Psalms 74
1 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]
A contemplation by Asaph. God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 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].
Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived.
3 Walk along [and see] where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners [to show they had defeated us].
Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs.
5 They cut down all the [engraved objects in the temple] like woodsmen cut down trees.
They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.
6 Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.
7 [Then] they burned your temple to the ground; they caused that place where you were worshiped to be unfit for people to worship in.
They have burnt your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.
8 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.
They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burnt up all the places in the land where God was worshipped.
9 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].
We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there amongst us anyone who knows how long.
10 God, how long will our enemies make fun of you [RHQ]? Will they insult you [MTY] forever [RHQ]?
How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 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]?
Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them!
12 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].
Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth.
13 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].
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14 [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.
You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
15 You caused springs and streams to flow, and you [also] dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.
16 You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You determined where the oceans end and the land begins, and you created the summer/hot season and the winter/cold season.
You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.
18 Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you, and that it is foolish people who despise you [MTY].
Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, LORD. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.
19 Do not let your helpless people [MET] fall into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.
Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Do not forget the agreement that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
Honour your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.
21 Do not allow your oppressed people to be disgraced; help those poor and needy people in order that they will [again] praise you [MTY].
Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 God, arise and defend yourself [by defending your people]! Do not forget that foolish people laugh at you (all day long/continually)!
Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.
23 Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily [at you]; the uproar that they make [while they oppose you] never stops.
Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.
