Psalms 74
1 “A psalm of Asaph.” O God! why hast thou cast us off for ever? Why doth thine anger smoke against the flock of thy pasture?
Maschil. Of Asaph. Of God, why have you put us away from you for ever? why is the fire of your wrath smoking against the sheep who are your care?
2 Remember the people which thou didst purchase of old; Thine own inheritance, which thou didst redeem; That Mount Zion, where thou once didst dwell!
Keep in mind your band of worshippers, for whom you gave payment in the days which are past, whom you took for yourself as the people of your heritage; even this mountain of Zion, which has been your resting-place.
3 Hasten thy steps to those utter desolations! Every thing in the sanctuary hath the enemy abused!
Go up and see the unending destruction; all the evil which your haters have done in the holy place;
4 Thine enemies roar in the place of thine assemblies; Their own symbols have they set up for signs.
Sending out their voices like lions among your worshippers; they have put up their signs to be seen.
5 They appear like those who raise the axe against a thicket;
They are cutting down, like a man whose blade is lifted up against the thick trees.
6 They have broken down the carved work of thy temple with axes and hammers;
Your doors are broken down with hammers and iron blades.
7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary; They have profaned, and cast to the ground, the dwelling-place of thy name.
They have put on fire your holy place; they have made the place of your name unclean, pulling it down to the earth.
8 They said in their hearts, “Let us destroy them all together!” They have burned all God's places of assembly in the land.
They have said in their hearts, Let us put an end to them all together; they have given over to the fire all God's places of worship in the land.
9 We no longer see our signs; There is no prophet among us, Nor any one that knoweth how long this desolation shall endure.
We do not see our signs: there is no longer any prophet, or anyone among us to say how long.
10 How long, O God! shall the adversary revile? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
O God, how long will those who are against us say cruel things? will the hater go on looking down on your name for ever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? Take it from thy bosom, and destroy!
Why are you keeping back your hand, and covering your right hand in your robe?
12 Yet God was our king of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
For from the past God is my King, working salvation in the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy power; Thou didst crush the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
The sea was parted in two by your strength; the heads of the great sea-beasts were broken.
14 Thou didst break in pieces the head of the crocodile; Thou gavest him for food to the inhabitants of the desert.
The heads of the great snake were crushed by you; you gave them as food to the fishes of the sea.
15 Thou didst cleave forth the fountain and the stream; Thou didst dry up perennial rivers.
You made valleys for fountains and springs; you made the ever-flowing rivers dry.
16 Thine is the day, and thine the night; Thou didst prepare the light and the sun.
The day is yours and the night is yours: you made the light and the sun.
17 Thou didst establish all the boundaries of the earth; Thou didst make summer and winter.
By you all the limits of the earth were fixed; you have made summer and winter.
18 O remember that the enemy hath reviled Jehovah; That an impious people hath blasphemed thy name!
Keep this in mind, O Lord, that your haters have said cruel things, and that your name has been looked down on by a people of evil behaviour.
19 Give not up the life of thy turtle-dove to the wild beast; Forget not for ever thine afflicted people!
O give not the soul of your dove to the hawk; let not the life of the poor go out of your memory for ever.
20 Have regard to thy covenant! For all the dark places of the land are full of the abodes of cruelty.
Keep in mind your undertaking; for the dark places of the earth are full of pride and cruel acts.
21 O let not the afflicted go away ashamed! Let the poor and needy praise thy name!
O let not the crushed be turned back in shame; let the low man and the poor give praise to your name.
22 Arise, O God! maintain thy cause! Remember how the impious revileth thee daily!
Up! O God, be the judge of your cause; keep in mind the bitter things which the man of evil behaviour says against you every day.
23 Forget not the clamor of thine adversaries, —The noise of thine enemies, which continually increaseth!
Keep in mind the voice of your haters; the outcry of those who come against you goes up every day.
