Psalms 74
1 An Instructive Psalm. Asaph’s. Wherefore, O God, hast thou cast off utterly? Shall thine anger smoke against the flock of thine own pasturing?
A psalm (maskil) of Asaph. God, why have you rejected us? Is it forever? Why does your anger burn so hot against the sheep of your own field?
2 Remember thine own assembly thou didst acquire aforetime, Thou didst redeem the tribe of thine own inheritance, Mount Zion, wherein thou didst take up thy habitation.
Remember the people you made your own long ago, the tribe you redeemed and made your own. Remember too Mount Zion, the place where you live.
3 Lift up thy steps unto the places utterly unsafe, All the mischief!—the foe in the sanctuary!
Come and walk through the complete devastation. The enemy has totally destroyed your Temple.
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine appointed meeting, They have set their ensigns as tokens!
The enemy shouted in triumph right where you met with us. There they set up their war banners as signs of their victory.
5 One used to be known according as he carried up high—into the thicket of trees—the axes;
They acted like men chopping down a forest with axes.
6 But, now, the doors thereof all together, with axes and hammers, they batter down.
With axes and hammers they smashed in the carved wooden panels.
7 They have cast, into the fire, thy sanctuary, To the ground, have they profaned the habitation of thy Name.
Then they set fire to your Temple, burning it to the ground. They defiled the place where you live, the place that bears your name.
8 They have said in their heart, Let us suppress them altogether, They have burned up all the meeting-places of GOD in the land.
They said to themselves, “Let's destroy it all!” So they burned down every place where God was worshiped throughout the land.
9 Our own signs, have we not seen, —There is no longer a prophet, —Neither is there with us, one who knoweth—How long!
We no longer see any signs. There are no prophets left. And no one among us knows how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, shall the adversary, reproach? Shall the enemy revile thy Name perpetually?
How long will the enemy ridicule you, God? Will they insult your character forever?
11 Wherefore shouldst thou withdraw thy hand—thy right hand? [Bring it] out of the midst of thy bosom! (Selah)
Why do you hold back from doing something? Take action and destroy them!
12 But, God, hath been my king from aforetime, Working Deliverances in the midst of the earth.
But you, God, are our king from long ago. You have saved us many times in the land.
13 Thou, didst cleave asunder, in thy might, the sea, Thou didst break in pieces the heads of the Crocodiles, [till they floated] on the waters;
You were the one who split apart the sea by your strength; you broke the heads of the sea monsters.
14 Thou, didst crush the heads of the Sea-Monster, Thou didst give him to be food, for the people of the deserts;
You were the one who crushed the heads of Leviathan, and you gave its body to the desert animals to eat.
15 Thou, didst cleave open fountain and torrent, Thou, didst dry up rivers of steady flow:
You were the one who made springs and rivers flow with water. You made permanent rivers dry up.
16 Thine, is the day, Yea, thine, the night, Thou, didst establish moon and sun;
You created the day, and also the night; you made the moon and the sun.
17 Thou, didst set up all the bounds of the earth, As for summer and winter, thou, didst form them!
You set the boundaries of the earth; you made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, An enemy, hath reproached Yahweh, Yea, an impious people, have reviled thy Name.
So keep in mind how the enemy ridiculed you, Lord, and how irreverent people insulted your reputation.
19 Do not deliver up, to a wild beast, the life of thy turtle-dove, The living host of thine oppressed ones, do not forget perpetually.
Don't let wild animals kill your turtledoves! Don't abandon your people forever!
20 Have respect to thy covenant, For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.
Remember your promises in the agreement, because the land is full of dark places and violence.
21 May the crushed one not again be confounded, As for the oppressed and the needy, let them praise thy Name.
Don't let those who suffer be mistreated again. Let the poor and needy praise you for you who are.
22 Arise! O God, plead thine own cause, Remember the reproach of thee, from the impious one, all the day:
Stand up, God, and plead your case. Don't forget how these foolish people insulted you all the time.
23 Do not forget the voice of thine adversaries, The noise of thine assailants, ascending continually.
Don't ignore what your enemies have said, for their loud accusations against you are getting worse and worse!
