Psalms 74
1 Maschil of Asaph. Why, O God, hast Thou cast us off for ever? Why doth Thine anger smoke against the flock of Thy pasture?
God, why have you abandoned/rejected us? Will you keep rejecting us forever [RHQ]? Why are you angry with us, since we are like sheep in your pasture [and you are like our shepherd]? [MET, RHQ]
2 Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast gotten of old, which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance; and mount Zion, wherein Thou hast dwelt.
Do not forget your people whom you chose long ago, the people whom you freed [from being slaves in Egypt] and caused to become your tribe. Do not forget Jerusalem, which was (your home/where you dwelt) [on this earth].
3 Lift up Thy steps because of the perpetual ruins, even all the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.
Walk along [and see] where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting-place; they have set up their own signs for signs.
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners [to show they had defeated us].
5 It seemed as when men wield upwards axes in a thicket of trees.
They cut down all the [engraved objects in the temple] like woodsmen cut down trees.
6 And now all the carved work thereof together they strike down with hatchet and hammers.
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7 They have set Thy sanctuary on fire; they have profaned the dwelling-place of Thy name even to the ground.
[Then] they burned your temple to the ground; they caused that place where you were worshiped to be unfit for people to worship in.
8 They said in their heart: 'Let us make havoc of them altogether'; they have burned up all the meeting-places of God in the land.
They said to themselves, “We will destroy the Israelis completely,” and they [also] burned down all the other places where we gathered to worship God.
9 We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet; neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
All our sacred symbols (OR, miracles) are gone; there are no prophets now/any more, and no one knows how long [this situation will continue].
10 How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme Thy name for ever?
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you [RHQ]? Will they insult you [MTY] forever [RHQ]?
11 Why withdrawest Thou Thy hand, even Thy right hand? Draw it out of Thy bosom and consume them.
Why do you refuse to help [MTY, RHQ] us? Why do you keep your hand inside your cloak [instead of using it to destroy our enemies] [RHQ]?
12 Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
God, you have been our king [all the time] since we came out of Egypt [HYP], and you have enabled us to defeat [our enemies] in the land [of Israel].
13 Thou didst break the sea in pieces by Thy strength; Thou didst shatter the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
By your power you caused the [Red] Sea to divide; [it was as though] you smashed the heads of the [rulers of Egypt who were like] huge sea dragons [MET].
14 Thou didst crush the heads of leviathan, Thou gavest him to be food to the folk inhabiting the wilderness.
[It was as though] you crushed the head of the king of Egypt [MET] and gave his body to the animals in the desert to eat.
15 Thou didst cleave fountain and brook; Thou driedst up ever-flowing rivers.
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you [also] dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16 Thine is the day, Thine also the night; Thou hast established luminary and sun.
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; Thou hast made summer and winter.
You determined where the oceans end and the land begins, and you created the summer/hot season and the winter/cold season.
18 Remember this, how the enemy hath reproached the LORD, and how a base people have blasphemed Thy name.
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you, and that it is foolish people who despise you [MTY].
19 O deliver not the soul of Thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast; forget not the life of Thy poor for ever.
Do not let your helpless people [MET] fall into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.
20 Look upon the covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Do not forget the agreement that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
21 O let not the oppressed turn back in confusion; let the poor and needy praise Thy name.
Do not allow your oppressed people to be disgraced; help those poor and needy people in order that they will [again] praise you [MTY].
22 Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause; remember Thy reproach all the day at the hand of the base man.
God, arise and defend yourself [by defending your people]! Do not forget that foolish people laugh at you (all day long/continually)!
23 Forget not the voice of Thine adversaries, the tumult of those that rise up against Thee which ascendeth continually.
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily [at you]; the uproar that they make [while they oppose you] never stops.
