Psalms 74

1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast [us] off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?

2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance; [and] mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.

Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance— Mount Zion where You dwell.

3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.

Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.

4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly; they have set up their ensigns for signs.

Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,

5 They seemed as men that lifted up axes upon a thicket of trees.

like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees

6 And now all the carved work thereof together they break down with hatchet and hammers.

and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.

7 They have set thy sanctuary on fire; they have profaned the dwelling place of thy name even to the ground.

They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.

8 They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.

9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet; neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.

10 How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?

11 Why drawest thou back thy hand, even thy right hand? [pluck it] out of thy bosom [and] consume [them].

Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!

12 Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.

13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.

You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;

14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, thou gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.

15 Thou didst cleave fountain and flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.

You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.

17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.

18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that foolish people have blasphemed thy name.

Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.

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 deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.

20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.

Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.

22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day.

Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.

23 Forget not the voice of thine adversaries: the tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually.

Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.