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?
AN INSTRUCTION OF ASAPH. Why, O God, have You cast off forever? Your anger smokes against the flock 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 [That] You purchased of old, You redeemed the rod of Your inheritance, This Mount Zion—You dwelt in it.
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 steps to the continuous desolations, Everything the enemy did wickedly in the sanctuary.
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 adversaries have roared, In the midst of Your meeting-places, They have set their ensigns as ensigns.
5 And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees,
He is known as one bringing in on high Against a thicket of wood—axes.
6 They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down.
And now they break down its engravings, Together, with axe and hatchet,
7 They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth.
They have sent Your sanctuary into fire, They defiled the Dwelling Place of Your Name to the earth,
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, “Let us oppress them together,” They burned all the meeting-places of God in the land.
9 Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more.
We have not seen our ensigns, There is no longer a prophet, Nor with us is one knowing how long.
10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever?
Until when, O God, does an adversary reproach? Does an enemy despise 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 turn back Your hand, Even Your right hand? Remove [it] from the midst of Your bosom.
12 But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
And God [is] my king of old, Working 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 have divided [the] sea by Your strength, You have shattered heads of dragons by the waters,
14 Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians.
You have broken the heads of leviathan, You make him food for the people of desert-dwellers.
15 Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers.
You have cleaved a fountain and a stream, You have dried up perennial flowings.
16 Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun.
The day [is] Yours, The night [is] also Yours, You have prepared a light-giver—the sun.
17 Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the spring were formed by thee.
You have set up all the borders of earth, Summer and winter—You have formed them.
18 Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish people hath provoked thy name.
Remember this—an enemy reproached YHWH, And a foolish people have despised 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 give up to a [wild] creature, The soul of Your turtle-dove, Do not forget the life of Your poor ones forever.
20 Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.
Look attentively to the covenant, For the dark places of earth, Have been full of habitations of violence.
21 Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.
Do not let the oppressed turn back ashamed, Let 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.
Arise, O God, plead Your plea, Remember Your reproach from a fool all the day.
23 Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually.
Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The noise of Your withstanders is going up continually!
