Psalms 74
1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast [us] off for ever? [why] doth thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, [which] thou hast purchased of old: the rod of thy inheritance, [which] thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, in which thou hast dwelt.
Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance— Mount Zion where You dwell.
3 Lift up thy feet to the perpetual desolations; [even] all [that] the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
4 Thy enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns [for] signs.
Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,
5 [A man] was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
6 But now they break down the carved work of it at once with axes and hammers.
and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled [by casting down] the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground.
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.
9 We see not our signs: [there is] no more any prophet: neither [is there] among us any that knoweth how long.
There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck [it] out of thy bosom.
Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!
12 For God [is] my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou didst break the heads of the dragons in the waters.
You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
14 Thou didst break the head of leviathan in pieces, [and] didst give him [to be] food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou didst dry up mighty rivers.
You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.
18 Remember this, the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove to the multitude [of the wicked]: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
20 Have respect to the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thy own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
23 Forget not the voice of thy enemies: the tumult of those that rise against thee increaseth continually.
Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.
