Psalms 44
Israel’s Complaint
1For the choir director. A ▼▼Maskil: From a Hebrew word meaning to be prudent or to have insight; possibly a contemplative, instructive, or wisdom psalm
Maskil of the sons of Korah. God, we have heard with our ears – our ancestors have told us –
the work You accomplished in their days,
in days long ago: b
2 to plant them,
You drove out the nations with Your hand;
to settle them,
You crushed the peoples. c
3 For they did not take the land by their sword –
their arm did not bring them victory –
but by Your right hand, Your arm,
and the light of Your face,
for You were pleased with them. d
4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains ▼
▼LXX, Syr, Aq; MT reads King, God; ordain
victories for Jacob. f 5 Through You we drive back our foes;
through Your name we trample our enemies. g
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory. h
7 But You give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced. i
8 We boast in God all day long;
we will praise Your name forever. j , ▼
▼Selah: A Hebrew word whose meaning is uncertain; various interpretations include: (1) a musical notation, (2) a pause for silence, (3) a signal for worshipers to fall prostrate on the ground, (4) a term for the worshipers to call out, and (5) a word meaning "forever"
Selah
9 But You have rejected and humiliated us;
You do not march out with our armies. l
10 You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves. m
11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations. n
12 You sell Your people for nothing;
You make no profit from selling them. o
13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us. p
14 You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock ▼
▼Lit shaking of the head
among the peoples. r 15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face, s
16 because of the voice of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger. t
17 All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten You
or betrayed Your covenant. u
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from Your path. v
19 But You have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness. w
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god, x
21 wouldn’t God have found this out,
since He knows the secrets of the heart? y
22 Because of You we are slain all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. z
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are You sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever! aa
24 Why do You hide Yourself
and forget our affliction and oppression? ab
25 For we have sunk down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground. ac
26 Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of Your faithful love. ad
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