Psalms 74
74
Prayer at the Destruction of the Temple
1A maskil of Asaph.
I
Why, God, have you cast us off forever?#Forever: the word implies that the disaster is already of long duration, cf. Ps 74:9 and note.#Ps 10:1; 44:24; 77:8.
Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?#Ps 80:5.
2Remember your people, whom you acquired of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your own heritage,
Mount Zion where you dwell.#Ps 68:17; 132:13; Ex 15:17; Jer 10:16; 51:19.
3Direct your steps toward the utter destruction,
everything the enemy laid waste in the sanctuary.
4Your foes roared triumphantly in the place of your assembly;
they set up their own tokens of victory.
5They hacked away like a forester gathering boughs,
swinging his ax in a thicket of trees.
6They smashed all its engraved work,
struck it with ax and pick.
7They set your sanctuary on fire,
profaned your name’s abode by razing it to the ground.#Ps 79:1; Is 64:10.
8They said in their hearts, “We will destroy them all!
Burn all the assembly-places of God in the land!”
9#Even so we have seen no signs… : ancients often asked prophets to say for how long a divine punishment was to last, cf. 2 Sm 24:13. Here no prophet has arisen to indicate the duration.Even so we have seen no signs for us,
there is no prophet any more,#Lam 2:9.
no one among us who knows for how long.
10How long, O God, will the enemy jeer?#Ps 89:47.
Will the enemy revile your name forever?
11Why draw back your hand,
why hold back your right hand within your bosom?#Why hold back…within your bosom: i.e., idle beneath your cloak.
II
12#Comparable Canaanite literature describes the storm-god’s victory over all-encompassing Sea and its allies (dragons and Leviathan) and the subsequent peaceful arrangement of the universe, sometimes through the placement of paired cosmic elements (day and night, sun and moon), cf. Ps 89:12–13. The Psalm apparently equates the enemies attacking the Temple with the destructive cosmic forces already tamed by God. Why then are those forces now raging untamed against your own people?Yet you, God, are my king from of old,
winning victories throughout the earth.
13You stirred up the sea by your might;#Ps 89:10.
you smashed the heads of the dragons on the waters.#Is 51:9–10.
14You crushed the heads of Leviathan,#Jb 3:8; 40:25; Is 27:1.
gave him as food to the sharks.
15You opened up springs and torrents,
brought dry land out of the primeval waters.#Waters: lit., “rivers” (cf. Ps 24:7; Is 50:2) upon which, or from which, in primordial times the earth is created.
16Yours the day and yours the night too;
you set the moon and sun in place.
17You fixed all the limits of the earth;
summer and winter you made.#Gn 1.
18Remember how the enemy has jeered, Lord,
how a foolish people has reviled your name.
19Do not surrender to wild animals those who praise you;
do not forget forever the life of your afflicted.
20Look to your covenant,
for the recesses of the land
are full of the haunts of violence.
21Let not the oppressed turn back in shame;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22Arise, God, defend your cause;
remember the constant jeering of the fools.
23Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the unceasing uproar of your enemies.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 74
74
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
A Prayer for the Nation in Times of Trouble
1Our God, why have you
completely rejected us?
Why are you so angry
with the ones you care for?
2Remember the people
you rescued long ago,
the tribe you chose
for your very own.
Think of Mount Zion,
your home;
3walk over to the temple
left in ruins forever
by those who hate us.
4Your enemies roared like lions
in your holy temple,
and they have placed
their banners there.
5It looks like a forest
chopped to pieces.#74.5 pieces: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
6They used axes and hatchets
to smash the carvings.
7They burned down your temple
and badly disgraced it.
8They said to themselves,
“We'll crush them!”
Then they burned every one
of your meeting places
all over the country.
9There are no more miracles
and no more prophets.
Who knows how long
it will be like this?
10Our God, how much longer
will our enemies sneer?
Won't they ever stop
insulting you?
11Why don't you punish them?
Why are you holding back?
12Our God and King,
you have ruled
since ancient times;
you have won victories
everywhere on this earth.
13 #
Ex 14.21. By your power you made a path
through the sea,
and you smashed the heads
of sea monsters.
14 #
Job 41.1; Ps 104.26; Is 27.1. You crushed the heads
of the monster Leviathan,#74.14 Leviathan: God's victory over this monster sometimes stands for his power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of Egypt.
then fed him to wild creatures
in the desert.
15You opened the ground
for streams and springs
and dried up mighty rivers.
16You rule the day and the night,
and you put the moon
and the sun in place.
17You made summer and winter
and gave them to the earth.#74.17 gave … earth: Or “made boundaries for the earth.”
18Remember your enemies, Lord!
They foolishly sneer
and won't respect you.
19You treat us like pet doves,
but they mistreat us.
Don't keep forgetting us
and letting us be fed
to those wild animals.
20Remember the agreement
you made with us.
Violent enemies are hiding
in every dark corner
of the earth.
21Don't disappoint those in need
or make them turn from you,
but help the poor and homeless
to shout your praises.
22Do something, God!
Defend yourself.
Remember how those fools
sneer at you all day long.
23Don't forget the loud shouts
of your enemies.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.