Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 God, why have you abandoned us forever? Why does your anger smolder at the sheep of your own pasture?
1
O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation that you took as your own long ago, that you redeemed to be the tribe of your own possession— remember Mount Zion, where you dwell.
2
Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3 March to the unending ruins, to all that the enemy destroyed in the sanctuary.
3
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your enemies roared in your own meeting place; they set up their own signs there!
4
Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs.
5 It looked like axes raised against a thicket of trees.
5
They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees.
6 And then all its carvings they hacked down with hatchet and pick.
6
And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They set fire to your sanctuary, burned it to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your name.
7
They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts, We'll kill all of them together! They burned all of God's meeting places in the land.
8
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We don't see our own signs anymore. No prophet is left. And none of us know how long it will last.
9
We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, God, will foes insult you? Are enemies going to abuse your name forever?
10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you pull your hand back? Why do you hold your strong hand close to your chest?
11
Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
12 Yet God has been my king from ancient days— God, who makes salvation happen in the heart of the earth!
12
Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You split the sea with your power. You shattered the heads of the sea monsters on the water.
13
You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed Leviathan's heads. You gave it to the desert dwellers for food!
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and streams; you made strong-flowing rivers dry right up.
15
You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 The day belongs to you! The night too! You established both the moon and the sun.
16
Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth in place. Summer and winter? You made them!
17
You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.
18 So remember this, LORD: how enemies have insulted you, how unbelieving fools have abused your name.
18
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Don't deliver the life of your dove to wild animals! Don't forget the lives of your afflicted people forever!
19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Consider the covenant! Because the land's dark places are full of violence.
20
Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Don't let the oppressed live in shame. No, let the poor and needy praise your name!
21
Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 God, rise up! Make your case! Remember how unbelieving fools insult you all day long.
22
Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Don't forget the voices of your enemies, the racket of your adversaries that never quits.
23
Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025