| 1 A Maskil of Asaph. O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? |
| 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt. |
| 3 Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! |
| 4 Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs. |
| 5 At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes. |
| 6 And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. |
| 7 They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name. |
| 8 They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. |
| 9 We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. |
| 10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever? |
| 11 Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom? |
| 12 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. |
| 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters. |
| 14 Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. |
| 15 Thou didst cleave open springs and brooks; thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams. |
| 16 Thine is the day, thine also the night; thou hast established the luminaries and the sun. |
| 17 Thou hast fixed all the bounds of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter. |
| 18 Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles thy name. |
| 19 Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of thy poor for ever. |
| 20 Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. |
| 21 Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise thy name. |
| 22 Arise, O God, plead thy cause; remember how the impious scoff at thee all the day! |
| 23 Do not forget the clamor of thy foes, the uproar of thy adversaries which goes up continually! |
