Psalm 44

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

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

our ancestors have told us

what you did in their days,

in days long ago.

²With your hand you drove out the nations

and planted our ancestors;

you crushed the peoples

and made our ancestors flourish.

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

nor did their arm bring them victory;

it was your right hand, your arm,

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

⁴You are my King and my God,

who decrees victories for Jacob.

⁵Through you we push back our enemies;

through your name we trample our foes.

⁶I put no trust in my bow,

my sword does not bring me victory;

⁷but you give us victory over our enemies,

you put our adversaries to shame.

⁸In God we make our boast all day long,

and we will praise your name forever.

⁹But now you have rejected and humbled us;

you no longer go out with our armies.

¹⁰You made us retreat before the enemy,

and our adversaries have plundered us.

¹¹You gave us up to be devoured like sheep

and have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You sold your people for a pittance,

gaining nothing from their sale.

¹³You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,

the scorn and derision of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword among the nations;

the peoples shake their heads at us.

¹⁵I live in disgrace all day long,

and my face is covered with shame

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

because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

¹⁷All this came upon us,

though we had not forgotten you;

we had not been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts had not turned back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

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

you covered us over with deep darkness.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

²¹would not God have discovered it,

since he knows the secrets of the heart?

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

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

²³Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?

Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

²⁴Why do you hide your face

and forget our misery and oppression?

²⁵We are brought down to the dust;

our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶Rise up and help us;

rescue us because of your unfailing love.