< Psalms 44 >
1 TO THE OVERSEER. AN INSTRUCTION OF THE SONS OF KORAH. O God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have recounted to us, The work You worked in their days, In the days of old.
To the Chief Musician. For the Sons of Korah. An Instructive Psalm. O God! with our own ears, have we heard, Our fathers, have recounted to us, —The work thou didst work, In their day, In the days of aforetime:
2 You, [with] Your hand, have dispossessed nations. And You plant them. You afflict peoples, and send them away.
Thou thyself, with thine own hand—Didst dispossess, nations, and didst plant them, Didst break peoples in pieces, and didst spread them out:
3 For they did not possess the land by their sword, And their arm did not give salvation to them, But Your right hand, and Your arm, And the light of Your countenance, Because You had accepted them.
For, not by their own sword, gat they possession of the land, Nor did, their own arm, win victory for them, —But thine own right hand, and thine own arm, and the light of thy face, Because thou hadst accepted them.
4 You [are] He, my King, O God, Command the deliverances of Jacob.
Thou thyself, art my king, O God, Command thou the victories of Jacob.
5 By You we push our adversaries, By Your Name we tread down our withstanders,
By thee, will we thrust at, our adversaries, In thy Name, will we tread down our assailants;
6 For I do not trust in my bow, And my sword does not save me.
For, not in my bow, will I trust, Nor shall, my sword, give me victory;
7 For You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those hating us.
For thou hast saved us from our adversaries, And, them who hated us, hast thou put to shame.
8 In God we have boasted all the day, And we thank Your Name for all time. (Selah)
In God, have we boasted all the day, And, thy Name—unto times age-abiding, will we praise. (Selah)
9 In anger You have cast off and cause us to blush, And do not go forth with our hosts.
But nay thou hast rejected, and confounded us, And wilt not go forth with our hosts;
10 You cause us to turn backward from an adversary, And those hating us, Have spoiled for themselves.
Thou sufferest us to turn back from the adversary, And, they who hate us, have plundered at will:
11 You make us food like sheep, And You have scattered us among nations.
Thou dost give us up like sheep to be devoured, And, amongst the nations, hast thou scattered us.
12 You sell Your people—without wealth, And have not become great by their price.
Thou dost sell thy people for, no-value, And hast not made increase by their price.
13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and a reproach to our surrounders.
Thou dost make us, A reproach to our neighbours, A mockery and a derision to them who are round about us:
14 You make us an allegory among nations, A shaking of the head among peoples.
Thou dost make us, A by-word among the nations, —A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 All the day my confusion [is] before me, And the shame of my face has covered me.
All the day, is my confusion before me, And, the shame of my face, hath covered me:
16 Because of the voice of a reproacher and reviler, Because of an enemy and a self-avenger.
At the voice of him who reproacheth and revileth, At the face of the foe and avenger.
17 All this met us, and we did not forget You, Nor have we dealt falsely in Your covenant.
All this, hath come upon us, Yet had we not forgotten thee, Neither had we dealt falsely with thy covenant;
18 We do not turn our heart backward, Nor turn aside our step from Your path.
Our heart had not drawn back, Nor had our goings swerved from thy path;
19 But You have struck us in a place of dragons, And cover us over with death-shade.
That thou shouldst have crushed us down in the place of wild dogs, And covered us over with a deadly shadow.
20 If we have forgotten the Name of our God, And spread our hands to a strange God,
If we had forgotten the Name of our God, And had spread forth our hands unto the GOD of the foreigner,
21 Does God not search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
Would not, God, have searched into this, Seeing that, he, knoweth the secrets of the heart?
22 Surely, for Your sake we have been slain all the day, Reckoned as sheep of the slaughter.
Surely, for thy sake, have we been slain all the day, We have been accounted as sheep for slaughter.
23 Stir up—why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever.
Awake thou! wherefore shouldst thou sleep, O Lord? Bestir thee! do not reject us altogether!
24 Why do You hide Your face? You forget our afflictions and our oppression,
Wherefore shouldst thou hide, thy face? Shouldst forget our humiliation and our oppression?
25 For our soul has bowed to the dust, Our belly has cleaved to the earth.
For our soul, sinketh down to the dust, Our body, cleaveth to the earth.
26 Arise, a help to us, And ransom us for your kindness’ sake.
Arise to our help, And ransom us, because of thine own lovingkindness.