King James Version KJV
New International Version NIV
1 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
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O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
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Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed— Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
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Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
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Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs.
5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
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They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees.
6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
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They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets.
7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
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They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
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They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
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We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
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How long will the enemy mock you, God? Will the foe revile your name forever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
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Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
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But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
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It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
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It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
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It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
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The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
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It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
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Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name.
19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
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Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
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Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
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Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
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Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
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Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.