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:
²you with your own hand ^(D)drove out the nations,
    but ^(E)them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
    but ^(F)them you set free;
³for 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!
⁵Through you we ^(L)push down our foes;
    through your name we ^(M)tread down those who rise up against us.
⁶For not in ^(N)my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
⁷But 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

⁹But you have ^(Q)rejected us and disgraced us
    and ^(R)have not gone out with our armies.
¹⁰You have made us ^(S)turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
¹¹You 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.
¹³You have made us ^(W)the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and ^(X)scorn of those around us.
¹⁴You have made us ^(Y)a byword among the nations,
    ^(Z)a laughingstock^[b] among the peoples.
¹⁵All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and ^(AA)shame has covered my face
¹⁶at 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.
¹⁸Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our ^(AD)steps ^(AE)departed from your way;
¹⁹yet you have ^(AF)broken us in the place of ^(AG)jackals
    and covered us with ^(AH)the shadow of death.
²⁰If 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.
²²Yet ^(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!
²⁴Why ^(AP)do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
²⁵For our ^(AQ)soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
²⁶Rise 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

James 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 ^(A)James, a servant^[a] of God and ^(B)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(C)the twelve tribes in ^(D)the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

²^(E)Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials ^(F)of various kinds, ³for you know that ^(G)the testing of your faith ^(H)produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ^(I)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵^(J)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(K)let him ask God, ^(L)who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶But ^(M)let him ask in faith, ^(N)with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^(O)a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸^(P)he is a double-minded man, ^(Q)unstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰and ^(R)the rich in his humiliation, because ^(S)like a flower of the grass^[c] he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^(T)withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹²^(U)Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^(V)the crown of life, ^(W)which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵Then desire ^(X)when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^(Y)sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷^(Z)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^(AA)the Father of lights, ^(AB)with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^[d] ¹⁸^(AC)Of his own will he ^(AD)brought us forth by the word of truth, ^(AE)that we should be a kind of ^(AF)firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹^(AG)Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person ^(AH)be quick to hear, ^(AI)slow to speak, ^(AJ)slow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore ^(AK)put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with ^(AL)meekness the implanted word, ^(AM)which is able to save your souls.

²²But be ^(AN)doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵But the one who looks into the perfect law, ^(AO)the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, ^(AP)he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶If anyone thinks he is religious ^(AQ)and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's ^(AR)religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^(AS)to visit ^(AT)orphans and widows in their affliction, and ^(AU)to keep oneself ^(AV)unstained from the world.

Footnotes

James 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
James 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 16, 19
James 1:10 Or a wild flower
James 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning