Psalm 44–49

Psalm 44

For the choir director; a maskil by Korah’s descendants. 

¹O God, 

we have heard it with our own ears. 

Our ancestors have told us 

about the miracle you performed in their day, 

in days long ago. 

²By your power you forced nations ⸤out of the land⸥, 

but you planted our ancestors ⸤there⸥. 

You shattered many groups of people, 

but you set our ancestors free.^a

³It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land. 

They did not gain victory with their own strength. 

It was your right hand, your arm, 

and the light of your presence ⸤that did it⸥, 

because you were pleased with them. 

⁴You alone are my king, O God. 

You won those victories for Jacob. 

⁵With you we can walk over our enemies. 

With your name we can trample those who attack us. 

⁶I do not rely on my bow, 

and my sword will never save me. 

⁷But you saved us from our enemies. 

You put to shame those who hate us. 

⁸All day long we praise our God. 

We give thanks to you forever. 

Selah 

⁹But now you have rejected and disgraced us. 

You do not even go along with our armies. 

¹⁰You make us retreat from the enemy. 

Those who hate us rob us at will. 

¹¹You hand us over to be butchered like sheep 

and scatter us among the nations. 

¹²You sell your people for almost nothing, 

and at that price you have gained nothing. 

¹³You made us a disgrace to our neighbors 

and an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us. 

¹⁴You made our ⸤defeat⸥ a proverb among the nations 

so that people shake their heads at us. 

¹⁵All day long my disgrace is in front of me. 

Shame covers my face 

¹⁶because of the words of those who insult and slander us, 

because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger. 

¹⁷Although all of this happened to us, 

we never forgot you. 

We never ignored your promise.^b

¹⁸Our hearts never turned away. 

Our feet never left your path. 

¹⁹Yet, you crushed us in a place for jackals 

and covered us with the shadow of death. 

²⁰If we forgot the name of our God 

or stretched out our hands to pray to another god, 

²¹wouldn’t God find out, 

since he knows the secrets in our hearts? 

²²Indeed, we are being killed all day long because of you. 

We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered. 

²³Wake up! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? 

Awake! Do not reject us forever! 

²⁴Why do you hide your face? 

Why do you forget our suffering and misery? 

²⁵Our souls are bowing in the dust. 

Our bodies cling to the ground. 

²⁶Arise! Help us! 

Rescue us because of your mercy! 

Psalm 45

For the choir director; according to shoshannim;^aa maskil by Korah’s descendants; a love song. 

¹My heart is overflowing with good news. 

I will direct my song to the king. 

My tongue is a pen for a skillful writer. 

²You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants. 

Grace is poured on your lips. 

That is why God has blessed you forever. 

³O warrior, strap your sword to your side 

with your splendor and majesty. 

⁴Ride on victoriously in your majesty 

for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness. 

Let your right hand teach you awe-inspiring things. 

⁵Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies. 

Nations fall beneath you. 

⁶Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. 

The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice. 

⁷You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong. 

That is why God, your God, has anointed you, 

rather than your companions, with the oil of joy. 

⁸All your robes are ⸤fragrant⸥ with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. 

From ivory palaces the music of stringed instruments delights you. 

⁹The daughters of kings are among your noble ladies. 

The queen takes her place at your right hand 

and wears gold from Ophir. 

¹⁰Listen, daughter! Look closely! 

Turn your ear ⸤toward me⸥. 

Forget your people, and forget your father’s house. 

¹¹The king longs for your beauty. 

He is your Lord. 

Worship him. 

¹²The people of Tyre, the richest people, 

want to win your favor with a gift. 

¹³The daughter of the king is glorious inside ⸤the palace⸥. 

Her dress is embroidered with gold. 

¹⁴Wearing a colorful gown, she is brought to the king. 

Her bridesmaids follow her. 

They will be brought to you. 

¹⁵With joy and delight they are brought in. 

They enter the palace of the king. 

¹⁶Your sons will take the place of your father. 

You will make them princes over the whole earth. 

¹⁷I will cause your name to be remembered throughout every generation. 

That is why the nations will give thanks to you forever and ever. 

Psalm 46

For the choir director; a song by the descendants of Korah; according to alamoth.^a

¹God is our refuge and strength, 

an ever-present help in times of trouble. 

²That is why we are not afraid 

even when the earth quakes 

or the mountains topple into the depths of the sea. 

³Water roars and foams, 

and mountains shake at the surging waves. 

Selah 

⁴There is a river 

whose streams bring joy to the city of God, 

the holy place where the Most High lives. 

⁵God is in that city. 

It cannot fall. 

God will help it at the break of dawn. 

⁶Nations are in turmoil, and kingdoms topple. 

The earth melts at the sound of ⸤God’s⸥ voice. 

⁷The Lord of Armies is with us. 

The God of Jacob is our stronghold. 

Selah 

⁸Come, see the works of the Lord, 

the devastation he has brought to the earth. 

⁹He puts an end to wars all over the earth. 

He breaks an archer’s bow. 

He cuts spears in two. 

He burns chariots. 

¹⁰Let go ⸤of your concerns⸥! 

Then you will know that I am God. 

I rule the nations. 

I rule the earth. 

¹¹The Lord of Armies is with us. 

The God of Jacob is our stronghold. 

Selah 

Psalm 47

For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants. 

¹Clap your hands, all you people. 

Shout to God with a loud, joyful song. 

²We must fear the Lord, the Most High. 

He is the great king of the whole earth. 

³He brings people under our authority 

and ⸤puts⸥ nations under our feet. 

⁴He chooses our inheritance for us, 

the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. 

Selah 

⁵God has gone up with a joyful shout. 

The Lord has gone up with the sound of a ram’s horn. 

⁶Make music to praise God. 

Play music for him! 

Make music to praise our king. 

Play music for him! 

⁷God is the king of the whole earth. 

Make your best music for him! 

⁸God rules the nations. 

He sits upon his holy throne. 

⁹The influential people from the nations gather together 

as the people of the God of Abraham. 

The rulers of the earth belong to God. 

He rules everything. 

Psalm 48

A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants. 

¹The Lord is great. 

He should be highly praised. 

His holy mountain is in the city of our God. 

²Its beautiful peak is the joy of the whole earth. 

Mount Zion is on the northern ridge. 

It is the city of the great king. 

³God is in its palaces. 

He has proved that he is a stronghold. 

⁴The kings have gathered. 

They marched together. 

⁵⸤When⸥ they saw ⸤Mount Zion⸥, 

they were astonished. 

They were terrified and ran away in fear. 

⁶Trembling seized them 

like the trembling that a woman experiences during labor. 

⁷With the east wind you smash the ships of Tarshish. 

⁸The things we had only heard about, we have now seen 

in the city of the Lord of Armies, 

in the city of our God. 

God makes Zion stand firm forever. 

Selah 

⁹Inside your temple we carefully reflect on your mercy, O God. 

¹⁰Like your name, O God, 

your praise ⸤reaches⸥ to the ends of the earth. 

Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 

¹¹Let Mount Zion be glad 

and the cities of Judah rejoice 

because of your judgments. 

¹²Walk around Zion. 

Go around it. 

Count its towers. 

¹³Examine its embankments. 

Walk through its palaces. 

Then you can tell the next generation, 

¹⁴“This God is our God forever and ever. 

He will lead us beyond death.” 

Psalm 49

For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants. 

¹Listen to this, all you people. 

Open your ears, all who live in the world— 

²common people and important ones, 

rich people and poor ones. 

³My mouth will speak wise sayings, 

the insights I have carefully considered. 

⁴I will turn my attention to a proverb. 

I will explain my riddle with the ⸤music of⸥ a lyre. 

⁵Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, 

when slanderers surround me with evil? 

⁶They trust their riches 

and brag about their abundant wealth. 

⁷No one can ever buy back another person 

or pay God a ransom for his life. 

⁸The price to be paid for his soul is too costly. 

He must always give up 

⁹in order to live forever and never see the pit. 

¹⁰Indeed, one can see that wise people die, 

that foolish and stupid people meet the same end. 

They leave their riches to others. 

¹¹Although they named their lands after themselves, 

their graves^ahave become their homes for ages to come, 

their dwelling places throughout every generation. 

¹²But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure. 

They are like animals that die. 

¹³This is the final outcome for fools and their followers 

who are delighted by what they say: 

Selah 

¹⁴Like sheep, they are driven to hell 

with death as their shepherd. 

(Decent people will rule them in the morning.) 

Their forms will decay in the grave, 

far away from their comfortable homes. 

¹⁵But God will buy me back from the power of hell 

because he will take me. 

Selah 

¹⁶Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich, 

when the greatness of his house increases. 

¹⁷He will not take anything with him when he dies. 

His greatness cannot follow him. 

¹⁸Even though he blesses himself while he is alive 

(and they praise you when you do well for yourself), 

¹⁹he must join the generation of his ancestors, 

who will never see light ⸤again⸥. 

²⁰Mortals, with what they treasure, still don’t have understanding. 

They are like animals that die.