Psalms 79

1 A Melody of Asaph. O God, nations, Have entered thine inheritance, Have profaned thy holy temple, —Have laid Jerusalem in heaps:

A psalm of Asaph. Heathen, O God, have come into your land, defiling your holy temple, and laying Jerusalem in ruins.

2 They have given, The dead bodies of thy servants, As food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy men of lovingkindness, Unto the wild beast of the earth:

They have given the bodies of your dead servants to the birds of the air to devour, and the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the field.

3 They have poured out their blood like water, Round about Jerusalem, With none to bury.

Round about Jerusalem they have poured out their blood like water; and there was no one to bury them.

4 We have become, A reproach to our neighbours, —A mockery and a derision, to them who are round about us.

On every side our neighbours revile us and mock us and jeer at us.

5 How long, O Yahweh, wilt thou be angry utterly? Shall thy jealousy, burn like fire?

How long will you be angry, O Lord? Will your jealousy burn like fire forever?

6 Pour out thy wrath, Upon the nations that have not known thee—and, Upon the kingdoms that, on thy Name, have not called.

Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.

7 For he hath devoured Jacob, —And, his dwelling-place, have they laid waste.

For Jacob they devoured, they have desolated his home.

8 Do not remember against us former iniquities, —Haste thee, let thy compassions, come to meet us, For we have been brought very low!

Do not remember against us our ancestors’ sins; O meet us soon with your pity, for utterly weak are we.

9 Help us, O God of our salvation, on account of the glory of thy Name, —Rescue us then, and put a propitiatory-covering over our sins, For the sake of thy Name.

Help us, O God our saviour, for the renown of your name: for your reputation deliver us and cover over our sins.

10 Wherefore should the nations say—Where is their God? Let him be known among the nations before our eyes! [Yea! By] the avenging of the blood of thy servants which hath been shed!

Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Let revenge for the outpoured blood of your servants be shown on the heathen before our eyes.

11 Let the groaning of the prisoner, come in before thee, —According to the greatness of thine arm, Set free them who are appointed to death.

May the groans of the prisoner come before you; free the children of death by your mighty arm.

12 Return, therefore, unto our neighbours—Sevenfold, into their own bosom, The reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Adonay!

Pay our neighbours back sevenfold for the scorn they have heaped upon you, O Lord.

13 So, we, thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, will give thanks unto thee, to times age-abiding, —To generation after generation, will we recount thy praise.

Then we, your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you for evermore, and tell your praise to all generations.