1God, why have you turned your back on us for so long? Why are you so angry with us? We are your very own sheep.2Remember the nation that you chose as your own so long ago. Remember that you set us free from slavery to be your very own people. Remember Mount Zion, where you lived.3Walk through this place that has been torn down beyond repair. See how completely your enemies have destroyed the temple!4In the place where you used to meet with us, your enemies have shouted, ‘We’ve won the battle!’ They have set up their flags to show they have beaten us.5They acted like people cutting down a forest with axes.6They smashed all the beautiful wooden walls with their axes and hatchets.7They burned your temple to the ground. They polluted the place where your Name is.8They had said in their hearts, ‘We will crush them completely!’ They burned every place where you were worshipped in the land.9We don’t get signs from God anymore. There aren’t any prophets left. None of us knows how long that will last.10God, how long will your enemies make fun of you? Will they attack you with their words for ever?11Why don’t you help us? Why do you hold back your power? Use your strong power to destroy your enemies!12God, you have been my king for a long time. You are the only God who can save anyone on earth.13You parted the waters of the Red Sea by your power. You broke the heads of that sea monster in Egypt.14You crushed the heads of the sea monster Leviathan. You fed it to the creatures of the desert.15You opened up streams and springs. You dried up rivers that flow all year long.16You rule over the day and the night. You created the sun and the moon.17You decided where the borders of the earth would be. You made both summer and winter.18LORD, remember how your enemies have made fun of you. Remember how foolish people have attacked you with their words.19Don’t hand over Israel, your dove, to those wild animals. Don’t forget your suffering people for ever.20Honour the covenant you made with us. Horrible things are happening in every dark corner of the land.21Don’t let your suffering people be put to shame. May those who are poor and needy praise you.22God, rise up. Stand up for your cause. Remember how foolish people make fun of you all day long.23Pay close attention to the shouts of your enemies. The trouble they cause never stops.
Psalm 74
English Standard Version
Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
1A Maskil[1] of Asaph. O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? (De 29:20; Ps 18:8; Ps 44:9; Ps 50:1; Ps 79:13; Ps 95:7; Ps 100:3; Jer 23:1; Eze 34:31)2Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt. (Ex 15:16; De 32:6; Ps 9:11; Ps 74:18; Ps 74:22; Ps 77:15; Ps 78:54; Isa 63:9; Isa 63:17; Jer 10:16; Jer 51:19)3Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! (Isa 61:4)4Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. (Nu 2:2; Ps 74:9; La 2:6; Mt 24:15)5They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees.[2] (Jer 46:22)6And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. (1Ki 6:18; 1Ki 6:29; 1Ki 6:32; 1Ki 6:35)7They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. (2Ki 25:9; Ps 26:8; Ps 79:1; Ps 89:39; La 2:2)8They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. (Ps 83:4)9We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. (1Sa 3:1; Ps 74:4; La 2:9; Eze 7:26; Am 8:11)10How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? (Ps 74:18; Ps 74:22; Ps 79:12; Ps 89:51)11Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment[3] and destroy them! (La 2:3)12Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. (Ps 44:4)13You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters[4] on the waters. (Ex 14:21; Isa 27:1; Isa 51:9)14You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. (Job 41:1)15You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams. (Ex 14:21; Ex 17:5; Nu 20:11; Jos 2:10; Jos 3:13; Jos 4:23; Ps 66:6; Ps 78:15; Ps 105:41; Isa 48:21; Isa 51:10)16Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. (Ge 1:14; Ps 104:19)17You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter. (Ge 8:22; De 32:8; Ac 17:26)18Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. (De 32:6; Ps 39:8; Ps 74:2; Ps 74:22; Ps 89:50; Re 16:19; Re 18:5)19Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever. (Ps 68:10; So 2:14)20Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. (Ge 17:7; Le 26:44; Ps 10:8; Ps 106:45; Jer 33:21)21Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. (Ps 6:10; Ps 9:9; Ps 10:18; Ps 86:1)22Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! (1Sa 24:15; Ps 74:2; Ps 74:18)23Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually! (Ps 65:7)