| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? | 1A maskil of Asaph. O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your 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 the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed-- Mount Zion, where you dwelt. |
| 3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. | 3Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. |
| 4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. | 4Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. |
| 5A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. | 5They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. |
| 6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. | 6They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. |
| 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 dwelling place of your Name. |
| 8They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. | 8They said in their hearts, "We will crush them completely!" They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land. |
| 9We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. | 9We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. |
| 10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? | 10How long will the enemy mock you, God? Will the foe revile your name forever? |
| 11Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. | 11Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them! |
| 12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. | 12But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth. |
| 13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. | 13It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. |
| 14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. | 14It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert. |
| 15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. | 15It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers. |
| 16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. | 16The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. |
| 17Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. | 17It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. |
| 18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. | 18Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD, how foolish people have reviled 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. | 19Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. |
| 20Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. | 20Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. |
| 21O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. | 21Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. |
| 22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. | 22Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. |
| 23Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. | 23Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually. |
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