Bible Strands
Psalms 88:15
From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, explaining that his lifelong affliction and near-death experience began in youth. He speaks from a moment of acute distress, describing how divine terrors have overwhelmed him since his earliest years.
The words — The Hebrew term אֵמֶיךָ ('e.Mei.kha) translates literally to "your terrors," while אָפֽוּנָה ('a.Fu.nah) means "I am perplexed" or "in despair." These words anchor the psalmist's description of enduring God's severe discipline without escape.
The thread — The theme of enduring divine terrors appears in Job 6:4, where the terrors of God are arrayed against the sufferer. The motif of profound anguish also surfaces in Luke 22:44, where Jesus prays in agony with sweat like blood.
Why it lands — The verse demands acknowledgment that suffering can be a prolonged, inescapable experience of divine discipline rather than a sudden trial. It asks the reader to confront the reality of enduring God's wrath without assuming immediate relief.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Cross-references
- Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Luke 22:44 And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
- Job 7:11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
- Psalms 73:14 For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
- Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
- Zechariah 13:7 Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- Job 17:1 “My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished; the grave awaits me.
- Job 17:11 My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart.
- Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
- Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.