[1] 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!
