Old/New Testament
Grieving over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 God, the (A)nations have [a]invaded (B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your (C)holy temple;
They have (D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the (E)dead bodies of Your servants to the birds of the sky as food,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem;
And there was (F)no one to bury them.
4 We have become a (G)disgrace before our neighbors,
An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.
5 (H)How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your (I)jealousy (J)burn like fire?
6 (K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which (L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which (M)do not call upon Your name.
7 For they have (N)devoured Jacob
And (O)laid waste his [b]settlement.
8 (P)Do not [c]hold us responsible for [d]the guilty deeds of our forefathers;
Let Your compassion come quickly to (Q)meet us,
For we have (R)become very low.
9 (S)Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of (T)Your name;
And save us and [e](U)forgive our sins (V)for the sake of Your name.
10 (W)Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let (X)vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed
Be known among the nations in our sight.
11 Let (Y)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your [f]power, let [g]those who are (Z)doomed to die remain.
12 And return to our neighbors (AA)seven times as much (AB)into their lap
Their (AC)taunts with which they have taunted You, Lord.
13 So we Your people and the (AD)sheep of Your [h]pasture
Will (AE)give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will (AF)tell of Your praise.
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the music director; set to [i]El Shoshannim; [j]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Listen, (AG)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (AH)Joseph like a flock;
You who (AI)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (AJ)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (AK)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, (AL)restore us
And (AM)make Your face shine upon us, [k]and we will be saved.
4 (AN)Lord God of armies,
(AO)How long will You [l]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (AP)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [m]large measure.
6 You make us [n]an object of contention (AQ)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [o]and we will be saved.
8 You removed a (AR)vine from Egypt;
You (AS)drove out the [p]nations and (AT)planted it.
9 You (AU)cleared the ground before it,
And it (AV)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [q]the cedars of God with its (AW)branches.
11 It was sending out its branches (AX)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You (AY)broken down its [r]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (AZ)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 God of armies, do (BA)turn back;
(BB)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The [s](BC)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the [t]son whom You have [u]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (BD)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the (BE)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (BF)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (BG)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not (BH)turn back from You;
(BI)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, (BJ)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, [v]and we will be saved.
Israel Has Not Been Rejected
11 I say then, God has not (A)rejected His people, has He? [a](B)Far from it! For (C)I too am an Israelite, [b]a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God (D)has not rejected His people whom He (E)foreknew. (F)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, (G)they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what [c]is the divine response to him? “(H)I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time (I)a remnant according to God’s [d]gracious choice. 6 But (J)if it is by grace, it is no longer [e]on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.
7 What then? What (K)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but [f]those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were (L)hardened; 8 just as it is written:
“(M)God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“(N)May their table become a snare and a trap,
And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
10 (O)May their eyes be darkened to see not,
And bend their backs continually.”
11 (P)I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? [g](Q)Far from it! But by their wrongdoing (R)salvation has come to the Gentiles, to (S)make them jealous. 12 Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their [h](T)fulfillment be! 13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Therefore insofar as (U)I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 if somehow I may (V)move (W)my [i]own people to jealousy and (X)save some of them. 15 For if their rejection proves to be the (Y)reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but (Z)life from the dead? 16 If the (AA)first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are as well.
17 But if some of the (AB)branches were broken off, and (AC)you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the [j]rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that (AD)it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.