Psalm 78:67-79:7

New International Version - UK

⁶⁷ Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
⁶⁸ but he chose the tribe of Judah,
    Mount Zion, which he loved.
⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary like the heights,
    like the earth that he established for ever.
⁷⁰ He chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹ from tending the sheep he brought him
    to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
    of Israel his inheritance.
⁷² And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
    with skilful hands he led them.

¹ O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
    they have defiled your holy temple,
    they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
² They have left the dead bodies of your servants
    as food for the birds of the sky,
    the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
³ They have poured out blood like water
    all around Jerusalem,
    and there is no one to bury the dead.
⁴ We are objects of contempt to our neighbours,
    of scorn and derision to those around us.