1 G od, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

2 R emember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance; Mount Zion, in which you have lived.

3 L ift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

4 Y our adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs.

5 T hey behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.

6 N ow they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.

7 T hey have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.

8 T hey said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.

9 W e see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.

10 H ow long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

11 W hy do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it out of your pocket and consume them!

12 Y et God is my King of old, working salvation throughout 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 broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.

15 Y ou opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.

16 T he day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.

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

18 R emember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.

19 D on’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.

20 H onor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.

21 D on’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.

22 A rise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.

23 D on’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.