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 Psalm] of instruction for Asaph. Therefore have you rejected [us], O God, for ever? [therefore] is your wrath kindled 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 have purchased from the beginning; you did ransom the rod of your inheritance; this mount Sion wherein you have lived.

3 Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

Lift up your hands against their pride continually; [because of] all that the enemy has done wickedly in your holy places.

4 And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs,

And they that hate you have boasted in the midst of your feast; they have set up their standards for signs,

5 And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees,

ignorantly as it were in the entrance above;

6 They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down.

they cut down its doors at once with axes as in a wood of trees; they have broken it down with hatchet and stone cutter.

7 They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth.

They have burnt your sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation 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 have said in their heart, [even] all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth.

9 Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more.

We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet; and [God] will not know us any more.

10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever?

How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? shall the enemy provoke your name forever?

11 Why dost thou turn away thy hand: and thy right hand out of the midst of thy bosom for ever?

Therefore turn you away your hand, and your right hand from the midst of your bosom for ever?

12 But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.

But God is our King of old; he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.

13 Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm: thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.

You did establish the sea, in your might, you did break to pieces the heads of the dragons in the water.

14 Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians.

You did break to pieces the heads of the dragon; you did give him [for] meat to the Ethiopian nations.

15 Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers.

You did cleave fountains and torrents; you dried up mighty rivers.

16 Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun.

The day is your, and the night is your; you have prepared the sun and the moon.

17 Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the spring were formed by thee.

You have made all the borders of the earth; you have made summer and spring.

18 Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish people hath provoked thy name.

Remember this your creation: an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked 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.

Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to you: forget not for ever the souls of your poor.

20 Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.

Look upon your covenant: for the dark [places] of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity.

21 Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.

let not the afflicted and shamed one be rejected: the poor and needy shall 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.

Arise, O God, plead your cause: remember your reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day.

23 Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually.

Forget not the voice of your suppliants: let the pride of them that hate you continually ascend before you.