Old/New Testament
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [c]Step toward the [d](H)irreparable ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs as (L)signs.
5 It [e]seems like one bringing up
His (M)axe into a [f]forest of trees.
6 And now they break down [g]all its (N)carved work
With axe and hammers.
7 They have [h](O)burned Your sanctuary [i]to the ground;
They have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let’s [j]completely [k]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there anyone among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, God, will the enemy (U)taunt You?
Shall the enemy (V)treat Your name disrespectfully forever?
11 Why (W)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Extend it from Your chest and (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from long ago,
Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 [l]You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
[m]You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [n]in the waters.
14 [o]You crushed the heads of [p](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [q]creatures (AD)of the wilderness.
15 [r]You (AE)broke open springs and torrents;
[s]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[t]You have (AG)prepared the [u]light and the sun.
17 [v]You have (AH)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[w]You have [x]created (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [y]Lord, that the enemy has (AJ)taunted You,
And a (AK)foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully.
19 Do not give the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild animal;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the places of violence.
21 May the (AP)oppressed person not return dishonored;
May the (AQ)afflicted and the needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, God, and (AR)plead Your own cause;
Remember [z]how the (AS)foolish person taunts You all day long.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your (AT)adversaries,
The (AU)uproar of those who rise against You, which ascends continually.
God Humbles the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.
For the music director; set to [aa]Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
75 We (AV)give thanks to You, God, we give thanks,
For Your name is (AW)near;
People declare (AX)Your wondrous works.
2 “When I select an (AY)appointed time,
It is I who (AZ)judge fairly.
3 The (BA)earth and all who inhabit it [ab]are unsteady;
It is I who have firmly set its (BB)pillars. Selah
4 I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
And to the wicked, ‘(BC)Do not lift up the horn;
5 Do not lift up your horn on high,
(BD)Do not speak with insolent [ac]pride.’”
6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the [ad](BE)desert comes exaltation;
7 But (BF)God is the Judge;
He (BG)puts down one and exalts another.
8 For a (BH)cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is [ae](BI)well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Certainly all the wicked of the earth must drain and (BJ)drink its dregs.
9 But as for me, I will (BK)declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And [af]He will cut off all the (BL)horns of the wicked,
But (BM)the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
76 God is (BN)known in Judah;
His name is (BO)great in Israel.
2 His [ag](BP)tabernacle is in (BQ)Salem;
His (BR)dwelling place also is in Zion.
3 There He (BS)broke the [ah]flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the [ai]weapons of war. Selah
4 You are resplendent,
[aj]More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5 The (BT)stouthearted were plundered,
[ak]They sank into sleep;
And none of the [al]warriors could use his hands.
6 At Your (BU)rebuke, God of Jacob,
Both [am](BV)rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, You indeed are (BW)to be feared,
And (BX)who may stand in Your presence, [an]once You are angry?
16 So then, it does not depend on the person who [a]wants it nor the one who [b](A)runs, but on (B)God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “(C)For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed [c]throughout the earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (D)hardens whom He desires.
19 (E)You will say to me then, “(F)Why does He still find fault? For (G)who has resisted His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, [d](H)you foolish person, who (I)answers back to God? (J)The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does the potter not have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one object [e]for honorable use, and another [f]for common use? 22 [g]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with great (K)patience objects of wrath (L)prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known (M)the riches of His glory upon (N)objects of mercy, which He (O)prepared beforehand for glory, 24 namely us, whom He also (P)called, (Q)not only from among Jews, but also from among Gentiles, 25 as He also says in Hosea:
“(R)I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “(S)And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of (T)the living God.”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “(U)Though the number of the sons of Israel may be (V)like the sand of the sea, only (W)the remnant will be saved; 28 (X)for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, [h]thoroughly and [i]quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold:
“(Y)If (Z)the Lord [j]of armies had not left us [k](AA)descendants,
(AB)We would have become like Sodom, and would have [l]been like Gomorrah.”
30 (AC)What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, but (AD)the righteousness that is [m]by faith; 31 however, Israel, (AE)pursuing a law of righteousness, did not (AF)arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it [n]by faith, but as though they could [o]by works. They stumbled over (AG)the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written:
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