1O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried (for help) day and night before You. 2Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to hear my cry; 3For troubles overwhelm my soul; and my life draws near to the grave. 4I am considered to be about to die; and as a man who has no strength, 5I am left among the dead, like those slain that lie in the grave, that You no longer remember; and they are beyond Your help. 6You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkest of depths. 7Your wrath lies heavily upon me, its waves pound, break upon and overflow me in my affliction. Selah. 8You have taken my closest acquaintances from me; You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I cannot escape. 9My eye grows dim from affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You, I have reached out my hands to You.

10Will You show wonders to the dead? Shall they arise and praise You? Selah. 11Shall anyone declare Your loving-kindness from the grave? Or Your faithfulness from those who have perished? 12Shall Your wonders be known in that place of darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of oblivion? 13But I have cried unto You, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer come before You. 14LORD, why have You forsaken my soul? Why You hide Your face from me? 15From my youth up I have known affliction and have been very near death; but when I stand in fear of You, I feel overwhelmed. 16Your fierce wrath has swept over me; Your dread leaves me in despair. 17All day long my fears surround me like a flood; they completely engulf me. 18You have taken from me both neighbor and friend, and darkness has become my closest companion.

Maschil of Ethan, the Ezrahite, during the Babylonian captivity.