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?
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 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.
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 places utterly unsafe, All the mischief!—the foe in the sanctuary!
Walk along [and see] where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine appointed meeting, They have set their ensigns as tokens!
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners [to show they had defeated us].
5 One used to be known according as he carried up high—into the thicket of trees—the axes;
They cut down all the [engraved objects in the temple] like woodsmen cut down trees.
6 But, now, the doors thereof all together, with axes and hammers, they batter down.
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7 They have cast, into the fire, thy sanctuary, To the ground, have they profaned the habitation 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, Let us suppress them altogether, They have burned up all the meeting-places 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 own signs, have we not seen, —There is no longer a prophet, —Neither is there with us, one who 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, reproach? Shall the enemy revile thy Name perpetually?
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you [RHQ]? Will they insult you [MTY] forever [RHQ]?
11 Wherefore shouldst thou withdraw thy hand—thy right hand? [Bring it] out of the midst of thy bosom! (Selah)
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, hath been my king from aforetime, Working Deliverances 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 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;
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 the Sea-Monster, Thou didst give him to be food, for the people of the deserts;
[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 open fountain and torrent, Thou, didst dry up rivers of steady flow:
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you [also] dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16 Thine, is the day, Yea, thine, the night, Thou, didst establish moon and sun;
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17 Thou, didst set up all the bounds of the earth, As for summer and winter, thou, didst form 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, An enemy, hath reproached Yahweh, Yea, an impious people, have reviled thy Name.
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you, and that it is foolish people who despise you [MTY].
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.
Do not let your helpless people [MET] fall into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.
20 Have respect to thy covenant, For the dark places of the earth are full of the 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 May the crushed one not again be confounded, As for the oppressed and the needy, let them 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 thine own cause, Remember the reproach of thee, from the impious 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 Do not forget the voice of thine adversaries, The noise of thine assailants, ascending continually.
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily [at you]; the uproar that they make [while they oppose you] never stops.
