By July 13, 2008 Read More →

Psalms 44-46

The Hebrew Bible

44For the leader. Of the Korahites. A maskil.

2We have heard, O God,

our fathers have told us

the deeds You performed in their time,

in days of old.

3With Your hand You planted them,

displacing nations;

You brought misfortune on peoples,

and drove them out.

4It was not by their sword that they took the land,

their arm did not give them victory,

but Your right hand, Your arm, and Your goodwill,

for You favored them.

5You are my king, O God;

decree victories for Jacob!

6Through You we gore our foes;

by Your name we trample our adversaries;

7I do not trust in my bow;

it is not my sword that gives me victory;

8You give us victory over our foes;

You thwart those who hate us.

9In God we glory at all times,

and praise Your name unceasingly. Selah.

10Yet You have rejected and disgraced us;

You do not go with our armies.

11You make us retreat before our foe;

our enemies plunder us at will.

12You let them devour us like sheep;

You disperse us among the nations.

13You sell Your people for no fortune,

You set no high price on them.

14You make us the butt of our neighbors,

the scorn and derision of those around us.

15You make us a byword among the nations,

a laughingstock among the peoples.

16I am always aware of my disgrace;

I am wholly covered with shame

17at the sound of taunting revilers,

in the presence of the vengeful foe.

18All this has come upon us,

yet we have not forgotten You,

or been false to Your covenant.

19Our hearts have not gone astray,

nor have our feet swerved from Your path,

20though You cast us, crushed, to where the sea monster is,

and covered us over with deepest darkness.

21If we forgot the name of our God

and spread forth our hands to a foreign god,

22God would surely search it out,

for He knows the secrets of the heart.

23It is for Your sake that we are slain all day long,

that we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

24Rouse Yourself; why do You sleep, O Lord?

Awaken, do not reject us forever!

25Why do You hide Your face,

ignoring our affliction and distress?

26We lie prostrate in the dust;

our body clings to the ground.

27Arise and help us,

redeem us, as befits Your faithfulness.

45For the leader; on shoshannim. Of the Korahites. A maskil. A love song.

2My heart is astir with gracious words;

I speak my poem to a king;

my tongue is the pen of an expert scribe.

3You are fairer than all men;

your speech is endowed with grace;

rightly has God given you an eternal blessing.

4Gird your sword upon your thigh, O hero,

in your splendor and glory;

5in your glory, win success;

ride on in the cause of truth and meekness and right;

and let your right hand lead you to awesome deeds.

6Your arrows, sharpened,

[pierce] the breast of the king’s enemies;

peoples fall at your feet.

7Your divine throne is everlasting;

your royal scepter is a scepter of equity.

8You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

rightly has God, your God, chosen to anoint you

with oil of gladness over all your peers.

9All your robes [are fragrant] with

myrrh and aloes and cassia;

from ivoried palaces

lutes entertain you.

10Royal princesses are your favorites;

the consort stands at your right hand,

decked in gold of Ophir.

11Take heed, lass, and note,

incline your ear-

forget your people and your father’s house,

12and let the king be aroused by your beauty;

since he is your lord, bow to him.

13O Tyrian lass,

the wealthiest people will court your favor with gifts,

14goods of all sorts.

The royal princess,

her dress embroidered with golden mountings,

15is led inside to the king;

maidens in her train, her companions,

are presented to you.

16They are led in with joy and gladness;

they enter the palace of the king.

17Your sons will succeed your ancestors;

you will appoint them princes throughout the land.

18I commemorate your fame for all generations,

so peoples will praise you forever and ever.

46For the leader. Of the Korahites; on alamoth. A song.

2God is our refuge and stronghold,

a help in trouble, very near.

3Therefore we are not afraid

though the earth reels,

though mountains topple into the sea—

4its waters rage and foam;

in its swell mountains quake. Selah.

5There is a river whose streams gladden God’s city,

the holy dwelling-place of the Most High.

6God is in its midst, it will not be toppled;

by daybreak God will come to its aid.

7Nations rage, kingdoms topple;

at the sound of His thunder the earth dissolves.

8The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our haven. Selah.

9Come and see what the Lord has done,

how He has wrought desolation on the earth.

10He puts a stop to wars throughout the earth,

breaking the bow, snapping the spear,

consigning wagons to the flames.

11“Desist! Realize that I am God!

I dominate the nations;

I dominate the earth.”

12The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our haven. Selah.

Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem- Jewish Publication Society) 1985.

Posted in: Biblical Poetry

Comments are closed.