Psalms 74
1 Understanding for Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?
A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed: mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt.
Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance— Mount Zion where You dwell.
3 Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
4 And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs,
Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,
5 And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees,
like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
6 They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down.
and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
7 They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth.
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
8 They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: Let us abolish all the festival days of God from the land.
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.
9 Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more.
There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever?
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
11 Why dost thou turn away thy hand: and thy right hand out of the midst of thy bosom for ever?
Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!
12 But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.
13 Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm: thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.
You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
14 Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
15 Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers.
You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun.
The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
17 Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the spring were formed by thee.
You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.
18 Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish people hath provoked thy name.
Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee: and forget not to the end the souls of thy poor.
Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
20 Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.
Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, O God, judge thy own cause: remember thy reproaches with which the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day.
Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
23 Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually.
Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.
