Psalms 74
1 [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?
God, why have you abandoned/rejected us? Will you keep rejecting us forever [RHQ]? Why are you angry with us, since we are like sheep in your pasture [and you are like our shepherd]? [MET, RHQ]
2 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.
Do not forget your people whom you chose long ago, the people whom you freed [from being slaves in Egypt] and caused to become your tribe. Do not forget Jerusalem, which was (your home/where you dwelt) [on this earth].
3 Lift up your hands against their pride continually; [because of] all that the enemy has done wickedly in your holy places.
Walk along [and see] where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4 And they that hate you have boasted in the midst of your feast; they have set up their standards for signs,
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners [to show they had defeated us].
5 ignorantly as it were in the entrance above;
They cut down all the [engraved objects in the temple] like woodsmen cut down trees.
6 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.
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7 They have burnt your sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation of your name.
[Then] they burned your temple to the ground; they caused that place where you were worshiped to be unfit for people to worship in.
8 They have said in their heart, [even] all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth.
They said to themselves, “We will destroy the Israelis completely,” and they [also] burned down all the other places where we gathered to worship God.
9 We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet; and [God] will not know us any more.
All our sacred symbols (OR, miracles) are gone; there are no prophets now/any more, and no one knows how long [this situation will continue].
10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? shall the enemy provoke your name forever?
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you [RHQ]? Will they insult you [MTY] forever [RHQ]?
11 Therefore turn you away your hand, and your right hand from the midst of your bosom for ever?
Why do you refuse to help [MTY, RHQ] us? Why do you keep your hand inside your cloak [instead of using it to destroy our enemies] [RHQ]?
12 But God is our King of old; he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
God, you have been our king [all the time] since we came out of Egypt [HYP], and you have enabled us to defeat [our enemies] in the land [of Israel].
13 You did establish the sea, in your might, you did break to pieces the heads of the dragons in the water.
By your power you caused the [Red] Sea to divide; [it was as though] you smashed the heads of the [rulers of Egypt who were like] huge sea dragons [MET].
14 You did break to pieces the heads of the dragon; you did give him [for] meat to the Ethiopian nations.
[It was as though] you crushed the head of the king of Egypt [MET] and gave his body to the animals in the desert to eat.
15 You did cleave fountains and torrents; you dried up mighty rivers.
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you [also] dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16 The day is your, and the night is your; you have prepared the sun and the moon.
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17 You have made all the borders of the earth; you have made summer and spring.
You determined where the oceans end and the land begins, and you created the summer/hot season and the winter/cold season.
18 Remember this your creation: an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked your name.
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you, and that it is foolish people who despise you [MTY].
19 Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to you: forget not for ever the souls of your poor.
Do not let your helpless people [MET] fall into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.
20 Look upon your covenant: for the dark [places] of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity.
Do not forget the agreement that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
21 let not the afflicted and shamed one be rejected: the poor and needy shall praise your name.
Do not allow your oppressed people to be disgraced; help those poor and needy people in order that they will [again] praise you [MTY].
22 Arise, O God, plead your cause: remember your reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day.
God, arise and defend yourself [by defending your people]! Do not forget that foolish people laugh at you (all day long/continually)!
23 Forget not the voice of your suppliants: let the pride of them that hate you continually ascend before you.
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily [at you]; the uproar that they make [while they oppose you] never stops.
