Psalm 44

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

our ancestors told us about it:

²You, by your own hand, removed all the nations,

You crushed all the peoples,

³No, not by their own swords

did they take possession of the land—

No, it was your strong hand, your arm,

and the light of your face

⁴It’s you, God! You who are my king,

the one who orders salvation for Jacob.

⁵We’ve pushed our foes away by your help;

we’ve trampled our enemies by your name.

⁶No, I won’t trust in my bow;

my sword won’t save me

⁷because it’s you who saved us from our foes,

you who put those who hate us to shame.

⁸So we glory in God at all times

and give thanks to your name forever. Selah

⁹But now you’ve rejected and humiliated us.

You no longer accompany our armies.

¹⁰You make us retreat from the enemy;

our adversaries plunder us.

¹¹You’ve handed us over like sheep for butchering;

you’ve scattered us among the nations.

¹²You’ve sold your people for nothing,

not even bothering to set a decent price.

¹³You’ve made us a joke to all our neighbors;

we’re mocked and ridiculed by everyone around us.

¹⁴You’ve made us a bad joke to the nations,

something to be laughed at by all peoples.

¹⁵All day long my disgrace confronts me,

and shame covers my face

¹⁶because of the voices of those

who make fun of me and bad-mouth me,

¹⁷All this has come upon us,

but we haven’t forgotten you

or broken your covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts haven’t turned away,

neither have our steps strayed from your way.

¹⁹But you’ve crushed us in the place where jackals live,[#44.19 Or the sea monster(s)]

covering us with deepest darkness.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to some strange deity,

²¹wouldn’t God have discovered it?

After all, God knows every secret of the heart.

²²No, God, it’s because of you that we are getting killed every day—

it’s because of you that we are considered sheep ready for slaughter.

²³Wake up! Why are you sleeping, Lord?

Get up! Don’t reject us forever!

²⁴Why are you hiding your face,

forgetting our suffering and oppression?

²⁵Look: we’re going down to the dust;

our stomachs are flat on the ground!

²⁶Stand up! Help us!

Save us for the sake of your faithful love.