Psalm 79:1-10

New King James Version

A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies

A Psalm of Asaph.

79 O God, the ^[a]nations have come into ^(A)Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
^(B)They have laid Jerusalem ^[b]in heaps.
²^(C)The dead bodies of Your servants
They have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
³Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
⁴We have become a reproach to our ^(D)neighbors,
A scorn and derision to those who are around us.

⁵^(E)How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your ^(F)jealousy burn like fire?
⁶^(G)Pour out Your wrath on the ^[c]nations that ^(H)do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that ^(I)do not call on Your name.
⁷For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.

⁸^(J)Oh, do not remember ^[d]former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
⁹Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
^(K)For Your name’s sake!
¹⁰^(L)Why should the ^[e]nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed.