Psalms 74
1 An instruction: of Asaph. Why, O God, hast thou cast off for ever? [why] doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
A contemplation by Asaph. God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember thine assembly, which thou hast purchased of old, which thou hast redeemed [to be] the portion of thine inheritance, this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived.
3 Lift up thy steps unto the perpetual desolations: everything in the sanctuary hath the enemy destroyed.
Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
4 Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy place of assembly; they set up their signs [for] signs.
Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs.
5 [A man] was known as he could lift up axes in the thicket of trees;
They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.
6 And now they break down its carved work altogether, with hatchets and hammers.
Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have set on fire thy sanctuary, they have profaned the habitation of thy name to the ground.
They have burnt your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.
8 They said in their heart, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all God's places of assembly in the land.
They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burnt up all the places in the land where God was worshipped.
9 We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there amongst us anyone who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy contemn thy name for ever?
How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, and thy right hand? [pluck it] out of thy bosom: consume [them].
Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them!
12 But God is my king of old, accomplishing deliverances in the midst of the earth.
Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou didst break the heads of the monsters on the waters:
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14 Thou didst break in pieces the heads of leviathan, thou gavest him to be meat to those that people the desert.
You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
15 Thou didst cleave fountain and torrent, thou driedst up ever-flowing rivers.
You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine; thou hast prepared the moon and the sun:
The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; summer and winter — thou didst form them.
You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that an enemy hath reproached Jehovah, and a foolish people have contemned thy name.
Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, LORD. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.
19 Give not up the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast; forget not the troop of thine afflicted for ever.
Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the dwellings of violence.
Honour your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.
21 Oh let not the oppressed one return ashamed; let the afflicted and needy praise thy name.
Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day;
Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.
23 Forget not the voice of thine adversaries: the tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually.
Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.
