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Psalms 44:14
44:2 You, by your power, defeated nations

and settled our fathers on their land;
you crushed the people living there
and enabled our ancestors to occupy it.
44:3 For they did not conquer the land
by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their
strength,
but rather by your power, strength and
good favor,10
for you were partial to11 them.
44:4 You are my12 king, O God!
Decree13 Jacob’s14 deliverance!
44:5 By your power15 we will drive back16
our enemies;
 tn Heb “you, your hand.”
 tn Heb “dispossessed nations and planted them.” The
third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v.
1). See Ps 80:8, 15.
 tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Hiphil preterite
(without vav [‫ ]ו‬consecutive) from ‫( רָ עַ ע‬ra’a’, “be evil; be bad”).
If retained it apparently means, “you injured; harmed.” Some
prefer to derive the verb from ‫“( רָ עַ ע‬break”; cf. NEB “breaking
up the peoples”), in which case the form must be revocalized
as Qal (since this verb is unattested in the Hiphil).
 tn Or “peoples.”
 tn Heb “and you sent them out.” The translation as-
sumes that the third masculine plural pronoun “them” re-
fers to the fathers (v. 1), as in the preceding parallel line. See
Ps 80:11, where Israel, likened to a vine, “spreads out” its
tendrils to the west and east. Another option is to take the
“peoples” as the referent of the pronoun and translate, “and
you sent them away,” though this does not provide as tight a
parallel with the corresponding line.
 tn Or “take possession of.”
 tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm”
here symbolizes military strength.
 tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here
symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7;
20:6; 21:8).
 tn Heb “your arm.”
10 tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face”
probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn sug-
gests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16;
67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
11 tn Or “favorable toward.”
12 sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps
the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singu-
lar (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an
antiphonal ceremony.
13 tc The LXX assumes a participle here (‫[ ְמצַ ּוֶה‬mÿtsavveh],
“the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in ap-
position to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the
imperative (‫צַ ּוֵה‬, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the
letter mem (‫)ם‬. Note that the preceding word (‫אֱ ל ִֹהים‬, ’elohim)
ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the
wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from ‫אֱ ל ִֹהים‬
to the beginning of the next word and read ‫’( אֱ לֹהָ י ְמצַ ּוֶה‬elohay
mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).
tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior
to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.
14 tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.
15 tn Heb “by you.”
16 tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm con-
tains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited pri-
or to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may
express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the
imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In
this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you
[always] trample down.”
sn The Hebrew verb translated “drive back” is literally
“gore”; the imagery is that of a powerful wild ox that “gores”
its enemies and tramples them underfoot.
by your strength we will trample down18
17
our foes!19
44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
44:7 For you deliver20 us from our en-
emies;
you humiliate21 those who hate us.
44:8 In God I boast all day long,
and we will continually give thanks to
your name. (Selah)
44:9 But22 you rejected and embarrassed
us!
You did not go into battle with our
armies.23
44:10 You made us retreat24 from the en-
emy.
Those who hate us take whatever they
want from us.25
44:11 You handed us26 over like sheep to
be eaten;
you scattered us among the nations.
44:12 You sold27 your people for a pit-
tance;28
you did not ask a high price for them.29
44:13 You made us30 an object of disdain
to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and
insult us.31
44:14 You made us32 an object of ridicule33
among the nations;
17 tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here
to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically
in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for
battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).
18 sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the
note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.
19 tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”
20 tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. An-
other option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing
that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-
6).
21 tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. An-
other option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing
that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-
6).
22 tn The particle ‫’( ַאף‬af, “but”) is used here as a strong ad-
versative contrasting the following statement with what pre-
cedes.
23 tn Heb “you did not go out with our armies.” The prefixed
verbal form is a preterite (without vav [‫ ]ו‬consecutive).
24 tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”
25 tn Heb “plunder for themselves.” The prepositional
phrase ‫( לָ מ ֹו‬lamo, “for themselves”) here has the nuance “at
their will” or “as they please” (see Ps 80:6).
26 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [‫]ו‬
consecutive).
27 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [‫]ו‬
consecutive).
28 tn Heb “for what is not wealth.”
29 tn Heb “you did not multiply their purchase prices.”
30 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [‫]ו‬
consecutive).
31 tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those
around us.”
32 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [‫]ו‬
consecutive).
33 tn Heb “a proverb,” or “[the subject of] a mocking song.”