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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 78:3–6Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
- Exod 13:14–15And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
- Deut 6:20And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
- Judg 6:13And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
- Joel 1:3Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
- Ps 77:5I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
- Ps 42:1As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
- Ps 105:1–2O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
- Ps 22:31They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
- Isa 38:19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
- Num 21:14–16Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
- Job 15:17–19I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
- Num 21:27–30Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
- Job 8:8–9For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:
- Exod 12:24–27And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
- Ps 71:18Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is 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.