Psalm 44
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 44
Israel’s Complaint
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 God, we have heard with our ears—
our ancestors have told us—
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:(A)
2 In order to plant them,
you displaced the nations by your hand;
in order to settle them,
you brought disaster on the peoples.(B)
3 For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,(C)
because you were favorable toward them.(D)
4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains[a] victories for Jacob.(E)
5 Through you we drive back our foes;
through your name we trample our enemies.(F)
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.(G)
7 But you give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.(H)
8 We boast in God all day long;(I)
we will praise your name forever.(J)Selah
9 But you have rejected and humiliated us;
you do not march out with our armies.(K)
10 You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.(L)
11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.(M)
12 You sell your people for nothing;
you make no profit from selling them.(N)
13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.(O)
14 You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.(P)
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face,(Q)
16 because of the taunts[c] of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.(R)
17 All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or betrayed your covenant.(S)
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from your path.(T)
19 But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.(U)
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god,(V)
21 wouldn’t God have found this out,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(W)
22 Because of you we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.(X)
Psalm 44
Lexham English Bible
Present Defeat and Past Deliverance
For the music director. Of the sons of Korah. A maskil.[a]
44 O God, we have heard with our ears;
our ancestors[b] have told us
of work you worked in their days,
in days of old.
2 You with your hand drove out the nations,
but them[c] you planted.
You harmed the peoples,
but them[d] you let spread out.
3 For not with their sword
did they possess the land,
and their arm did not give them victory.
Rather it was your right hand and your arm
and the light of your presence,
because you delighted in them.
4 You are my king, O God.
Command[e] victories for Jacob.
5 By you we push down our enemies;
by your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For I do not trust my bow,
and my sword cannot give me victory.
7 Rather you have saved us from our enemies,[f]
and have humiliated those who hate us.
8 In God we boast all the day,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 Surely you have rejected and disgraced us,
and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have caused us to pull back from the enemy,
and so those who hate us have plundered for themselves.
11 You have given us as sheep for food,
and among the nations you have scattered us.
12 You have sold your people cheaply,[g]
and did not profit by their price.
13 You have made us a taunt to our neighbors,
a derision and a scorn to those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 All day long[h] my disgrace is before me,
and the shame of my face covers me,
16 because of the voice of the taunter and the reviler,
because of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has befallen us, though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
and our steps have not turned aside from your way.
19 But you have crushed us in a place of jackals,
and have covered us with deep shadow.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God,
or had spread out our hands in prayer to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this,
for he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Rather, on account of you we are killed all day long;[i]
we are accounted as sheep for slaughter.
23 Wake up! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Awake! Do not reject forever.
24 Why do you hide your face?
Have you forgotten our misery and our oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust.
Our body[j] clings to the ground.
26 Rise up! Be a help for us,
and redeem us for the sake of your loyal love.
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
- Psalm 44:1 Or “fathers”
- Psalm 44:2 That is, Israel
- Psalm 44:2 That is, Israel
- Psalm 44:4 Or “who commands,” see LXX
- Psalm 44:7 Or “made us victorious over our enemies”
- Psalm 44:12 Literally “for what is not wealth”
- Psalm 44:15 Literally “All of the day”
- Psalm 44:22 Literally “all of the day”
- Psalm 44:25 Literally “belly”
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