A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your sacred temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation],
A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?
6 Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. [2 Thess 1:8]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
And made his pasture desolate.
8 O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.
Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
Rescue us, forgive us our sins for Your name’s sake.
10 Why should the [Gentile] nations say, "Where is their God?"
Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation],
Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.
11 Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.
12 And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold
The taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.
13 So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.