Psalms 44

1 To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the 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 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and didst plant them; how 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 obtained not the land in possession 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 hadst a favour to 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 art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

It was you, my king and my God, that ordained the victories of Jacob.

5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name we will 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 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 our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

Our victory comes from you, and confusion to those who hate us.

8 In God we boast all the day long, and 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 shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

Yet you have spurned and disgraced us, in not going forth with our armies,

10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

and in making us flee from the foe, so that those who hated us plundered us.

11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for food; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

You have let us be eaten like sheep, you have scattered us over the world,

12 Thou sellest thy people for nothing, and dost not increase 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 scorn and a derision to them that are around us.

You have made us the butt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of all round us.

14 Thou makest us a by word among the heathen, 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 My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

My disgrace is forever before me, my face is covered with shame,

16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and 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 we have not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in 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 way;

Our heart has not turned back, nor our steps declined from your way,

19 Though thou hast greatly broke us in the place of dragons, 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 have forgotten the name of our God, or 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 Shall 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 Yea, for thy sake are we 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 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

Rouse yourself, why do you sleep Lord? Awake, cast us not off forever.

24 Why 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 to the earth.

For we have sunk down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground.

26 Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

Arise, come to our help: for your love’s sake, ransom us.