social isolation.
- my friends (מְיֻדָּעַי - m'yūddāʿay): Literally "those known to me" or "my acquaintances." This term indicates his circle of familiarity—people who should be close, trusted, or at least supportive. Their removal signals a complete loss of human comfort and solidarity.
- far from me (מִמֶּנִּי - mimmennî): Emphasizes the great distance and profound severance, signifying an acute and total isolation.
- Words-group: "You have removed my friends far from me": This phrase attributes the entire agonizing experience of social isolation directly to God's intervention, making his suffering unique and divine-orchestrated. It paints a picture of being intentionally distanced by the very source of life and love.
- you have made me (שַׂמְתַּנִי - śamtannî): Again, an active verb implying direct divine causation. God actively made him into a particular state or object of perception.
- an abomination (תוֹעֵבוֹת - tôʿēḇôt): This is a strong, powerful plural term. While often referring to something detestable or ritually impure to God (like idolatry or moral evil), here it describes how the Psalmist is perceived by others. He feels that God has actively made him disgusting, repulsive, or defiled in their eyes. This suggests that his suffering makes him appear divinely cursed and therefore abhorrent to humans.
- to them (לָמוֹ - lāmō): Clearly specifies the target of the psalmist's repulsion – his former acquaintances and friends.
- Words-group: "you have made me an abomination to them": This phrase goes beyond simple abandonment; it describes active loathing. The psalmist feels so utterly corrupted or cursed by his condition that others cannot bear to be near him, viewing him with revulsion as if he were an object of defilement or disgust. This is God's perceived act against him, alienating him completely from humanity.
- I am shut up (כָּלוּא - kâlû') (from כָּלָא kālâ): A passive participle meaning "confined," "imprisoned," or "held back." This speaks of a state of entrapment, whether physical (illness, prison, inability to move) or metaphorical (confined by despair, circumstances, or the overwhelming nature of his affliction).
- and I cannot escape (וְלֹא אֵצֵא - w'lō' 'ēṣē'): The Hebrew 'ֵצֵא ('ēṣē') means "I will go out" or "I can go out." The negation "וְלֹא" emphasizes utter powerlessness. This expresses complete and irreversible helplessness. There is no perceived path to freedom or relief from his confinement.
- Words-group: "I am shut up, and I cannot escape": This phrase portrays a desperate state of imprisonment and immobility. The psalmist feels entirely incapacitated, locked in his misery with no glimmer of hope for liberation. This physical and/or psychological state of confinement reinforces the totality of his despair and hopelessness.
Psalm 88 8 Bonus section
- Unresolved Lament: Psalm 88 is uniquely barren of any turning point towards hope, trust, or deliverance, making its expression of suffering the most profound and unalleviated in the entire Psalter. This serves as a vital testament to the Bible's validation of honest and raw human despair presented before God, without needing to force a "happy ending."
- Theological Audacity: The Psalmist's direct accusation of God as the primary agent of his suffering and isolation (e.g., "You have removed," "You have made") is a striking and challenging theological assertion. It underscores the profound distress and personal sense of being targeted by divine wrath, going against conventional pious assumptions.
- Prefigurement of Christ's Agony: This verse profoundly prefigures aspects of Christ's suffering, particularly in Gethsemane and on the cross. Jesus experienced abandonment by his closest friends (Mk 14:50), became "sin" or an "abomination" for us (2 Cor 5:21), and felt forsaken by God the Father (Mat 27:46), undergoing a unique, ultimate "shutting up" in the tomb before the triumph of resurrection.
Psalm 88 8 Commentary
Psalm 88:8 offers a searing portrayal of total isolation, not merely as a byproduct of suffering, but as a direct infliction by God Himself. The psalmist experiences a devastating double alienation: first, his former companions have been driven away; second, he has been made an object of abhorrence to them. This transformation into something loathsome further entrenches his isolation. The ultimate despair is articulated in his confinement with no escape, symbolizing not just physical limitation but an unyielding, inescapable emotional and spiritual entrapment. Theologically, this verse presents a challenging lament where God is seen not as deliverer but as the very agent of affliction and rejection, a stark cry of anguish that resonates with the experience of Christ's abandonment and profound suffering on the cross.