44
Redemption Remembered in Present Dishonor
To the Chief Musician. A ⚓Contemplation of the sons of Korah.
1We have heard with our ears, O God,
⚓Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
2⚓You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
3For ⚓they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
⚓Because You favored them.
4⚓You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob.
5Through You ⚓we will push down our enemies;
Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
6For ⚓I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.
7But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.
8⚓In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever.
Selah
9But ⚓You have cast us off and put us to shame,
And You do not go out with our armies.
10You make us ⚓turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11⚓You have given us up like sheep intended for food,
And have ⚓scattered us among the nations.
12⚓You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.
13⚓You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.
14⚓You make us a byword among the nations,
⚓A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15My dishonor is continually before me,
And the shame of my face has covered me,
16Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
⚓Because of the enemy and the avenger.
17⚓All this has come upon us;
But we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18Our heart has not turned back,
⚓Nor have our steps departed from Your way;
19But You have severely broken us in ⚓the place of jackals,
And covered us ⚓with the shadow of death.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God,
Or ⚓stretched out our hands to a foreign god,
21⚓Would not God search this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22⚓Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23⚓Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever.
24⚓Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25For ⚓our soul is bowed down to the dust;
Our body clings to the ground.
26Arise for our help,
And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.
44
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.⚓
1We have heard it with our ears, O God;
our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.
3It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
4You are my King and my God,
who decrees⚓ victories for Jacob.
5Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.
6I put no trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
8In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.⚓
9But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies.
10You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.
11You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations.
12You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale.
13You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
14You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.
15I live in disgrace all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
16at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
17All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;
you covered us over with deep darkness.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?
25We are brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26Rise up and help us;
rescue us because of your unfailing love.