Psalms 44
1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core, to give understanding. We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to us, The work, thou hast wrought in their days, and 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 Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles, and thou plantedst them: thou didst afflict the people and cast them 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 they got not the possession of the land by their own sword: neither did their own arm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with 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 favour.
4 Thou art thyself my king and my God, who commandest the saving of Jacob.
It was you, my king and my God, that ordained the victories of Jacob.
5 Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and through thy name we will despise them 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 trust 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 But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us: and hast put them to shame that hate us.
Our victory comes from you, and confusion to those who hate us.
8 In God shall we glory all the day long: and in thy name we will give praise for ever.
In God we boast all the day long, and your name will we praise forever. (Selah)
9 But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame: and thou, O God, wilt not go out with our armies.
Yet you have spurned and disgraced us, in not going forth with our armies,
10 Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies: and they that hated us plundered for themselves.
and in making us flee from the foe, so that those who hated us plundered us.
11 Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou 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 no price: and there was no reckoning in the exchange of them.
sold your people for a pittance, and getting no gain from their price.
13 Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and derision to them that are round about us.
You have made us the butt of our neighbours, the derision and scorn of all round us.
14 Thou hast made us a byword among the Gentiles: a shaking of the head among the people.
O’er the world you have made us a byword, the nations at us shake their heads.
15 All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my face hath covered me,
My disgrace is forever before me, my face is covered with shame,
16 At the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me: at the face of the enemy and persecutor.
at the words of blasphemer and scoffer, at the sight of the foe and the vengeful.
17 All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee: and we have not done wickedly in they covenant.
All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you nor falsely dealt with your covenant.
18 And our heart hath not turned back: neither hast thou turned aside our steps from thy way.
Our heart has not turned back, nor our steps declined from your way,
19 For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction: and the shadow of death hath covered us.
that you thus should have crushed us down, and covered us over with gloom, in the place where the jackals roam.
20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread forth 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 Shall not God search out these things: for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
would God not have searched this out? For he knows the heart and its secrets.
22 Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
But in your cause it is we are killed all the day, and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to the end.
Rouse yourself, why do you sleep Lord? Awake, cast us not off forever.
24 Why turnest thou face away? and forgettest our want and our trouble?
Why do you hide your face, forgetting our stress and our misery?
25 For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to the earth.
For we have sunk down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for thy name’s sake.
Arise, come to our help: for your love’s sake, ransom us.
