Read the Bible

^1 (a)Listen to us, O Shepherd of Israel;
    hear us, leader of your flock.
Seated on your throne above the winged creatures,
²     reveal yourself to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Show us your strength;
    come and save us!

³ Bring us back, O God!
    Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!

⁴ How much longer, Lord God Almighty,
    will you be angry with your people's prayers?
⁵ You have given us sorrow to eat,
    a large cup of tears to drink.
⁶ You let the surrounding nations fight over our land;
    our enemies insult us.

⁷ Bring us back, Almighty God!
    Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!

⁸ You brought a grapevine out of Egypt;
    you drove out other nations and planted it in their land.
⁹ You cleared a place for it to grow;
    its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land.
¹⁰ It covered the hills with its shade;
    its branches overshadowed the giant cedars.
¹¹ It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea
    and as far as the Euphrates River.
¹² Why did you break down the fences around it?
    Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes;
¹³     wild hogs trample it down,
    and wild animals feed on it.

¹⁴ Turn to us, Almighty God!
    Look down from heaven at us;
    come and save your people!
¹⁵ Come and save this grapevine that you planted,
    this young vine you made grow so strong!

¹⁶ Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down;
    look at them in anger and destroy them!
¹⁷ Preserve and protect the people you have chosen,
    the nation you made so strong.
¹⁸ We will never turn away from you again;
    keep us alive, and we will praise you.

¹⁹ Bring us back, Lord God Almighty.
    Show us your mercy, and we will be saved.