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II

10 (A)But now you have rejected and disgraced us;
    you do not march out with our armies.(B)
11 You make us retreat[a] before the foe;
    those who hate us plunder us at will.(C)
12 You hand us over like sheep to be slaughtered,
    scatter us among the nations.(D)
13 You sell your people for nothing;
    you make no profit from their sale.(E)
14 You make us the reproach of our neighbors,(F)
    the mockery and scorn of those around us.
15 You make us a byword among the nations;
    the peoples shake their heads at us.
16 All day long my disgrace is before me;
    shame has covered my face
17 At the sound of those who taunt and revile,
    at the sight of the enemy and avenger.

III

18 All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    nor been disloyal to your covenant.
19 [b]Our hearts have not turned back,
    nor have our steps strayed from your path.
20 Yet you have left us crushed,
    desolate in a place of jackals;[c](G)
    you have covered us with a shadow of death.
21 If we had forgotten the name of our God,
    stretched out our hands to another god,
22 Would not God have discovered this,
    God who knows the secrets of the heart?
23 For you we are slain all the day long,
    considered only as sheep to be slaughtered.(H)

IV

24 Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
    Rise up! Do not reject us forever!(I)
25 Why do you hide your face;(J)
    why forget our pain and misery?

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Footnotes

  1. 44:11 You make us retreat: the corollary of Ps 44:3. Defeat, like victory, is God’s doing; neither Israel nor its enemies can claim credit (Ps 44:23).
  2. 44:19 Our hearts have not turned back: Israel’s defeat was not caused by its lack of fidelity.
  3. 44:20 A place of jackals: following Israel’s defeat and exile (Ps 44:11–12), the land lies desolate, inhabited only by jackals, cf. Is 13:22; Jer 9:10; 10:22. Others take tannim as “sea monster” (cf. Ez 29:3; 32:2) and render: “you crushed us as you did the sea monster.”

10 You made us retreat(A) before the enemy,
    and our adversaries have plundered(B) us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep(C)
    and have scattered us among the nations.(D)
12 You sold your people for a pittance,(E)
    gaining nothing from their sale.

13 You have made us a reproach(F) to our neighbors,(G)
    the scorn(H) and derision(I) of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword(J) among the nations;
    the peoples shake their heads(K) at us.
15 I live in disgrace(L) all day long,
    and my face is covered with shame(M)
16 at the taunts(N) of those who reproach and revile(O) me,
    because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.(P)

17 All this came upon us,
    though we had not forgotten(Q) you;
    we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned(R) back;
    our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed(S) us and made us a haunt for jackals;(T)
    you covered us over with deep darkness.(U)

20 If we had forgotten(V) the name of our God
    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,(W)
21 would not God have discovered it,
    since he knows the secrets of the heart?(X)
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep(Y) to be slaughtered.(Z)

23 Awake,(AA) Lord! Why do you sleep?(AB)
    Rouse yourself!(AC) Do not reject us forever.(AD)
24 Why do you hide your face(AE)
    and forget(AF) our misery and oppression?(AG)

25 We are brought down to the dust;(AH)
    our bodies cling to the ground.

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