Psalms 44

¹O God! we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us, What deeds thou didst in their days, In the days of old.

²With thine own hand didst thou drive out the nations, And plant our fathers; Thou didst destroy the nations, And cause our fathers to flourish.

³For not by their own swords did they gain possession of the land, Nor did their own arms give them victory; But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance; For thou didst favor them!

⁴Thou art my king, O God! O send deliverance to Jacob!

⁵Through thee we may cast down our enemies; Through thy name we may trample upon our adversaries!

⁶I trust not in my bow, Nor can my sword save me.

⁷But it is thou only who savest us from our enemies, And puttest to shame those who hate us!

⁸In God will we glory continually; Yea, we will praise thy name for ever! [Pause.]

⁹Yet now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame; Thou goest not forth with our armies.

¹⁰Thou makest us turn back from the enemy, And they who hate us make our goods their prey.

¹¹Thou makest us like sheep destined for food, And scatterest us among the nations.

¹²Thou sellest thy people for nought, And increasest not thy wealth by their price.

¹³Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and a derision to those who are around us.

¹⁴Thou makest us a byword among the nations, And causest the people to shake their heads at us.

¹⁵My ignominy is continually before me, And shame covereth my face,

¹⁶On account of the voice of the scoffer and the reviler, And on account of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷All this hath come upon us; Yet have we not forgotten thee, Nor have we been false to thy covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts, have not wandered from thee, Nor have our feet gone out of thy path;

¹⁹Though thou hast crushed us in a land of jackals, And covered us with thick darkness.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God, Or stretched forth our hands to a strange God,

²¹Surely God would search it out; For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

²²But for thy sake we are killed all the day; We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

²³Awake! why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise! cast us not off for ever!

²⁴Wherefore dost thou hide thy face, And forget our affliction and oppression?

²⁵Our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body cleaveth to the earth.

²⁶Arise, O thou, our strength! And deliver us, for thy mercy’s sake!

Psalms 44

¹We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

²How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

³For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

⁴Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

⁵Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

⁶For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

⁷But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

⁸In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

⁹But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

¹⁰Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.

¹¹Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

¹²Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

¹³Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

¹⁴Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.

¹⁵My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

¹⁶For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

¹⁷All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.

¹⁸Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

¹⁹Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

²¹Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

²²Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

²³Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

²⁴Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

²⁶Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.