Psalms 74

Prayer for Israel

A Maskil of Asaph. # 74:title 1Ch 16:5,7

1 Why have you rejected us forever, God?

Why does your anger burn

against the sheep of your pasture?  * 74:1 Ex 32:11; Ps 60:1,10; 108:11

2 Remember your congregation,

which you purchased long ago

and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.  * 74:2 Is 63:17; Jr 10:16; 51:19

Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.  * 74:2 Is 8:18

3 Make your way  * 74:3 Lit Lift up your steps to the perpetual ruins,

to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.  * 74:3 Ps 79:1; Is 61:4

4 Your adversaries roared in the meeting place

where you met with us.  * 74:4 Lit in your meeting place

They set up their emblems as signs.  * 74:4 Nm 2:2; Lm 2:6–7

5 It was like men in a thicket of trees,

wielding axes,  * 74:5 Jr 46:22

6 then smashing all the carvings

with hatchets and picks.  * 74:6 Lm 2:2

7 They set your sanctuary on fire;

they utterly  * 74:7 Lit they to the ground desecrated

the dwelling place of your name.  * 74:7 2Kg 25:9; Ps 79:1

8 They said in their hearts,

"Let’s oppress them relentlessly."

They burned every place throughout the land

where God met with us.  * 74:8 Lit every meeting place of God in the land,* 74:8 Jos 18:1; 1Sm 3:21; 7:16; 2Ch 17:9; Ps 83:4

9 There are no signs for us to see.

There is no longer a prophet.

And none of us knows how long this will last.  * 74:9 1Sm 3:1; Lm 2:9; Ezk 7:26

10 God, how long will the enemy mock?

Will the foe insult your name forever?  * 74:10 Ps 79:12; 89:51

11 Why do you hold back your hand?

Stretch out  * 74:11 Lit From your bosom your right hand and destroy them!  * 74:11 Ps 59:13; Lm 2:3

12 God my King is from ancient times,

performing saving acts on the earth.  * 74:12 Ps 47:6–8; 95:3; Jr 10:10

13 You divided the sea with your strength;

you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;  * 74:13 Ex 14:21; Is 51:9; Ezk 32:2

14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan;

you fed him to the creatures of the desert.  * 74:14 Jb 41:1; Ps 104:26; Is 27:1

15 You opened up springs and streams;  * 74:15 Ps 104:10–11

you dried up ever-flowing rivers.  * 74:15 Is 42:15; 44:27

16 The day is yours, also the night;

you established the moon and the sun.  * 74:16 Gn 1:14–18; Ps 104:19

17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made summer and winter.  * 74:17 Gn 8:22; Jb 38:10–11; Pr 8:29; Jr 5:22

18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked the  Lord,

and a foolish people has insulted your name.  * 74:18 Ps 14:1; 53:1; 89:51

19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;  * 74:19 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr read life that praises you

do not forget the lives of your poor people forever.  * 74:19 Ps 9:18; 68:10

20 Consider the covenant,  * 74:20 Dt 4:31; Ps 106:45

for the dark places of the land are full of violence.  * 74:20 Ezk 7:23

21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.  * 74:21 Ps 9:9; 103:6; Is 41:7

22 Rise up, God, champion your cause!  * 74:22 Ps 9:19; 82:8

Remember the insults

that fools bring against you all day long.  * 74:22 Ps 79:12

23 Do not forget the clamor of your adversaries,

the tumult of your opponents that goes up constantly.  * 74:23 Ps 65:7