Psalms 44

1 We have heard [with our own ears, personally experienced] with our ears, O God [Elohim, the supreme Creator]; our fathers [ancestors, forefathers] have told us [recounted to us, shared with us] the work [miracles, deeds] You did [accomplished, performed] in their days [times, era], in the days [times, ages] of old [ancient times, long ago]. word study 2 With Your hand [powerful, mighty] You drove out [uprooted, dispossessed] the nations [heathen, Gentile peoples] and planted [established, settled] our fathers [ancestors, forefathers] there; You crushed [afflicted, oppressed] the peoples [nations, tribes] and cast them out [sent them away, scattered them]. word study 3 For it was not by their sword [their own strength, military power] that they took the land; their arm [their own ability, might] did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand [Your power, divine authority], Your arm [Your strength, sovereign might], and the light of Your face [Your presence, loving favor], because You favored [had pleasure in, showed loving-kindness to] them. word study 4 You are my King [my Sovereign, Ruler], O God [Elohim, the all-powerful], who ordains [commands, decrees] victories [deliverances, salvation] for Jacob [Israel, God’s chosen people]. word study 5 Through [by the power of, in the name of] You [the Almighty God] we repel [push down, thrust back] our foes [enemies, adversaries]; through [by the authority of] Your [Your divine] name [reputation, character] we trample [tread down, defeat] our enemies [those who rise up against us]. word study 6 For I do not trust [will not put faith, have no confidence] in my bow [as my source of strength, for my deliverance], nor does my sword [my weapon, my armor] save [bring salvation, rescue] me. word study 7 For [because of Your great power] You save [rescue, deliver] us from our enemies [adversaries, those who hate us]; You put [cause to be, bring] those who hate [despise, reject] us to shame [confusion, defeat, humiliation]. word study 8 In God [our Helper, Savior] we have boasted [proudly thanked, made our boast] all day long, and Your name [Your character, reputation] we will praise [give thanks to, confess] forever [to the age, eternally]. Selah word study 9 But You [in Your righteous judgment] have rejected [cast off, sent away] and humbled [brought to dishonor, put to shame] us; You [the Lord of hosts] no longer go forth [accompany, march out] with our armies [hosts, military forces]. word study 10 You have made us retreat [to turn back, turn backward] from the foe [adversary, enemy], and those who hate [have hate for] us have plundered [spoiled for themselves, taken spoil] us. word study 11 You have given us up [like sheep appointed for meat] as sheep [to be eaten, for food] to be devoured; You have scattered us among [among the heathen, other nations] the nations. word study 12 You sell [without profit or gain] Your people [like sheep, as a flock] for nothing [without any value or worth]; no profit [or wealth, or increase] do You gain [or acquire, or increase Your wealth] from their sale [or exchange, or trade]. word study 13 You have made us a reproach [a scorn, an object of contempt] to our neighbors, a mockery [a scoffing, ridicule] and derision [laughing stock, shame] to those around us [our surrounders, the people nearby]. word study 14 You have made us a byword [a proverb, an object of scorn] among the nations, a laughingstock [a joke, an object of derision] among the peoples [our neighboring countries, those who live around us]. word study 15 All day long [continually, every moment] my disgrace [dishonor, shame, confusion] is before me [in my presence, constantly visible], and shame [humiliation, reproach] has covered [overwhelmed, enveloped] my face [my head, my person], word study 16 at the voice [sound, utterance] of the scorner [reproacher, blasphemer] and reviler [one who speaks contemptuously], because of the enemy [adversary, oppressor], bent on revenge [seeking vengeance, retaliation]. word study 17 All this [every one of these trials] has come upon us, though we have not [completely] forgotten You [our faithful God] or [intentionally] betrayed [dealt falsely with] Your covenant [sacred promise, agreement]. word study 18 Our hearts [not our emotions, but our inner being] have not turned back [to our former ways, in rebellion]; our steps [our daily walk, our actions] have not strayed [gone astray, been led off course] from Your path [Your way, Your will, the journey You have set before us]. word study 19 But You have crushed [sorely broken, severely afflicted] us in the lair [place, haunt] of jackals [dragons, wild animals]; You have covered [enveloped, overshadowed] us with [the shadow of] deepest darkness [death-shade, darkest shade]. word study 20 If we had [completely, utterly] forgotten [dismissed from our minds] the name [reputation, character] of our God [the one true God, our Creator] or [instead, as an alternative] spread out [stretched forth, extended] our hands [in worship, surrender] to a [false, strange] foreign god [idol, deity], word study 21 would not God [the supreme Creator, Elohim] have discovered [searched out, made aware of], since He knows [is intimately familiar with] the secrets [hidden thoughts, innermost intentions] of the heart [the deepest part of a person’s being, the mind and emotions]? word study 22 Yet for Your sake [because of our loyalty to You] we face death [are killed, experience mortal peril] all day long; we are considered [reckoned, regarded] as sheep [helpless, vulnerable creatures] to be slaughtered [butchered, destroyed]. word study 23 Wake up [arise, stir up], O Lord [the covenant God]! Why are You sleeping [asleep, resting]? Arise [get up, stand up]! Do not reject [cast off, turn your back on] us forever [for all eternity, always]. word study 24 Why [for what reason, on what account] do You [Adonay, Lord and Master] hide [cover, conceal] Your face [presence, countenance] and forget [overlook, neglect] our affliction [suffering, distress] and oppression [hardship, persecution]? word study 25 For our soul [our inner being, spirit] has sunk [been bowed down, crushed] to the dust [the ground, earth]; our bodies [physical form, flesh] cling [are stretched out, cleave] to the earth [the ground, land]. word study 26 Rise up [arise, stand up]; be our help [come to our succour, rescue us]! Redeem us [save us, ransom us] on account of Your [for Thy, because of] loving devotion [mercies, trustworthy love, lovingkindness]. word study