שִׁיר מִזְמוֹר לִבְנֵי קֹרַח לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת מַשְׂכִּיל לְהֵימָן הָאֶזְרָחִי

A song, a psalm by the sons of Korah for the chief musician on maḥalat le’anot. The word le’anot can mean “for response,” and may indicate that this psalm is meant to be sung by two groups, the second responding to the first, with either a refrain or a complementary verse, which is common in songs of lamentation. A contemplation by Heiman the Ezrahite. This may be referring to the descendant of Korah by that name, a Levite who lived in the time of King David. Alternatively, he may be identified as one of the descendants of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah.

ה' אֱלֹהֵי יְשׁוּעָתִי יוֹם צָעַקְתִּי בַלַּיְלָה נֶגְדֶּךָ

Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out before You by day and by night.

תָּבוֹא לְפָנֶיךָ תְּפִלָּתִי הַטֵּה אָזְנְךָ לְרִנָּתִי

Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my plea.

כִּי שָׂבְעָה בְרָעוֹת נַפְשִׁי וְחַיַּי לִשְׁאוֹל הִגִּיעוּ

For I am sated with evils. I do not have the capacity to bear any further suffering. My life is at the brink of the netherworld, on the verge of death.

נֶחְשַׁבְתִּי עִם יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר הָיִיתִי כְּגֶבֶר אֵין אֱיָל

I am reckoned by some as one who has already died and gone down to the pit, buried in my grave; I have become like a man with no remaining strength,

בַּמֵּתִים חָפְשִׁי כְּמוֹ חֲלָלִים שֹׁכְבֵי קֶבֶר אֲשֶׁר לֹא זְכַרְתָּם עוֹד וְהֵמָּה מִיָּדְךָ נִגְזָרוּ

set free from earthly concerns among the dead, like those slain ones lying in the grave whom You no longer remember, for You have no reason to be involved with those who are dead, those cut off from Your hand, or, alternatively, by Your hand.

שַׁתַּנִי בְּבוֹר תַּחְתִּיּוֹת בְּמַחֲשַׁכִּים בִּמְצֹלוֹת

You put me in the lowest pit, in the dark places of the deep. It is as if I am buried deep in the earth.

עָלַי סָמְכָה חֲמָתֶךָ וְכָל מִשְׁבָּרֶיךָ עִנִּיתָ סֶּלָה

Your wrath weighs upon me; You torment me with all Your breakers, Selah. It feels as though all Your tidal waves, all the tribulations of the world, are directed against me.

הִרְחַקְתָּ מְיֻדָּעַי מִמֶּנִּי שַׁתַּנִי תוֹעֵבוֹת לָמוֹ כָּלֻא וְלֹא אֵצֵא

You have distanced me from my acquaintances; You have made me an object of loathing to them. I am shut in and cannot go out.

עֵינִי דָאֲבָה מִנִּי עֹנִי קְרָאתִיךָ ה' בְּכָל יוֹם שִׁטַּחְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ כַפָּי

My eyes ache from misery. Lord, I call to You daily; I stretch out my hands to You in prayer, yet my cries go unanswered.

הלַמֵּתִים תַּעֲשֶׂה פֶּלֶא אִם רְפָאִים יָקוּמוּ יוֹדוּךָ סֶּלָה

Since I feel dead already, I cannot help but wonder: Do You perform wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise and praise You? Certainly not; they are beyond all hope. Selah.

הַיְסֻפַּר בַּקֶּבֶר חַסְדֶּךָ אֱמוּנָתְךָ בָּאֲבַדּוֹן

Is Your kindness recounted in the grave? Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

הֲיִוָּדַע בַּחֹשֶׁךְ פִּלְאֶךָ וְצִדְקָתְךָ בְּאֶרֶץ נְשִׁיָּה

Are Your wonders made known in the darkness? Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness, in the world of the dead?

ואֲנִי אֵלֶיךָ ה' שִׁוַּעְתִּי וּבַבֹּקֶר תְּפִלָּתִי תְקַדְּמֶךָּ

But I, Lord, though I feel I am in just such a place, close to death, I have cried out to You for help, and my prayer greets You early in the morning, even before other people begin to pray.

לָמָה ה' תִּזְנַח נַפְשִׁי תַּסְתִּיר פָּנֶיךָ מִמֶּנִּי

And this is what I say in my prayer: Lord, why do You neglect my soul, hide Your face from me?

עָנִי אֲנִי וְגֹוֵעַ מִנֹּעַר נָשָׂאתִי אֵמֶיךָ אָפוּנָה

From my youth I have been afflicted and near death. Suffering is not new to me. I bear Your terrors; my attention is turned to them, for they surround me on all sides.

עָלַי עָבְרוּ חֲרוֹנֶיךָ בִּעוּתֶיךָ צִמְּתֻתוּנִי

Your furies have swept over me; Your horrors have silenced me out of fear.

סַבּוּנִי כַמַּיִם כָּל הַיּוֹם הִקִּיפוּ עָלַי יָחַד

They, all my troubles and suffering, surround me like water all day long. I feel like a man who has fallen into a large body of water. They encompass me altogether.

הִרְחַקְתָּ מִמֶּנִּי אֹהֵב וָרֵעַ מְיֻדָּעַי מַחְשָׁךְ

There is no one to come to my aid, for You have distanced every friend and comrade from me; those who know me are as if in darkness, as I cannot see them anywhere.