To the director.[231] A maskil[232] from the Korah family.
<1> God, we have heard about you.
Our fathers[233] 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 the 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[234] people to victory.
<5> We need your help to push our enemies back.
Only in your name can we walk over 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[235]
<9> But, God, you left us.
You put us to shame.
You did not come 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 for food.
You scattered us among the other nations.
<12> You sold your people for nothing.
You didn't 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 of other nations 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.
Yet 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.[236]
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 were like sheep led away to be killed.
<23> Master, 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.[237]
<26> Get up and help us!
Rescue us because of your faithful love.
© Copyright 2004 World Bible Translation Center.