1 W e have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old:

2 Y ou drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.

3 F or they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because You favored them.

4 Y ou are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob.

5 T hrough You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.

6 F or I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me.

7 B ut You have saved us from our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us.

8 I n God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah

9 B ut You have cast us off and put us to shame, And You do not go out with our armies.

10 Y ou make us turn back from the enemy, And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 Y ou have given us up like sheep intended for food, And have scattered us among the nations.

12 Y ou sell Your people for next to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them.

13 Y ou make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and a derision to those all around us.

14 Y ou make us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.

15 M y dishonor is continually before me, And the shame of my face has covered me,

16 B ecause of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the enemy and the avenger.

17 A ll this has come upon us; But we have not forgotten You, Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.

18 O ur heart has not turned back, Nor have our steps departed from Your way;

19 B ut You have severely broken us in the place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 I f we had forgotten the name of our God, Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god,

21 W ould not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 Y et for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 A wake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever.

24 W hy do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression?

25 F or our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground.

26 A rise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.