The Meaning of Psalms 44:22 Explained

Psalms 44:22

KJV: Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

YLT: Surely, for Thy sake we have been slain all the day, Reckoned as sheep of the slaughter.

Darby: But for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are reckoned as sheep for slaughter.

ASV: Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yea, for thy sake are we killed  all the day  long; we are counted  as sheep  for the slaughter. 

What does Psalms 44:22 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 44:9-26 - A Plea For Present Help
In Psalms 44:11 God's people are compared to sheep appointed for meat, which are sold by the shepherd for naught, so worthless are they. Before their savage foes sheep are defenseless and unresisting. Their bitter lot is aggravated by their fear lest the shepherd has forgotten them. The reference in Psalms 44:19 to jackals suggests the further picture of a harried and panting flock. It is hardly to be wondered at that God's tender mercies seemed withdrawn from his people!
But notice how the Apostle Paul uses these words in Romans 8:36. He does not complain of forsakenness, nor appeal for help. On the contrary, he declares that in all these things we are more than conquerors, and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. This is the lesson of the New Testament-that we conquer when we are defeated; overcome when we are slain; are strongest when we are beaten to the dust; and ascend to the throne only when we fie in the grave where Jesus, our Master, lay! John 12:24; 2 Corinthians 13:3-4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 44

1  The church, in memory of former favors
7  complains of her present evils
17  professing her integrity,
24  she fervently prays for helpfulness

What do the individual words in Psalms 44:22 mean?

Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter
כִּֽי־ עָ֭לֶיךָ הֹרַ֣גְנוּ כָל־ הַיּ֑וֹם נֶ֝חְשַׁ֗בְנוּ כְּצֹ֣אן טִבְחָֽה

כִּֽי־  Yet 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
עָ֭לֶיךָ  for  Your  sake 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הֹרַ֣גְנוּ  we  are  killed 
Parse: Verb, QalPass, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
הַיּ֑וֹם  day  long 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
נֶ֝חְשַׁ֗בְנוּ  we  are  accounted 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: חָשַׁב 
Sense: to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count.
כְּצֹ֣אן  as  sheep 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, common singular construct
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
טִבְחָֽה  for  the  slaughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: טִבְחָה  
Sense: slaughtered meat, a slaughter, flesh, meat, thing slaughtered.