Psalms 74
1 “A Maskil of Assaph.” Why, O God, hast thou cast us off for ever? why will thy anger smoke against the flock of thy 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 thy congregation, which thou didst acquire of old; which thou didst redeem as the tribe of thy inheritance: this mount Zion, whereon thou hast dwelt.
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 thy steps unto the perpetual heaps of ruins: the enemy hath ill-used every thing in the sanctuary.
Walk along [and see] where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4 Thy adversaries have roared in the midst of thy places of assembly: they have set up their signs for signs.
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners [to show they had defeated us].
5 [The enemy] is known as one that lifteth up high axes against the thickets of a forest.
They cut down all the [engraved objects in the temple] like woodsmen cut down trees.
6 And now they hew in pieces the carved work thereof altogether with hatchets and hammers.
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7 They have set on fire thy sanctuary; to the ground have they profaned the dwelling-place of thy 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, We will oppress them altogether: they have burnt up all the places of assembly of God in the land.
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 Our signs do we not see: there is no more any prophet: and there is no one among us that knoweth how long.
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 adversary utter defiance? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you [RHQ]? Will they insult you [MTY] forever [RHQ]?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, and thy right hand? [draw it] out of thy bosom—exterminate [them];
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 Since [thou] God art my King from olden days, working 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 It was thou that didst divide by thy strength the sea: thou brokest in pieces the heads of the crocodiles on the waters.
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 Thou didst crush the heads of leviathan, and gavest them as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
[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 Thou didst cleave fountain and stream: thou didst dry up ever-flowing rivers.
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you [also] dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16 Thine is the day and thine is the night: it is thou who hast prepared the luminary and the sun.
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17 It is thou who hast set up all the boundaries of the earth: summer and winter—thou thyself hast formed them.
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, that the enemy hath defied the Lord, and that a worthless foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you, and that it is foolish people who despise you [MTY].
19 Oh give not up unto the multitude of enemies the soul of thy turtle-dove: the congregation of thy afflicted do not thou forget for ever.
Do not let your helpless people [MET] fall into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.
20 Look unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of habitations of violence.
Do not forget the agreement that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
21 Oh let not the oppressed return confounded: let the poor and needy praise thy 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 thy own cause: remember thy defiance from the worthless fool 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 thy adversaries: the tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually.
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily [at you]; the uproar that they make [while they oppose you] never stops.
