King James Version KJV
New Living Translation NLT
1 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
1
O God, why have you rejected us so long? Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own 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.
2
Remember that we are the people you chose long ago, the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession! And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth.
3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
3
Walk through the awful ruins of the city; see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.
4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
4
There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries; there they set up their battle standards.
5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
5
They swung their axes like woodcutters in a forest.
6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
6
With axes and picks, they smashed the carved paneling.
7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
7
They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears 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.
8
Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.
9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
9
We no longer see your miraculous signs. All the prophets are gone, and no one can tell us when it will end.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
10
How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you? Will you let them dishonor your name forever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
11
Why do you hold back your strong right hand? Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them.
12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
12
You, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
13
You split the sea by your strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan and let the desert animals eat him.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
15
You caused the springs and streams to gush forth, and you dried up rivers that never run dry.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
16
Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
17
You set the boundaries of the earth, and 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.
18
See how these enemies insult you, LORD . A foolish nation has dishonored 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.
19
Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves. Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
20
Remember your covenant promises, for the land is full of darkness and violence!
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
21
Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again. Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
22
Arise, O God, and defend your cause. Remember how these fools insult you all day long.
23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
23
Don’t overlook what your enemies have said or their growing uproar.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.