Psalms 79
1 A Melody of Asaph. O God, nations, Have entered thine inheritance, Have profaned thy holy temple, —Have laid Jerusalem in heaps:
God, other people-groups have invaded your land. They have (desecrated your temple/caused your temple to be unfit for worship), and they have destroyed all the buildings in Jerusalem.
2 They have given, The dead bodies of thy servants, As food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy men of lovingkindness, Unto the wild beast of the earth:
[Instead of burying] the corpses of your people [whom they killed], they allowed vultures and wild animals to eat the flesh of those corpses,
3 They have poured out their blood like water, Round about Jerusalem, With none to bury.
When they killed your people, your people’s blood flowed like water through [the streets of] Jerusalem, and there was [almost] no one [HYP] left to bury their corpses.
4 We have become, A reproach to our neighbours, —A mockery and a derision, to them who are round about us.
The people-groups that live in countries that surround our land insult us; they laugh at us and deride/belittle us.
5 How long, O Yahweh, wilt thou be angry utterly? Shall thy jealousy, burn like fire?
Yahweh, how long [will this continue]? Will you be angry with us forever? Will your being angry [destroy us like] a burning fire [destroys things]?
6 Pour out thy wrath, Upon the nations that have not known thee—and, Upon the kingdoms that, on thy Name, have not called.
[Instead of being angry with us], be angry with the people-groups that do not know/worship you! Be angry with kingdoms whose people do not pray to you,
7 For he hath devoured Jacob, —And, his dwelling-place, have they laid waste.
because they have killed Israeli people and they have ruined your country.
8 Do not remember against us former iniquities, —Haste thee, let thy compassions, come to meet us, For we have been brought very low!
Do not punish us because of the sins that our ancestors committed! Be merciful to us now/quickly, because we are very discouraged.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, on account of the glory of thy Name, —Rescue us then, and put a propitiatory-covering over our sins, For the sake of thy Name.
God, you have saved/rescued [us many times], [so] help us [now]; rescue us and forgive us for having sinned in order that other people will honor you [MTY].
10 Wherefore should the nations say—Where is their God? Let him be known among the nations before our eyes! [Yea! By] the avenging of the blood of thy servants which hath been shed!
It is not right that [RHQ] other people-groups say [about us], “If their God [is very powerful], (surely he should help them/why does he not [help them])?” Allow us to see you punishing the people of other nations in return for their shedding our blood; they have killed many of us, your people.
11 Let the groaning of the prisoner, come in before thee, —According to the greatness of thine arm, Set free them who are appointed to death.
Listen to your people groaning while they are in prison, and by your great power free those whom our enemies say that they will certainly execute.
12 Return, therefore, unto our neighbours—Sevenfold, into their own bosom, The reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Adonay!
In return for their having [often] insulted you, punish them seven times as much!
13 So, we, thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, will give thanks unto thee, to times age-abiding, —To generation after generation, will we recount thy praise.
After you do that, we, whom you [take care of like a shepherd takes care of] his sheep, will continue praising you; we will continue to praise you forever [HYP].
