Third Millennium Bible TMB
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 <<A Psalm for Asaph to give instruction.>> 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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Why, O God, have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep in your care?
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 your congregation. Long ago you made it your own. You bought this tribe to be your possession. This tribe is Mount Zion, where you have made your home.
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 pathetic ruins. The enemy has destroyed everything in the holy temple.
4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of Thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
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Your opponents have roared inside your meeting place. They have set up their own emblems as symbols.
5 Once a man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees,
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Starting from its entrance, they hacked away like a woodcutter in a forest.
6 but now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
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They smashed all its carved paneling with axes and hatchets.
7 They have cast fire into Thy sanctuary; they have defiled by casting down to the ground the dwelling place of Thy name.
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They burned your holy place to the ground. They dishonored the place where you live among us.
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 to themselves, "We will crush them." They burned every meeting place of God 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 no longer see miraculous signs. There are no prophets anymore. No one knows how long this will last.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme Thy name for ever?
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How long, O God, will the enemy insult us? Will the enemy despise you 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, especially your right hand? Take your hands out of your pockets. Destroy your enemies!
12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
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And yet, from long ago God has been my king, the one who has been victorious throughout the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength; Thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
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You stirred up the sea with your own strength. You smashed the heads of sea monsters in the water.
14 Thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
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You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave them to the creatures of the desert for food.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood; Thou driedst up mighty rivers.
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You opened the springs and brooks. 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 and the night are yours. You set the moon and the sun in their places.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; Thou hast made summer and winter.
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You determined all the boundaries of the earth. You created 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 insulted you, O LORD. Remember how an entire nation of godless fools despised 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 soul of your dove to wild animals. Do not forget the life of your oppressed 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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Consider your promise because every dark corner of the land is filled with violence.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed; let the poor and needy praise Thy name.
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Do not let oppressed people come back in disgrace. Let weak and needy people praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause; remember how the foolish man reproacheth Thee daily.
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Arise, O God! Fight for your own cause! Remember how godless 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.
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Do not forget the shouting of your opponents. Do not forget the uproar made by those who attack you.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.