1Ein Lied von den Nachkommen Korachs. Der Esrachiter Heman verfasste es zum Nachdenken. Auf eine traurige Weise zu singen.2HERR, mein Gott, du allein kannst mir noch helfen! Tag und Nacht schreie ich zu dir!3Lass mein Gebet zu dir dringen, verschließ deine Ohren nicht vor meinem Flehen!4Schweres Leid drückt mich nieder, ich bin dem Tod schon näher als dem Leben.5Jeder rechnet damit, dass ich bald sterbe, denn alle Kraft hat mich verlassen.6Es geht mir wie den Toten, die du vergessen hast, fern von deiner Hilfe liegen sie in ihrem Grab.7Du hast mich in den tiefsten Abgrund gestoßen, in nichts als unergründliche Finsternis.8Dein Zorn lastet schwer auf mir, wie hohe Brandungswellen wirft er mich um.9Alle meine Freunde hast du mir genommen, voller Abscheu wandten sie sich von mir ab. Ich bin gefangen und weiß keinen Ausweg mehr.10Meine Augen sind vom Weinen ganz verquollen. Jeden Tag rufe ich, HERR, zu dir und strecke meine Hände nach dir aus.11Wirst du an den Toten noch ein Wunder tun? Kommen sie etwa aus ihren Gräbern, um dich zu loben?12Erzählt man im Totenreich von deiner Gnade oder in der Gruft von deiner Treue?13Sind deine Wunder wohl am Ort der Finsternis bekannt? Wissen die längst vergessenen Toten von deiner Gerechtigkeit?14HERR, ich schreie zu dir um Hilfe. Schon früh am Morgen klage ich dir mein Leid.15Warum hast du mich verstoßen, HERR? Warum verbirgst du dich vor mir?16Seit meiner Jugend bin ich elend und vom Tod gezeichnet. Du hast mir dieses furchtbare Leid auferlegt – und jetzt bin ich am Ende!17Dein glühender Zorn hat mich zu Boden geschmettert, deine schreckliche Strafe hat mich vernichtet!18Die Angst bedrängt mich von allen Seiten, vor dieser tödlichen Flut gibt es kein Entrinnen.19Du hast erreicht, dass mir alle den Rücken kehren, Freunde und Nachbarn gehen mir aus dem Weg. Mein einziger Begleiter ist die Finsternis.
For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1LORD, you are the God who saves me. Day and night I cry out to you.2Please hear my prayer. Pay attention to my cry for help.3I have so many troubles I’m about to die.4People think my life is over. I’m like someone who doesn’t have any strength.5People treat me as if I were dead. I’m like those who have been killed and are now in the grave. You don’t even remember them anymore. They are cut off from your care.6It’s as if you have put me deep down in the grave. It’s as if you have put me in that deep, dark place.7Your great anger lies heavy on me. All the waves of your anger have crashed over me.8You have taken my closest friends away from me. You have made me sickening to them. I feel trapped and can’t escape.9I’m crying so much I can’t see very well. LORD, I call out to you every day. I lift up my hands to you in prayer.10Do you do wonderful things for those who are dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you?11Do those who are dead speak about your love? Do those who are in the grave tell how faithful you are?12Are your wonderful deeds known in that dark place? Are your holy acts known in that land where the dead are forgotten?13LORD, I cry out to you for help. In the morning I pray to you.14LORD, why do you say no to me? Why do you turn your face away from me?15I’ve been in pain ever since I was young. I’ve been close to death. You have made me suffer terrible things. I have lost all hope.16Your great anger has swept over me. Your terrors have destroyed me.17All day long they surround me like a flood. They have closed in all around me.18You have taken my friends and neighbours away from me. Darkness is my closest friend.
1A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil[1] of Heman the Ezrahite. O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. (1Kön 4,31; 1Chr 2,6; Ps 22,2; Ps 24,5; Ps 42,1; Ps 53,1; Lk 18,7)2Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! (Ps 31,2)3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. (Ps 16,10; Ps 107,18)4I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, (Ps 28,1)5like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. (Ps 31,12; Jes 53,8)6You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. (Ps 63,9; Ps 69,15; Ps 88,12; Ps 88,18; Ps 143,3; Kla 3,6)7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Ps 32,4; Ps 42,7)8You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror[2] to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; (Hi 19,13; Hi 30,10; Ps 88,18; Ps 142,4; Jer 32,2)9my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. (Hi 11,13; Ps 6,7)10Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? (Ps 6,5)11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? (Hi 10,21; Ps 88,6; Ps 89,5; Pred 9,5)13But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. (Ps 5,3; Ps 30,2)14O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? (Hi 13,24; Ps 44,9)15Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[3]16Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. (Hi 6,4; Hi 9,34)17They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. (Ps 18,4; Ps 22,16; Ps 86,3; Ps 118,10)18You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.[4] (Hi 19,13)