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?
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 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.
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 feet to the perpetual desolations; [even] all [that] the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Walk along [and see] where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4 Thy enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns [for] signs.
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners [to show they had defeated us].
5 [A man] was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
They cut down all the [engraved objects in the temple] like woodsmen cut down trees.
6 But now they break down the carved work of it at once with axes and hammers.
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled [by casting down] the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground.
[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 said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues 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 We see not our signs: [there is] no more any prophet: neither [is there] among us any that 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 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you [RHQ]? Will they insult you [MTY] forever [RHQ]?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck [it] out of thy bosom.
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 For God [is] my King of old, working salvation 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 divide the sea by thy strength: thou didst break the heads of the dragons in 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 break the head of leviathan in pieces, [and] didst give him [to be] food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
[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 the fountain and the flood: thou didst dry up mighty rivers.
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you [also] dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16 The day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
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, the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you, and that it is foolish people who despise you [MTY].
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 let your helpless people [MET] fall into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.
20 Have respect to the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Do not forget the agreement that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy 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 thy own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
God, arise and defend yourself [by defending your people]! Do not forget that foolish people laugh at you (all day long/continually)!
23 Forget not the voice of thy enemies: the tumult of those that rise against thee increaseth continually.
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily [at you]; the uproar that they make [while they oppose you] never stops.
