New King James Version

New Living Translation

Redemption Remembered in Present Dishonor

To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation[a] of the sons of Korah.

We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:

1

For the choir director: A psalma of the descendants of Korah.

O God, we have heard it with our own ears —
our ancestors have told us
of all you did in their day,
in days long ago:

2

You drove out the [b]nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.

2

You drove out the pagan nations by your power
and gave all the land to our ancestors.
You crushed their enemies
and set our ancestors free.

3

For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favored them.

3

They did not conquer the land with their swords;
it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory.
It was your right hand and strong arm
and the blinding light from your face that helped them,
for you loved them.

4

You are my King, [c]O God;
[d]Command victories for Jacob.

4

You are my King and my God.
You command victories for Israel.b

5

Through You we will push down our enemies;
Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.

5

Only by your power can we push back our enemies;
only in your name can we trample our foes.

6

For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.

6

I do not trust in my bow;
I do not count on my sword to save me.

7

But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.

7

You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies;
you disgrace those who hate us.

8

In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever. Selah

8

O God, we give glory to you all day long
and constantly praise your name.
Interlude

9

But You have cast us off and put us to shame,
And You do not go out with our armies.

9

But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor.
You no longer lead our armies to battle.

10

You make us turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken [e]spoil for themselves.

10

You make us retreat from our enemies
and allow those who hate us to plunder our land.

11

You have given us up like sheep intended for food,
And have scattered us among the nations.

11

You have butchered us like sheep
and scattered us among the nations.

12

You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.

12

You sold your precious people for a pittance,
making nothing on the sale.

13

You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.

13

You let our neighbors mock us.
We are an object of scorn and derision to those around us.

14

You make us a byword among the nations,
A shaking of the head among the peoples.

14

You have made us the butt of their jokes;
they shake their heads at us in scorn.

15

My dishonor is continually before me,
And the shame of my face has covered me,

15

We can’t escape the constant humiliation;
shame is written across our faces.

16

Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
Because of the enemy and the avenger.

16

All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.
All we see are our vengeful enemies.

17

All this has come upon us;
But we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.

17

All this has happened though we have not forgotten you.
We have not violated your covenant.

18

Our heart has not turned back,
Nor have our steps departed from Your way;

18

Our hearts have not deserted you.
We have not strayed from your path.

19

But You have severely broken us in the place of jackals,
And covered us with the shadow of death.

19

Yet you have crushed us in the jackal’s desert home.
You have covered us with darkness and death.

20

If we had forgotten the name of our God,
Or stretched[f] out our hands to a foreign god,

20

If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,

21

Would not God search this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.

21

God would surely have known it,
for he knows the secrets of every heart.

22

Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

22

But for your sake we are killed every day;
we are being slaughtered like sheep.

23

Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever.

23

Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Get up! Do not reject us forever.

24

Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?

24

Why do you look the other way?
Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression?

25

For our soul is bowed down to the [g]dust;
Our body clings to the ground.

25

We collapse in the dust,
lying face down in the dirt.

26

Arise for our help,
And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.

26

Rise up! Help us!
Ransom us because of your unfailing love.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Psalms 44

Psalms 44