Psalm 74
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 74
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?(A)
2 Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.(B)
3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.(C)
4 Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.(D)
5 At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.[a](E)
6 And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.(F)
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.(G)
9 We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.(H)
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?(I)
11 Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in[b] your bosom?(J)
12 Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.(K)
13 You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.(L)
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food[c] for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.(M)
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries[d] and the sun.(N)
17 You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.(O)
18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.(P)
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.(Q)
20 Have regard for your[e] covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.(R)
21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.(S)
22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.(T)
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.(U)
Psalm 74
Common English Bible
Psalm 74
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
74 God, why have you abandoned us forever?
Why does your anger smolder
at the sheep of your own pasture?
2 Remember your congregation
that you took as your own long ago,
that you redeemed to be the tribe of your own possession—
remember Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 March to the unending ruins,
to all that the enemy destroyed in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies roared in your own meeting place;
they set up their own signs there!
5 It looked like axes raised
against a thicket of trees.[b]
6 And then all its carvings
they hacked down with hatchet and pick.
7 They set fire to your sanctuary, burned it to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your name.
8 They said in their hearts, We’ll kill all of them together!
They burned all of God’s meeting places in the land.
9 We don’t see our own signs anymore.
No prophet is left.
And none of us know how long it will last.
10 How long, God, will foes insult you?
Are enemies going to abuse your name forever?
11 Why do you pull your hand back?
Why do you hold your strong hand close to your chest?
12 Yet God has been my king from ancient days—
God, who makes salvation happen in the heart of the earth!
13 You split the sea with your power.
You shattered the heads of the sea monsters on the water.
14 You crushed Leviathan’s heads.
You gave it to the desert dwellers for food!
15 You split open springs and streams;
you made strong-flowing rivers dry right up.
16 The day belongs to you! The night too!
You established both the moon and the sun.
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth in place.
Summer and winter? You made them!
18 So remember this, Lord:
how enemies have insulted you,
how unbelieving fools have abused your name.
19 Don’t deliver the life of your dove to wild animals!
Don’t forget the lives of your afflicted people forever!
20 Consider the covenant!
Because the land’s dark places are full of violence.
21 Don’t let the oppressed live in shame.
No, let the poor and needy praise your name!
22 God, rise up! Make your case!
Remember how unbelieving fools insult you all day long.
23 Don’t forget the voices of your enemies,
the racket of your adversaries that never quits.
Footnotes
- Psalm 74:1 Perhaps instruction
- Psalm 74:5 Heb uncertain
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible