Psalm 44
New King James Version
Redemption Remembered in Present Dishonor
To the Chief Musician. A (A)Contemplation[a] of the sons of Korah.
44 We have heard with our ears, O God,
(B)Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
2 (C)You drove out the [b]nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
3 For (D)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,
(E)Because You favored them.
4 (F)You are my King, [c]O God;
[d]Command victories for Jacob.
5 Through You (G)we will push down our enemies;
Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
6 For (H)I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.
7 But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.
8 (I)In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever. Selah
9 But (J)You have cast us off and put us to shame,
And You do not go out with our armies.
10 You make us (K)turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken [e]spoil for themselves.
11 (L)You have given us up like sheep intended for food,
And have (M)scattered us among the nations.
12 (N)You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.
13 (O)You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.
14 (P)You make us a byword among the nations,
(Q)A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 My dishonor is continually before me,
And the shame of my face has covered me,
16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
(R)Because of the enemy and the avenger.
17 (S)All this has come upon us;
But we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
(T)Nor have our steps departed from Your way;
19 But You have severely broken us in (U)the place of jackals,
And covered us (V)with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God,
Or (W)stretched[f] out our hands to a foreign god,
21 (X)Would not God search this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 (Y)Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 (Z)Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever.
24 (AA)Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25 For (AB)our soul is bowed down to the [g]dust;
Our body clings to the ground.
26 Arise for our help,
And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 Heb. Maschil
- Psalm 44:2 Gentiles, heathen
- Psalm 44:4 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. and my God
- Psalm 44:4 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. Who commands
- Psalm 44:10 plunder
- Psalm 44:20 Worshiped
- Psalm 44:25 Ground, in humiliation
Psalm 44
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Psalm 44
To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem.
1 We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us [what] work You did in their days, in the days of old.
2 You drove out the nations with Your hand and it was Your power that gave [Israel] a home by rooting out the [heathen] peoples, but [Israel] You spread out.
3 For they got not the land [of Canaan] in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your countenance [did it], because You were favorable toward and did delight in them.
4 You are my King, O God; command victories and deliverance for Jacob (Israel).
5 Through You shall we push down our enemies; through Your name shall we tread them under who rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in and lean on my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
7 But You have saved us from our foes and have put them to shame who hate us.
8 In God we have made our boast all the day long, and we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
9 But now You have cast us off and brought us to dishonor, and You go not out with our armies.
10 You make us to turn back from the enemy, and they who hate us take spoil for themselves.
11 You have made us like sheep intended for mutton and have scattered us in exile among the nations.
12 You sell Your people for nothing, and have not increased Your wealth by their price.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are round about us.
14 You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the heads among the people.
15 My dishonor is before me all day long, and shame has covered my face
16 At the words of the taunter and reviler, by reason of the enemy and the revengeful.
17 All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten You, neither have we been false to Your covenant [which You made with our fathers].
18 Our hearts are not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Your path,
19 Though You have distressingly broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with deep darkness, even with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or stretched out our hands to a strange god,
21 Would not God discover this? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 No, but for Your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.(A)
23 Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arouse Yourself, cast us not off forever!
24 Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression?
25 For our lives are bowed down to the dust; our bodies cleave to the ground.
26 Rise up! Come to our help, and deliver us for Your mercy’s sake and because of Your steadfast love!
Psalm 44
English Standard Version
Come to Our Help
To the choirmaster. (A)A Maskil[a] of the Sons of Korah.
44 O God, we have heard with our ears,
(B)our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
(C)in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand (D)drove out the nations,
but (E)them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but (F)them you set free;
3 for not (G)by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and (H)the light of your face,
(I)for you delighted in them.
4 (J)You are my King, O God;
(K)ordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we (L)push down our foes;
through your name we (M)tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in (N)my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have (O)put to shame those who hate us.
8 (P)In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 But you have (Q)rejected us and disgraced us
and (R)have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us (S)turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like (T)sheep for slaughter
and have (U)scattered us among the nations.
12 (V)You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us (W)the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and (X)scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us (Y)a byword among the nations,
(Z)a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and (AA)shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of (AB)the enemy and the avenger.
17 (AC)All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our (AD)steps (AE)departed from your way;
19 yet you have (AF)broken us in the place of (AG)jackals
and covered us with (AH)the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or (AI)spread out our hands to (AJ)a foreign god,
21 (AK)would not God discover this?
(AL)For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet (AM)for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 (AN)Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! (AO)Do not reject us forever!
24 Why (AP)do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our (AQ)soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; (AR)come to our help!
(AS)Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
