For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm. We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
- KJV We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
- NKJV We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old:
- NASB God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old.
- NLT O God, we have heard it with our own ears— our ancestors have told us of all you did in their day, in days long ago:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The congregation recalls the mighty acts God did for their ancestors, handed down by testimony. It matters because faith is nourished by remembering and passing on God's saving deeds.
Overview
Psalm 44 opens by appealing to the well-known history of God's deliverance, taught from one generation to the next. This corporate memory is the foundation for the lament that follows, where past faithfulness makes present suffering all the more bewildering. The pattern of teaching God's works to children anticipates the gospel call to pass on the good news of a greater deliverance accomplished in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 78:3–6that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
- Exod 13:14–15In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deut 6:20In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”
- Judg 6:13“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
- Joel 1:3Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.
- Ps 77:5I considered the days of old, the years long in the past.
- Ps 42:1For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Ps 105:1–2Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations.
- Ps 22:31They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn—all that He has done.
- Isa 38:19The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.
- Num 21:14–16Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon,
- Job 15:17–19Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
- Num 21:27–30That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored.
- Job 8:8–9Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.
- Exod 12:24–27And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants.
- Ps 71:18Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 44:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.