1  O God, why do you ^scast us off forever?

Why does your anger ^tsmoke against ^uthe sheep of your pasture?

2  ^vRemember your congregation, which you have ^wpurchased of old,

which you have ^xredeemed to be ^ythe tribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, ^zwhere you have dwelt.

3  Direct your steps to ^athe perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4  Your foes have ^broared in the midst of your meeting place;

^cthey set up their ^down signs for ^esigns.

5  They were like those who swing ^faxes

in a forest of trees.²

6  And all its ^gcarved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

7  They ^hset your sanctuary on fire;

they ⁱprofaned ^jthe dwelling place of your name,

bringing it down to the ground.

8  They ^ksaid to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9  We do not see our ^lsigns;

^mthere is no longer any prophet,

and there is none among us who knows how long.

10  How long, O God, ⁿis the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11  Why ^odo you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the fold of your garment³ and destroy them!

12  Yet ^pGod my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13  You ^qdivided the sea by your might;

you ^rbroke the heads of ^sthe sea monsters⁴ on the waters.

14  You crushed the heads of ^tLeviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15  You ^usplit open springs and brooks;

you ^vdried up ever-flowing streams.

16  Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you have established ^wthe heavenly lights and the sun.

17  You have ^xfixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made ^ysummer and winter.

18  ^zRemember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and ^aa foolish people reviles your name.

19  Do not deliver the soul of your ^bdove to the wild beasts;

^cdo not forget the life of your poor forever.

20  Have regard for ^dthe covenant,

for ^ethe dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21  Let not ^fthe downtrodden ^gturn back in shame;

let ^hthe poor and needy praise your name.

22  Arise, O God, ⁱdefend your cause;

^jremember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23  Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

^kthe uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

1  O God, ^zthe nations have come into your ^ainheritance;

they have defiled your ^bholy temple;

they have ^claid Jerusalem in ruins.

2  They have given ^dthe bodies of your servants

to the birds of the heavens for food,

the flesh of your ^efaithful to ^fthe beasts of the earth.

3  They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there was ^gno one to bury them.

4  We have become ^ha taunt to our neighbors,

^hmocked and derided by those around us.

5  ⁱHow long, O Lord? Will you be angry ^jforever?

Will your ^kjealousy ^lburn like fire?

6  ^mPour out your anger on the nations

that ⁿdo not know you,

and on the kingdoms

that ^odo not call upon your name!

7  For they have devoured Jacob

and laid waste his habitation.

8  ^pDo not remember against us ^qour former iniquities;¹

let your compassion come speedily to meet us,

for we are ^rbrought very low.

9  ^sHelp us, O God of our salvation,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us, and ^tatone for our sins,

for your ^uname’s sake!

10  ^vWhy should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

Let ^wthe avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants

be known among the nations before our eyes!

11  Let ^xthe groans of the prisoners come before you;

according to your great power, preserve those ^ydoomed to die!

12  Return ^zsevenfold into the ^alap of our neighbors

the ^btaunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!

13  But we your people, the ^csheep of your pasture,

will ^dgive thanks to you forever;

from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

1  By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

2  On the willows¹ there

we hung up our lyres.

3  For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4  ^sHow shall we sing the Lord’s song

in a foreign land?

5  If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

^tlet my right hand forget its skill!

6  Let my ^utongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!

7  Remember, O Lord, against the ^vEdomites

^wthe day of Jerusalem,

how they said, ^x“Lay it bare, lay it bare,

down to its foundations!”

8  O daughter of Babylon, ^ydoomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be who ^zrepays you

with what you have done to us!

9  Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

and ^adashes them against the rock!