Psalms 44:23-26

44:23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?

Wake up! ¹  Do not reject us forever!

44:24 Why do you look the other way, ² 

and ignore ³  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ⁴ 

44:25 For we lie in the dirt,

with our bellies pressed to the ground. ⁵ 

44:26 Rise up and help us!

Rescue us ⁶  because of your loyal love!

[44:23]  ¹ sn Wake up! See Ps 35:23.

[44:24]  ² tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[44:24]  ³ tn Or “forget.”

[44:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”

[44:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “for our being/life sinks down to the dirt, our belly clings to the earth.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[44:26]  ⁶ tn Or “redeem us.” See Pss 25:22; 26:11; 69:18; 119:134.