Font Size
Psalm 74-76
Contemporary English Version
Psalm 74-76
Contemporary English Version
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
A Prayer for the Nation in Times of Trouble
1 Our God, why have you
completely rejected us?
Why are you so angry
with the ones you care for?
2 Remember the people
you rescued long ago,
the tribe you chose
for your very own.
Think of Mount Zion,
your home;
3 walk over to the temple
left in ruins forever
by those who hate us.
4 Your enemies roared like lions
in your holy temple,
and they have placed
their banners there.
5 It looks like a forest
chopped to pieces.[a]
6 They used axes and hatchets
to smash the carvings.
7 They burned down your temple
and badly disgraced it.
8 They said to themselves,
“We'll crush them!”
Then they burned every one
of your meeting places
all over the country.
9 There are no more miracles
and no more prophets.
Who knows how long
it will be like this?
10 Our God, how much longer
will our enemies sneer?
Won't they ever stop
insulting you?
11 Why don't you punish them?
Why are you holding back?
12 Our God and King,
you have ruled
since ancient times;
you have won victories
everywhere on this earth.
13 (A) By your power you made a path
through the sea,
and you smashed the heads
of sea monsters.
14 (B) You crushed the heads
of the monster Leviathan,[b]
then fed him to wild creatures
in the desert.
15 You opened the ground
for streams and springs
and dried up mighty rivers.
16 You rule the day and the night,
and you put the moon
and the sun in place.
17 You made summer and winter
and gave them to the earth.[c]
18 Remember your enemies, Lord!
They foolishly sneer
and won't respect you.
19 You treat us like pet doves,
but they mistreat us.
Don't keep forgetting us
and letting us be fed
to those wild animals.
20 Remember the agreement
you made with us.
Violent enemies are hiding
in every dark corner
of the earth.
21 Don't disappoint those in need
or make them turn from you,
but help the poor and homeless
to shout your praises.
22 Do something, God!
Defend yourself.
Remember how those fools
sneer at you all day long.
23 Don't forget the loud shouts
of your enemies.
(A psalm and a song by Asaph for the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”[d])
Praise God for All He Has Done
1 Our God, we thank you
for being so near to us!
Everyone celebrates
your wonderful deeds.
2 You have set a time
to judge with fairness.
3 The earth trembles,
and its people shake;
you alone keep
its foundations firm.
4 You tell every bragger,
“Stop bragging!”
And to the wicked you say,
“Don't boast of your power!
5 Stop bragging! Quit telling me
how great you are.”
6 Our Lord and our God,
victory doesn't come
from the east or the west
or from the desert.
7 You are the one who judges.
You can take away power
and give it to others.
8 You hold in your hand
a cup filled with wine,[e]
strong and foaming.
You will pour out some
for every sinful person
on this earth,
and they will have to drink
until it is gone.
9 But I will always tell about
you, the God of Jacob,
and I will sing your praise.
10 Our Lord, you will destroy
the power of evil people,
but you will give strength
to those who are good.
(A song and a psalm by Asaph for the music leader. Use stringed instruments.)
God Always Wins
1 You, our God,
are famous in Judah
and honored in Israel.
2 Your home is on Mount Zion,
the city of peace.
3 There you destroyed
fiery arrows, shields, swords,
and all the other weapons.
4 You are more glorious than
the eternal mountains.[f]
5 Brave warriors were robbed
of what they had taken,
and now they lie dead,
unable to lift an arm.
6 God of Jacob, when you roar,
enemy chariots and horses
drop dead in their tracks.
7 Our God, you are fearsome,
and no one can oppose you
when you are angry.
8 From heaven you announced
your decisions as judge!
And all who live on this earth
were terrified and silent
9 when you took over as judge,
ready to rescue
everyone in need.
10 Even the most angry people
will praise you
when you are furious.[g]
11 Everyone, make your promises
to the Lord your God
and do what you promise.
The Lord is fearsome,
and all his servants
should bring him gifts.
12 God destroys the courage
of rulers and kings
and makes cowards of them.
Footnotes
- 74.5 pieces: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
- 74.14 Leviathan: God's victory over this monster sometimes stands for his power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of Egypt.
- 74.17 gave … earth: Or “made boundaries for the earth.”
- Psalm 75 Don't Destroy: See the note at Psalm 57.
- 75.8 a cup … wine: In the Old Testament “a cup filled with wine” sometimes stands for God's anger.
- 76.4 the eternal mountains: One ancient translation; Hebrew “the mountains of victims (of wild animals).”
- 76.10 furious: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
Psalm 74-76
New International Version
Psalm 74-76
New International Version
Psalm 74
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 O God, why have you rejected(A) us forever?(B)
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?(C)
2 Remember the nation you purchased(D) long ago,(E)
the people of your inheritance,(F) whom you redeemed(G)—
Mount Zion,(H) where you dwelt.(I)
3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,(J)
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared(K) in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards(L) as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.(M)
6 They smashed all the carved(N) paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled(O) the dwelling place(P) of your Name.(Q)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush(R) them completely!”
They burned(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We are given no signs from God;(T)
no prophets(U) are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long(V) will the enemy mock(W) you, God?
Will the foe revile(X) your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?(Y)
Take it from the folds of your garment(Z) and destroy them!
13 It was you who split open the sea(AC) by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster(AD) in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan(AE)
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.(AF)
15 It was you who opened up springs(AG) and streams;
you dried up(AH) the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.(AI)
17 It was you who set all the boundaries(AJ) of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.(AK)
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people(AL) have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove(AM) to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted(AN) people forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,(AO)
because haunts of violence fill the dark places(AP) of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed(AQ) retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy(AR) praise your name.
22 Rise up,(AS) O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools(AT) mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor(AU) of your adversaries,(AV)
the uproar(AW) of your enemies,(AX) which rises continually.
Psalm 75[b]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;(AY)
people tell of your wonderful deeds.(AZ)
2 You say, “I choose the appointed time;(BA)
it is I who judge with equity.(BB)
3 When the earth and all its people quake,(BC)
it is I who hold its pillars(BD) firm.[c]
4 To the arrogant(BE) I say, ‘Boast no more,’(BF)
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.[d](BG)
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak so defiantly.(BH)’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.
7 It is God who judges:(BI)
He brings one down, he exalts another.(BJ)
8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed(BK) with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.(BL)
9 As for me, I will declare(BM) this forever;
I will sing(BN) praise to the God of Jacob,(BO)
10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(BP)
Psalm 76[e]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 God is renowned in Judah;
in Israel his name is great.(BQ)
2 His tent is in Salem,(BR)
his dwelling place in Zion.(BS)
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,(BT)
the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.[f](BU)
4 You are radiant with light,(BV)
more majestic than mountains rich with game.
5 The valiant(BW) lie plundered,
they sleep their last sleep;(BX)
not one of the warriors
can lift his hands.
6 At your rebuke,(BY) God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot(BZ) lie still.
7 It is you alone who are to be feared.(CA)
Who can stand(CB) before you when you are angry?(CC)
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,
and the land feared(CD) and was quiet—
9 when you, God, rose up to judge,(CE)
to save all the afflicted(CF) of the land.
10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,(CG)
and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[g]
Footnotes
- Psalm 74:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 75:1 In Hebrew texts 75:1-10 is numbered 75:2-11.
- Psalm 75:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 75:4 Horns here symbolize strength; also in verses 5 and 10.
- Psalm 76:1 In Hebrew texts 76:1-12 is numbered 76:2-13.
- Psalm 76:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 9.
- Psalm 76:10 Or Surely the wrath of mankind brings you praise, / and with the remainder of wrath you arm yourself
Romans 9:16-33
Contemporary English Version
Romans 9:16-33
Contemporary English Version
16 Everything then depends on God's mercy and not on what people want or do. 17 (A) In the Scriptures the Lord says to the king of Egypt, “I let you become king, so that I could show you my power and be praised by all people on earth.” 18 Everything depends on what God decides to do, and he can either have pity on people or make them stubborn.
God's Anger and Mercy
19 Someone may ask, “How can God blame us, if he makes us behave in the way he wants us to?” 20 (B) But, my friend, I ask, “Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did? 21 (C) Doesn't a potter have the right to make a fancy bowl and a plain bowl out of the same lump of clay?”
22 (D) God wanted to show his anger and reveal his power against everyone who deserved to be destroyed. But instead, he patiently put up with them. 23 He did this by showing how glorious he is when he has pity on the people he has chosen to share in his glory. 24 Whether Jews or Gentiles, we are those chosen ones, 25 (E) just as the Lord says in the book of Hosea,
“Although they are not
my people,
I will make them my people.
I will treat with love
those nations
that have never been loved.
26 (F) “Once they were told,
‘You are not my people.’
But in that very place
they will be called
children of the living God.”
27 (G) And this is what the prophet Isaiah said about the people of Israel,
“The people of Israel
are as many
as the grains of sand
along the beach.
But only a few who are left
will be saved.
28 The Lord will be quick
and sure to do on earth
what he has warned
he will do.”
29 (H) Isaiah also said,
“If the Lord All-Powerful
had not spared some
of our descendants,
we would have been destroyed
like the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah.”[a]
Israel and the Good News
30 What does all of this mean? It means that the Gentiles were not trying to be acceptable to God, but they found that he would accept them if they had faith. 31-32 It also means that the people of Israel were not acceptable to God. And why not? It was because they were trying[b] to be acceptable by obeying the Law instead of by having faith in God. The people of Israel fell over the stone that makes people stumble, 33 (I) just as God says in the Scriptures,
“Look! I am placing in Zion
a stone to make people
stumble and fall.
But those who have faith
in that one will never
be disappointed.”
Romans 9:16-33
New International Version
Romans 9:16-33
New International Version
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.(A) 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[a](B) 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(C)
19 One of you will say to me:(D) “Then why does God still blame us?(E) For who is able to resist his will?”(F) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(G) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(H) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[b](I) 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?(J)
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(K) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(L) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(M) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(N)— 24 even us, whom he also called,(O) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(P) 25 As he says in Hosea:
“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”[c](Q)
26 and,
“In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”[d](R)
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,(S)
only the remnant will be saved.(T)
28 For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”[e](U)
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:
“Unless the Lord Almighty(V)
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.”[f](W)
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What then shall we say?(X) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;(Y) 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,(Z) have not attained their goal.(AA) 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.(AB) 33 As it is written:
Footnotes
- Romans 9:17 Exodus 9:16
- Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9
- Romans 9:25 Hosea 2:23
- Romans 9:26 Hosea 1:10
- Romans 9:28 Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)
- Romans 9:29 Isaiah 1:9
- Romans 9:33 Isaiah 8:14; 28:16
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.