| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? | 1O God, why have you rejected us so long? Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture? |
| 2Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. | 2Remember that we are the people you chose long ago, the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession! And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth. |
| 3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. | 3Walk through the awful ruins of the city; see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary. |
| 4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. | 4There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries; there they set up their battle standards. |
| 5A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. | 5They swung their axes like woodcutters in a forest. |
| 6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. | 6With axes and picks, they smashed the carved paneling. |
| 7They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. | 7They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears your name. |
| 8They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. | 8Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped. |
| 9We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. | 9We no longer see your miraculous signs. All the prophets are gone, and no one can tell us when it will end. |
| 10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? | 10How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you? Will you let them dishonor your name forever? |
| 11Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. | 11Why do you hold back your strong right hand? Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them. |
| 12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. | 12You, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth. |
| 13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. | 13You split the sea by your strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. |
| 14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. | 14You crushed the heads of Leviathan and let the desert animals eat him. |
| 15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. | 15You caused the springs and streams to gush forth, and you dried up rivers that never run dry. |
| 16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. | 16Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. |
| 17Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. | 17You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter. |
| 18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. | 18See how these enemies insult you, LORD. A foolish nation has dishonored your name. |
| 19O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. | 19Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves. Don’t forget your suffering people forever. |
| 20Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. | 20Remember your covenant promises, for the land is full of darkness and violence! |
| 21O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. | 21Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again. Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name. |
| 22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. | 22Arise, O God, and defend your cause. Remember how these fools insult you all day long. |
| 23Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. | 23Don’t overlook what your enemies have said or their growing uproar. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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