The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. A maskil: God, we heard it with our ears; our fathers told us about it -a deed which you did in their days, back in days of old.
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<To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil.> It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times,
2 With your hand you drove out nations to plant them in [the land], you crushed peoples to make room for them.
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Uprooting the nations with your hand, and planting our fathers in their place; cutting down the nations, but increasing the growth of your people.
3 For not by their own swords did they conquer the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; rather, it was your right hand, your arm and the light of your face; because you favored them.
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For they did not make the land theirs by their swords, and it was not their arms which kept them safe; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you had pleasure in them.
4 God, you are my king; command complete victory for Ya'akov.
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You are my King and my God; ordering salvation for Jacob.
5 Through you we pushed away our foes, through your name we trampled down our assailants.
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Through you will we overcome our haters; by your name will they be crushed under our feet who are violent against us.
6 For I don't rely on my bow, nor can my sword give me victory.
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I will not put faith in my bow, my sword will not be my salvation.
7 No, you saved us from our adversaries; you put to shame those who hate us.
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But it is you who have been our saviour from those who were against us, and have put to shame those who had hate for us.
8 We will boast in our God all day and give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)
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Our pride is in God at all times, to his name we give praise for ever. (Selah.)
9 Yet now you have thrust us aside and disgraced us; you don't march out with our armies.
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But now you have sent us away from you, and put us to shame; you do not go out with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the adversary, and those who hate us plunder us at will.
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Because of this we are turned back by the attacker: those who have hate for us take our goods for themselves.
11 You have handed us over like sheep to be eaten and scattered us among the nations.
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You have made us like sheep which are taken for meat; we are put to flight among the nations.
12 You sell your people for a pittance, you don't even profit on the sale.
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You let your people go for nothing; your wealth is not increased by their price.
13 You make us an object for our neighbors to mock, one of scorn and derision to those around us.
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You have made us to be looked down on by our neighbours, we are laughed at and shamed by those who are round about us.
14 You make us a byword among the nations; the peoples jeer at us, shaking their heads.
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Our name is a word of shame among the nations, a sign for the shaking of heads among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is on my mind, and shame has covered my face
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My downfall is ever before me, and I am covered with the shame of my face;
16 at the sound of those who revile and insult, at the sight of the enemy bent on revenge.
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Because of the voice of him who says sharp and bitter words; because of the hater and him who is the instrument of punishment.
17 Though all this came on us, we did not forget you; we have not been false to your covenant;
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All this has come on us, but still we have kept you in our memory; and we have not been false to your word.
18 Our hearts have not turned back, and our steps did not turn away from your path,
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Our hearts have not gone back, and our steps have not been turned out of your way;
19 though you pressed us into a lair of jackals and covered us with death-dark gloom.
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Though you have let us be crushed in the place of jackals, though we are covered with darkest shade.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
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If the name of our God has gone out of our minds, or if our hands have been stretched out to a strange god,
21 wouldn't God have discovered this, since he knows the secrets of the heart?
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Will not God make search for it? for he sees the secrets of the heart.
22 For your sake we are put to death all day long, we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.
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Truly, because of you we are put to death every day; we are numbered like sheep for destruction.
23 Wake up, Adonai! Why are you asleep? Rouse yourself! Don't thrust us off forever.
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Why are you sleeping, O Lord? awake! and come to our help, do not give us up for ever.
24 Why are you turning your face away, forgetting our pain and misery?
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Why is your face covered, and why do you give no thought to our trouble and our cruel fate?
25 For we are lying flat in the dust, our bodies cling to the ground.
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For our souls are crushed down to the dust: our bodies are stretched out on the earth.
26 Get up, and come to help us! For the sake of your grace, redeem us!
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Up! and come to our help, and give us salvation because of your mercy.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.