Psalm 44

Psalm 44^a

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.^b

¹We have heard it with our ears,^h O God;

our ancestors have told usⁱ

what you did in their days,

in days long ago.^j

²With your hand you drove out^k the nations

and planted^l our ancestors;

you crushed^m the peoples

and made our ancestors flourish.ⁿ

³It was not by their sword^o that they won the land,

nor did their arm bring them victory;

it was your right hand,^p your arm,^q

and the light^r of your face, for you loved^s them.

⁴You are my King^t and my God,^u

who decrees^c victories^v for Jacob.

⁵Through you we push back^w our enemies;

through your name we trample^x our foes.

⁶I put no trust in my bow,^y

my sword does not bring me victory;

⁷but you give us victory^z over our enemies,

you put our adversaries to shame.^a

⁸In God we make our boast^b all day long,^c

and we will praise your name forever.^dd

⁹But now you have rejected^e and humbled us;^f

you no longer go out with our armies.^g

¹⁰You made us retreat^h before the enemy,

and our adversaries have plunderedⁱ us.

¹¹You gave us up to be devoured like sheep^j

and have scattered us among the nations.^k

¹²You sold your people for a pittance,^l

gaining nothing from their sale.

¹³You have made us a reproach^m to our neighbors,ⁿ

the scorn^o and derision^p of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword^q among the nations;

the peoples shake their heads^r at us.

¹⁵I live in disgrace^s all day long,

and my face is covered with shame^t

¹⁶at the taunts^u of those who reproach and revile^v me,

because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.^w

¹⁷All this came upon us,

though we had not forgotten^x you;

we had not been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts had not turned^y back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

¹⁹But you crushed^z us and made us a haunt for jackals;^a

you covered us over with deep darkness.^b

²⁰If we had forgotten^c the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,^d

²¹would not God have discovered it,

since he knows the secrets of the heart?^e

²²Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep^f to be slaughtered.^g

²³Awake,^h Lord! Why do you sleep?ⁱ

Rouse yourself!^j Do not reject us forever.^k

²⁴Why do you hide your face^l

and forget^m our misery and oppression?ⁿ

²⁵We are brought down to the dust;^o

our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶Rise up^p and help us;

rescue^q us because of your unfailing love.^r