Psalms 44
1 To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. An instruction. O God, with our ears have we heard, our fathers have told us, the work thou wroughtest in their days, in the days of old:
For the leader. Of the Korahites. A maskil. O God, we have heard with our ears, all our ancestors have told us of the work that you wrought in their day, your wonders in days of old,
2 Thou, by thy hand, didst dispossess the nations, but them thou didst plant; thou didst afflict the peoples, but them didst thou cause to spread out.
uprooting and crushing the nations, then planting and settling them. For it wasn’t their own sword that won them the land,
3 For not by their own sword did they take possession of the land, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst delight in them.
it was not their own arm that brought them the victory. Yours was the hand and the arm, yours was the face that shone on them with favor.
4 Thou thyself art my king, O God: command deliverance for Jacob.
It was you, my king and my God, that ordained the victories of Jacob.
5 Through thee will we push down our adversaries; through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
Through you we can thrust back our foes, and by your name tread down our assailants:
6 For I will not put confidence in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
for not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword win me the victory.
7 For thou hast saved us from our adversaries, and hast put them to shame that hate us.
Our victory comes from you, and confusion to those who hate us.
8 In God will we boast all the day, and we will praise thy name for ever. (Selah)
In God we boast all the day long, and your name will we praise forever. (Selah)
9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to confusion, and dost not go forth with our armies;
Yet you have spurned and disgraced us, in not going forth with our armies,
10 Thou hast made us to turn back from the adversary, and they that hate us spoil for themselves;
and in making us flee from the foe, so that those who hated us plundered us.
11 Thou hast given us over like sheep [appointed] for meat, and hast scattered us among the nations;
You have let us be eaten like sheep, you have scattered us over the world,
12 Thou hast sold thy people for nought, and hast not increased [thy wealth] by their price;
sold your people for a pittance, and getting no gain from their price.
13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a mockery and a derision for them that are round about us;
You have made us the butt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of all round us.
14 Thou makest us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.
O’er the world you have made us a byword, the nations at us shake their heads.
15 All the day my confusion is before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
My disgrace is forever before me, my face is covered with shame,
16 Because of the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and the avenger.
at the words of blasphemer and scoffer, at the sight of the foe and the vengeful.
17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely against thy covenant:
All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you nor falsely dealt with your covenant.
18 Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy path;
Our heart has not turned back, nor our steps declined from your way,
19 Though thou hast crushed us in the place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.
that you thus should have crushed us down, and covered us over with gloom, in the place where the jackals roam.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, and stretched out our hands to a strange god,
Had we forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a god that was strange,
21 Would not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
would God not have searched this out? For he knows the heart and its secrets.
22 But for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are reckoned as sheep for slaughter.
But in your cause it is we are killed all the day, and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Awake, why sleepest thou, Lord? arise, cast [us] not off for ever.
Rouse yourself, why do you sleep Lord? Awake, cast us not off forever.
24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, [and] forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
Why do you hide your face, forgetting our stress and our misery?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
For we have sunk down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up for our help, and redeem us for thy loving-kindness' sake.
Arise, come to our help: for your love’s sake, ransom us.
