1: (A contemplation by Asaph.) God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2: Remember 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: Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, All the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary. 4: Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs. 5: They behaved like men wielding axes, Cutting through a thicket of trees. 6: Now all its carved work They break down with hatchet and hammers. 7: They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling-place of your Name. 8: They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely." They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped. 9: We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, Neither is there among us anyone who knows how long. 10: How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 11: Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it out of your pocket and consume them! 12: Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13: You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. 14: You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures. 15: You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers. 16: The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun. 17: You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter. 18: Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh. Foolish people have blasphemed your name. 19: Don't deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don't forget the life of your poor forever. 20: Honor your covenant, For haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth. 21: Don't let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name. 22: Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day. 23: Don't forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.
