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Psalm 44
Easy-to-Read Version
Psalm 44
Easy-to-Read Version
To the director: A maskil from the Korah family.
44 God, we have heard about you.
Our fathers told us what you did in their lifetime.
They told us what you did long ago.
2 With your great power you took this land from other people,
and you gave it to us.
You crushed those foreigners
and forced them to leave this land.
3 It was not our fathers’ swords that took the land.
It was not their strong arms that brought them victory.
It was your power.
It was because you accepted them and smiled down on them.
4 God, you are my king.
Give the command and lead Jacob’s people to victory.
5 We need your help to push our enemies back.
Only in your name can we trample those who attacked us.
6 I don’t put my trust in my bow.
My sword cannot save me.
7 You are the one who saved us from our enemies.
You are the one who put our enemies to shame.
8 We have praised you all day long,
and we will praise your name forever. Selah
9 But you left us and put us to shame.
You did not go with us into battle.
10 You let our enemies push us back.
You let them take our wealth.
11 You gave us away like sheep to be killed and eaten.
You scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for nothing.
You did not even argue over the price.
13 You made us a joke to our neighbors.
They laugh and make fun of us.
14 You made us one of the stories that people love to tell.
People all over the world laugh at us and shake their heads.
15 All I can think about is my shame.
Just look at my face, and you will see it.
16 All I can hear are the jokes and insults of my enemies,
as I watch them take their revenge.
17 We have not forgotten you.
But you do all those things to us.
We did not break the agreement you gave us.
18 We did not turn away from you.
We did not stop following you.
19 But you crushed us in this home of jackals.
You left us in this place as dark as death.
20 Did we forget the name of our God?
Did we pray to foreign gods?
21 If we did, then God knows it,
because he knows our deepest secrets.
22 All day long we died for you.
We are like sheep being led away to be killed.
23 Lord, wake up!
Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t ignore us forever!
24 Why are you hiding from us?
Have you forgotten our pain and troubles?
25 We have been pushed down into the dirt.
We are lying face down in the dust.[a]
26 Get up and help us!
Rescue us because of your faithful love.
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:25 This shows that the people were being treated like slaves who must bow down to their masters.
Psalm 44
New International Version
Psalm 44
New International Version
Psalm 44[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b]
1 We have heard it with our ears,(A) O God;
our ancestors have told us(B)
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.(C)
2 With your hand you drove out(D) the nations
and planted(E) our ancestors;
you crushed(F) the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.(G)
3 It was not by their sword(H) that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand,(I) your arm,(J)
and the light(K) of your face, for you loved(L) them.
4 You are my King(M) and my God,(N)
who decrees[c] victories(O) for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back(P) our enemies;
through your name we trample(Q) our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,(R)
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory(S) over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.(T)
8 In God we make our boast(U) all day long,(V)
and we will praise your name forever.[d](W)
9 But now you have rejected(X) and humbled us;(Y)
you no longer go out with our armies.(Z)
10 You made us retreat(AA) before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered(AB) us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep(AC)
and have scattered us among the nations.(AD)
12 You sold your people for a pittance,(AE)
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach(AF) to our neighbors,(AG)
the scorn(AH) and derision(AI) of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword(AJ) among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads(AK) at us.
15 I live in disgrace(AL) all day long,
and my face is covered with shame(AM)
16 at the taunts(AN) of those who reproach and revile(AO) me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.(AP)
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten(AQ) you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned(AR) back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed(AS) us and made us a haunt for jackals;(AT)
you covered us over with deep darkness.(AU)
20 If we had forgotten(AV) the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,(AW)
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(AX)
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep(AY) to be slaughtered.(AZ)
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 In Hebrew texts 44:1-26 is numbered 44:2-27.
- Psalm 44:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 44:4 Septuagint, Aquila and Syriac; Hebrew King, O God; / command
- Psalm 44:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Psalm 44
King James Version
Psalm 44
King James Version
44 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
2 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
14 Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
15 My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
18 Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
26 Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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