Psalms 74
1 AN INSTRUCTION OF ASAPH. Why, O God, have You cast off forever? Your anger smokes against the flock of Your pasture.
Maschil of Asaph. Why, O God, hast Thou cast us off for ever? Why doth Thine anger smoke against the flock of Thy pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation [That] You purchased of old, You redeemed the rod of Your inheritance, This Mount Zion—You dwelt in it.
Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast gotten of old, which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance; and mount Zion, wherein Thou hast dwelt.
3 Lift up Your steps to the continuous desolations, Everything the enemy did wickedly in the sanctuary.
Lift up Thy steps because of the perpetual ruins, even all the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have roared, In the midst of Your meeting-places, They have set their ensigns as ensigns.
Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting-place; they have set up their own signs for signs.
5 He is known as one bringing in on high Against a thicket of wood—axes.
It seemed as when men wield upwards axes in a thicket of trees.
6 And now they break down its engravings, Together, with axe and hatchet,
And now all the carved work thereof together they strike down with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have sent Your sanctuary into fire, They defiled the Dwelling Place of Your Name to the earth,
They have set Thy sanctuary on fire; they have profaned the dwelling-place of Thy name even to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts, “Let us oppress them together,” They burned all the meeting-places of God in the land.
They said in their heart: 'Let us make havoc of them altogether'; they have burned up all the meeting-places of God in the land.
9 We have not seen our ensigns, There is no longer a prophet, Nor with us is one knowing how long.
We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet; neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
10 Until when, O God, does an adversary reproach? Does an enemy despise Your Name forever?
How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme Thy name for ever?
11 Why do You turn back Your hand, Even Your right hand? Remove [it] from the midst of Your bosom.
Why withdrawest Thou Thy hand, even Thy right hand? Draw it out of Thy bosom and consume them.
12 And God [is] my king of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You have divided [the] sea by Your strength, You have shattered heads of dragons by the waters,
Thou didst break the sea in pieces by Thy strength; Thou didst shatter the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
14 You have broken the heads of leviathan, You make him food for the people of desert-dwellers.
Thou didst crush the heads of leviathan, Thou gavest him to be food to the folk inhabiting the wilderness.
15 You have cleaved a fountain and a stream, You have dried up perennial flowings.
Thou didst cleave fountain and brook; Thou driedst up ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day [is] Yours, The night [is] also Yours, You have prepared a light-giver—the sun.
Thine is the day, Thine also the night; Thou hast established luminary and sun.
17 You have set up all the borders of earth, Summer and winter—You have formed them.
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; Thou hast made summer and winter.
18 Remember this—an enemy reproached YHWH, And a foolish people have despised Your Name.
Remember this, how the enemy hath reproached the LORD, and how a base people have blasphemed Thy name.
19 Do not give up to a [wild] creature, The soul of Your turtle-dove, Do not forget the life of Your poor ones forever.
O deliver not the soul of Thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast; forget not the life of Thy poor for ever.
20 Look attentively to the covenant, For the dark places of earth, Have been full of habitations of violence.
Look upon the covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Do not let the oppressed turn back ashamed, Let the poor and needy praise Your Name,
O let not the oppressed turn back in confusion; let the poor and needy praise Thy name.
22 Arise, O God, plead Your plea, Remember Your reproach from a fool all the day.
Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause; remember Thy reproach all the day at the hand of the base man.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The noise of Your withstanders is going up continually!
Forget not the voice of Thine adversaries, the tumult of those that rise up against Thee which ascendeth continually.
