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1O God, we have clearly heard;[#tn Heb “with our ears we have heard.”]
our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
in ancient times.
2You, by your power, defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land;[#tn Heb “you, your hand.”; #tn Heb “dispossessed nations and planted them.” The third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1). See Ps 80:8, 15.]
you crushed the people living there and enabled our ancestors to occupy it.
3For they did not conquer the land by their swords,[#tn Or “take possession of.”]
and they did not prevail by their strength,
but rather by your power, strength and good favor,
for you were partial to them.
4You are my king, O God![#sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.]
Decree Jacob’s deliverance!
5By your power we will drive back our enemies;[#tn Heb “by you.”; #tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”sn The Hebrew verb translated “drive back” is literally “gore”; the imagery is that of a powerful wild ox that “gores” its enemies and tramples them underfoot.]
by your strength we will trample down our foes!
6For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
7For you deliver us from our enemies;[#tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).]
you humiliate those who hate us.
8In God I boast all day long,
and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)
9But you rejected and embarrassed us![#tn The particle אַף (’af, “but”) is used here as a strong adversative contrasting the following statement with what precedes.]
You did not go into battle with our armies.
10You made us retreat from the enemy.[#tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”]
Those who hate us take whatever they want from us.
11You handed us over like sheep to be eaten;[#tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).]
you scattered us among the nations.
12You sold your people for a pittance;[#tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).; #tn Heb “for what is not wealth.”]
you did not ask a high price for them.
13You made us an object of disdain to our neighbors;[#tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).]
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.
14You made us an object of ridicule among the nations;[#tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).; #tn Heb “a proverb,” or “[the subject of] a mocking song.”]
foreigners treat us with contempt.
15All day long I feel humiliated[#tn Heb “all the day my humiliation [is] in front of me.”]
and am overwhelmed with shame,
16before the vindictive enemy
who ridicules and insults me.
17All this has happened to us, even though we have not rejected you[#tn Heb “we have not forgotten you.” To “forget” God refers here to worshiping false gods and thereby refusing to recognize his sovereignty (see v. 20, as well as Deut 8:19; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21; Ps 9:17).Thus the translation “we have not rejected you” has been used.]
or violated your covenant with us.
18We have not been unfaithful,[#tn Heb “our heart did not turn backward.” Cf. Ps 78:57.]
nor have we disobeyed your commands.
19Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs;[#tn Heb “yet you have battered us in a place of jackals.”]
you have covered us with darkness.
20If we had rejected our God,[#tn Heb “If we had forgotten the name of our God.” To “forget the name” here refers to rejecting the Lord’s authority (see Jer 23:27) and abandoning him as an object of prayer and worship (see the next line).]
and spread out our hands in prayer to another god,
21would not God discover it,
for he knows one’s thoughts?
22Yet because of you we are killed all day long;[#tn The statement “because of you” (1) may simply indicate that God is the cause of the Israelites’ defeat (see vv. 9-14, where the nation’s situation is attributed directly to God’s activity, and cf. NEB, NRSV), or (2) it may suggest they suffer because of their allegiance to God (see Ps 69:7 and Jer 15:15). In this case one should translate, “for your sake” (cf. NASB, NIV). The citation of this verse in Rom 8:36 follows the LXX (Ps 43:23 LXX), where the Greek term ἕνεκεν (Jeneken; LXX ἕνεκα) may likewise mean “because of” or “for the sake of” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἕνεκα 1).]
we are treated like sheep at the slaughtering block.
23Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Wake up! Do not reject us forever!
24Why do you look the other way,[#tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).]
and ignore the way we are oppressed and mistreated?
25For we lie in the dirt,
with our bellies pressed to the ground.
26Rise up and help us!
Rescue us because of your loyal love!