Psalm 44
Expanded Bible
A Prayer for Help
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
44 God, we have heard ·about you [L with our ears; 78:3].
Our ·ancestors [fathers] ·told [recited to] us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your ·power [L hand] you ·forced [dispossessed] the nations out of the land
and ·placed [L planted] our ancestors here.
You ·destroyed [troubled] ·those other nations [L the peoples],
but you ·made our ancestors grow strong [set them free].
3 It wasn’t their swords that ·took [possessed] the land.
It wasn’t their ·power [L arm] that gave them victory.
But it was your ·great power [L arm] and ·strength [L right hand].
·You were with them [L …and the light of your face] because you ·loved [delighted in] them.
4 My God, you are my King.
·Your commands led Jacob’s people to victory [or You command victory for Jacob; C Jacob is another name for Israel].
5 With your help we pushed ·back [down] our enemies.
In your name we trampled those who ·came [rose up] against us.
6 I don’t trust my bow to help me,
and my sword can’t ·save me [give me victory].
7 You ·saved us from [gave us victory over] our foes,
and you made ·our enemies [L those who hate us] ashamed.
8 We will praise God every day;
we will ·praise [give thanks to] your name forever. ·
9 But you have rejected us and ·shamed [humiliated] us.
You don’t ·march [L go out] with our armies anymore [Ex. 15:3; 2 Chr. 20:20–21].
10 You let our enemies push us back,
and those who hate us have ·taken our wealth [plundered us].
11 You ·gave us away [made us] like sheep ·to be eaten [for slaughter]
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for nothing
and made no profit on the sale.
13 You made us a ·joke [reproach] to our neighbors;
those around us ·laugh [ridicule] and make fun of us.
14 You made us a ·joke [byword; proverb] to the other nations;
people shake their heads.
15 I am always in disgrace,
and ·I am [L my face is] covered with shame.
16 My enemy is getting ·even [revenge]
with ·insults [taunts] and curses.
17 All these things have happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or ·failed to keep [been false to; betrayed] our ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [C perhaps a reference to the covenant with Moses; Ex. 19–24].
18 Our hearts haven’t turned ·away [back] from you,
and ·we haven’t stopped following you [L our steps have not departed from your way].
19 But you crushed us in this place where ·wild dogs [jackals] live [C desolate areas],
and you covered us with ·deep darkness [or the shadow of death; Nah. 1:8].
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or ·lifted [L spread] our hands in prayer to ·foreign [L strange] gods,
21 ·God would have known [L Would not God discover this…?],
because he knows ·what is in [L the secrets of] our hearts.
22 But for you we are ·in danger of death [L killed] all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be ·killed [slaughtered; Is. 53:7].
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever [Lam. 5:22].
24 Why do you hide your face from us?
Have you forgotten our ·pain [affliction] and ·troubles [oppression]?
25 We have ·been pushed down [sunk down] into the ·dirt [dust];
·we are flat on the ground [L our stomachs cleave to the earth].
26 ·Get [Rise] up and help us.
Because of your ·love [loyalty], ·save [redeem; ransom] us.
Psalm 44
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 44[a]
Past Glory and Present Need of God’s People
1 For the director.[b] A maskil of the sons of Korah.
2 [c]O God, we have heard with our ears,
our ancestors have told us,
of the deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old.
3 To establish them in the land,
you drove out the nations with your own hand;
you crushed the peoples
so that our ancestors could flourish.
4 It was not their own swords that won them the land,
nor did their own arms make them victorious;
rather, it was your right hand and your arm
and the light of your face,[d]
because you loved them.
5 You are my[e] King and my God,
who bestowed victories upon Jacob.
6 Through you we throw back our enemies;
through your name[f] we crush our assailants.
7 It is not in my bow that I trust,
nor can my sword ensure my victory.
8 It is you who saved us from our enemies;
you scattered in confusion those who hate us.
9 In God we boast the whole day long,
and we will praise your name forever. Selah
10 [g]But now you have rejected and humiliated us,
and you no longer accompany our armies.[h]
11 You have forced us to retreat[i] before the enemy;
those who hate us plunder us unceasingly.
12 You have handed us over like sheep to be slaughtered
and scattered us among the nations.
13 You have sold your people for nothing,
receiving no gain from their sale.
14 You have subjected us to the contempt of our neighbors,
to the mockery and scorn of all who are near.
15 You have made us a byword to the nations;
the peoples shake their heads[j] at us.
16 All day long I am confronted by my disgrace,
and my face is covered with shame
17 as I hear the shouts of taunting and abuse
and see the hateful enemy seeking revenge.
18 All this has happened to us
even though we have not forgotten you
or been false to your covenant.[k]
19 Our hearts[l] have not turned back,
nor have our feet wandered from your path.
20 Yet you have crushed us,
forced us to live among the jackals,[m]
and covered us with darkness.
21 If we had forgotten the name[n] of our God
or lifted up our hands to a foreign god,
22 would not God have discovered it,
he who knows the secrets of the heart?
23 For your sake we are put to death all day long;
we are treated like sheep destined to be slaughtered.[o]
24 Awake, O Lord. Why[p] do you sleep?
Rise up, and do not abandon us forever.
25 Why do you hide your face[q]
and continue to ignore our misery and our sufferings?
26 We have been brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.[r]
27 Rise up and come to our aid;
redeem us for the sake of your kindness.[s]
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 In the history of Israel, times of joy and defeat alternate with one another. This hymn transmits the strong feeling of the people about the triumphs of bygone days and the defeat at hand. But they do not believe God can forget forever the people that he loves.
As the true “remnant” and the elite of God’s servants, the Church very naturally uses this psalm of the remnant of Israel to beseech the Lord and Master to take pity on her in the severe trials that assail her. This national lamentation is a prayer for times when we feel overwhelmed by failure, uncertainty, and confusion. - Psalm 44:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. Maskil: see note on Ps 32:1a. Sons of Korah: see note on Ps 42:1.
- Psalm 44:2 The liturgy of the Old Testament transmits with gratitude the memory of the great hours of the conquest. Isn’t God the one who at that time was responsible for this people’s victory? A hymn recalls these wondrous deeds.
- Psalm 44:4 The light of your face: see notes on Pss 4:7; 13:2.
- Psalm 44:5 My: this psalm is sung in the name of all Israel.
- Psalm 44:6 Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
- Psalm 44:10 Only a lament can evoke the situation of that moment; we are doubtless at the time of the Exile, after 587 B.C. This prayer could have been utilized and adapted at other times of national calamity; thus, verses 18-23 make us think of the Maccabean period when Israel is conscious of being the faithful community that did not deserve persecution (167–164 B.C.); the people suffer for their faith rather than for punishment of sin. For Paul, this lament (v. 23) reflects the condition of Christians (Rom 8:36).
- Psalm 44:10 You no longer accompany our armies: as commander-in-chief (see Pss 60:12; 68:8; Ex 15:3; Jdg 5:4).
- Psalm 44:11 You have forced us to retreat: God is responsible for the defeats as well as the victories (v. 5) of Israel.
- Psalm 44:15 Since the People of God have been allowed by God to be conquered, plundered, scattered like sheep, and enslaved by their enemies, their name has been disgraced among the nations (see Deut 28:37; 1 Ki 9:7; Jer 24:10). Shake their heads: a gesture of scorn (see Ps 64:9).
- Psalm 44:18 Israel’s present state is not the result of infidelity to God’s Covenant (see Ex 19–24).
- Psalm 44:19 Hearts: see note on Ps 4:8. Your path: the path or way shown them by the Lord (see Ps 18:31).
- Psalm 44:20 You have crushed us [and] forced us to live among the jackals: i.e., relegated Israel to a place unfit for human beings (see Isa 13:22; Jer 9:11; 10:22). Another translation proposed is: “you crushed us as you did the sea monster.” Darkness: they have been left without “light,” which symbolizes the fruits of God’s loving kindness (see note on Ps 36:10).
- Psalm 44:21 Name: see note on Ps 5:12. Lifted up our hands: the usual posture for prayer (see Ex 9:29), with palms turned upward.
- Psalm 44:23 In truth, Israel has suffered the hostility of the peoples because she has been the nation faithful to the Lord. Applying this verse to the Christian community (Rom 8:36), Paul is able to give it a positive slant because of Christ’s victory through his Passion and Resurrection (Rom 8:37-39).
- Psalm 44:24 Why . . . ?: see note on Ps 6:4.
- Psalm 44:25 Hide your face: see note on Ps 13:2.
- Psalm 44:26 Our bodies cling to the ground: posture of those who are defeated, those at prayer, or those in affliction (see Pss 7:6; 119:25; Num 24:4; Deut 9:18).
- Psalm 44:27 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
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