Old/New Testament
74 O God, why have you cast us away forever? Why is your anger hot against us—the sheep of your own pasture? 2 Remember that we are your people—the ones you chose in ancient times from slavery and made the choicest of your possessions. You chose Jerusalem[a] as your home on earth!
3 Walk through the awful ruins of the city and see what the enemy has done to your sanctuary. 4 There they shouted their battle cry and erected their idols to flaunt their victory. 5-6 Everything lies in shambles like a forest chopped to the ground. They came with their axes and sledgehammers and smashed and chopped the carved paneling; 7 they set the sanctuary on fire, and razed it to the ground—your sanctuary, Lord. 8 “Let’s wipe out every trace of God,” they said, and went through the entire country burning down the assembly places where we worshiped you.
9-10 There is nothing left to show that we are your people. The prophets are gone, and who can say when it all will end? How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to dishonor your name? Will you let them get away with this forever? 11 Why do you delay? Why hold back your power? Unleash your fist and give them a final blow.
12 God is my King from ages past; you have been actively helping me everywhere throughout the land. 13-14 You divided the Red Sea with your strength; you crushed the sea god’s heads! You gave him to the desert tribes to eat! 15 At your command the springs burst forth to give your people water; and then you dried a path for them across the ever-flowing Jordan. 16 Day and night alike belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. 17 All nature is within your hands; you make the summer and the winter too. 18 Lord, see how these enemies scoff at you. O Jehovah, an arrogant nation has blasphemed your name.
19 O Lord, save me! Protect your turtledove from the hawks.[b] Save your beloved people from these beasts. 20 Remember your promise! For the land is full of darkness and cruel men. 21 O Lord, don’t let your downtrodden people be constantly insulted. Give cause for these poor and needy ones to praise your name! 22 Arise, O God, and state your case against our enemies. Remember the insults these rebels have hurled against you all day long. 23 Don’t overlook the cursing of these enemies of yours; it grows louder and louder.
75 How we thank you, Lord! Your mighty miracles give proof that you care.
2 “Yes,” the Lord replies, “and when I am ready, I will punish the wicked! 3 Though the earth shakes and all its people live in turmoil, yet its pillars are firm, for I have set them in place!”
4 I warned the proud to cease their arrogance! I told the wicked to lower their insolent gaze[c] 5 and to stop being stubborn and proud. 6-7 For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God. He promotes one and deposes another. 8 In Jehovah’s hand there is a cup of pale and sparkling wine. It is his judgment, poured out upon the wicked of the earth. They must drain that cup to the dregs.
9 But as for me, I shall forever declare the praises of the God of Jacob. 10 “I will cut off the strength of evil men,” says the Lord,[d] “and increase the power of good men in their place.”
76 God’s reputation is very great in Judah and in Israel. 2 His home is in Jerusalem. He lives upon Mount Zion. 3 There he breaks the weapons of our enemies.
4 The everlasting mountains cannot compare with you in glory! 5 The mightiest of our enemies are conquered. They lie before us in the sleep of death; not one can lift a hand against us. 6 When you rebuked them, God of Jacob, steeds and riders fell. 7 No wonder you are greatly feared! Who can stand before an angry God? 8 You pronounce sentence on them from heaven; the earth trembles and stands silently before you. 9 You stand up to punish the evildoers and to defend the meek of the earth. 10 Man’s futile wrath will bring you glory. You will use it as an ornament!
11 Fulfill all your vows that you have made to Jehovah your God. Let everyone bring him presents. He should be reverenced and feared, 12 for he cuts down princes and does awesome things to the kings of the earth.
16 And so God’s blessings are not given just because someone decides to have them or works hard to get them. They are given because God takes pity on those he wants to.
17 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was an example of this fact. For God told him he had given him the kingdom of Egypt for the very purpose of displaying the awesome power of God against him, so that all the world would hear about God’s glorious name.[a] 18 So you see, God is kind to some just because he wants to be, and he makes some refuse to listen.
19 Well then, why does God blame them for not listening? Haven’t they done what he made them do?
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you to criticize God? Should the thing made say to the one who made it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a man makes a jar out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar beautiful, to be used for holding flowers, and another to throw garbage into? 22 Does not God have a perfect right to show his fury and power against those who are fit only for destruction, those he has been patient with for all this time? 23-24 And he has a right to take others such as ourselves, who have been made for pouring the riches of his glory into, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, and to be kind to us so that everyone can see how very great his glory is.
25 Remember what the prophecy of Hosea says? There God says that he will find other children for himself (who are not from his Jewish family) and will love them, though no one had ever loved them before. 26 And the heathen, of whom it once was said, “You are not my people,” shall be called “sons of the Living God.”[b]
27 Isaiah the prophet cried out concerning the Jews that though there would be millions[c] of them, only a small number would ever be saved. 28 “For the Lord will execute his sentence upon the earth, quickly ending his dealings, justly cutting them short.”[d]
29 And Isaiah says in another place that except for God’s mercy all the Jews would be destroyed—all of them—just as everyone in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah perished.[e]
30 Well then, what shall we say about these things? Just this, that God has given the Gentiles the opportunity to be acquitted by faith, even though they had not been really seeking God. 31 But the Jews, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping his laws, never succeeded. 32 Why not? Because they were trying to be saved by keeping the law and being good instead of by depending on faith. They have stumbled over the great stumbling stone. 33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I have put a Rock in the path of the Jews, and many will stumble over him (Jesus). Those who believe in him will never be disappointed.”[f]
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.