1 O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

2 R emember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.

3 T urn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

4 Y our adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs.

5 I t seems as if one had lifted up His axe in a forest of trees.

6 A nd now all its carved work They smash with hatchet and hammers.

7 T hey have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.

8 T hey said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 W e do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet, Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

10 H ow long, O God, will the adversary revile, And the enemy spurn Your name forever?

11 W hy do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? From within Your bosom, destroy them!

12 Y et God is my king from of old, Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

13 Y ou divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

14 Y ou crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15 Y ou broke open springs and torrents; You dried up ever-flowing streams.

16 Y ours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun.

17 Y ou have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter.

18 R emember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled, And a foolish people has spurned Your name.

19 D o not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

20 C onsider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21 L et not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

22 A rise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long.

23 D o not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.