¹ For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, What work thou didst in their days, In the days of old.

² Thou didst drive out the nations with thy hand; But them thou didst plant: Thou didst afflict the peoples; But them thou didst spread abroad.

³ For they gat 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 wast favorable unto them.

⁴ Thou art my King, O God: Command deliverance for Jacob.

⁵ Through thee will we push down our adversaries: 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 adversaries, And hast put them to shame that hate us.

⁸ In God have we made our boast all the day long, And we will give thanks unto thy name for ever. [Selah

⁹ But now thou hast cast us off, and brought us to dishonor, And goest not forth with our hosts.

¹⁰ Thou makest us to turn back from the adversary; And they that hate us take spoil for themselves.

¹¹ Thou hast made us like sheep appointed for food, And hast scattered us among the nations.

¹² Thou sellest thy people for nought, And hast not increased thy wealth by their price.

¹³ Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to them that are round about us.

¹⁴ Thou makest us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.

¹⁵ All the day long is my dishonor 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 the 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 That thou hast sore broken us in the place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰ If we have forgotten the name of our God, Or spread forth our hands to a strange god;

²¹ Will 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 accounted 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 body cleaveth unto the earth.

²⁶ Rise up for our help, And redeem us for thy lovingkindness’ sake.