Psalms 44
1 “To the chief musician, for the sons of Korach, a Maskil.” O God, with our ears have we heard, our fathers have told us, deeds which thou hadst done in their days, in times 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, with thy hand, didst indeed drive out nations, and plant them; thou didst ill-treat people, and cause them 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 sword did they obtain possession of the land, and their own arm brought them no victory; but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst given them thy favor.
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 art my King, O God: ordain salvation for Jacob.
It was you, my king and my God, that ordained the victories of Jacob.
5 Through thee will we butt down our assailants: through thy name will we tread under foot our opponents.
Through you we can thrust back our foes, and by your name tread down our assailants:
6 For not in my bow will I trust, and my sword shall not help me.
for not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword win me the victory.
7 But thou helpest us against our assailants, and those that hate us thou puttest to shame.
Our victory comes from you, and confusion to those who hate us.
8 Of God we boast all the day, and to thy name will we give thanks for ever. (Selah)
In God we boast all the day long, and your name will we praise forever. (Selah)
9 But [now] thou hast cast off, and put us to the blush, and goest not forth with our armies.
Yet you have spurned and disgraced us, in not going forth with our armies,
10 Thou causest us to turn back from before our assailant: and they who hate us take spoil for themselves.
and in making us flee from the foe, so that those who hated us plundered us.
11 Thou givest us up like sheep for food, and among the nations hast thou dispersed us.
You have let us be eaten like sheep, you have scattered us over the world,
12 Thou sellest thy people for no value, and acquirest no gain by their price.
sold your people for a pittance, and getting no gain from their price.
13 Thou renderest us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to those that are round about us.
You have made us the butt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of all round us.
14 Thou renderest us a by-word among the nations, 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 is my disgrace before me, and the shame of my face covereth 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 him that seeketh vengeance.
at the words of blasphemer and scoffer, at the sight of the foe and the vengeful.
17 All this is come over us, yet have we not forgotten thee; nor have we dealt falsely by 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 moved backward, nor hath our step turned aside from thy path:
Our heart has not turned back, nor our steps declined from your way,
19 Even when thou didst crush us in the abode of monsters, and cover 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, or 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 Would not God search out this? 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 slain all the day; we are counted as flocks [destined] for slaughter.
But in your cause it is we are killed all the day, and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Awake, wherefore wilt thou sleep, O Lord? arise, abandon us not for ever.
Rouse yourself, why do you sleep Lord? Awake, cast us not off forever.
24 Wherefore wilt thou hide thy face, wilt thou forget our misery, 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 body cleaveth unto the earth.
For we have sunk down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise unto our help, and redeem us for the sake of thy kindness.
Arise, come to our help: for your love’s sake, ransom us.
