Psalms 74

O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

1God, why have you pushed us away for so long? Why are you angry with us, the sheep you care for?

2Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.

2Remember your people. You bought them long ago and made them your own. Remember Mount Zion, the hill where you lived with them.

3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

3Come and walk through the ruins that have sat there so long. Look at all the harm the enemy did in your holy house.

4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.

4Your enemies roared inside the place where your people met with you. They put up their own flags there as signs that they had won.

5A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.

5They were like men swinging axes in a thick patch of trees.

NoteVerses 5 and 6 belong together. The old wording is hard to follow, but the picture is simple: the enemies chopped up the temple the way woodcutters chop up a forest.

6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.

6They smashed all the beautiful carved wood with axes and hammers.

7They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.

7They set your holy house on fire and burned it to the ground. They ruined the place where your name lived.

8They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

8They said to themselves, "Let us crush them all together." They burned every place in the land where people met with God.

NoteThe King James Bible says "synagogues" here. It means any place where people gathered to worship God, not the synagogue buildings of later times.

9We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

9We do not see any signs from you now. There is no prophet left, no one who tells us what God says. Nobody knows how long this will last.

10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

10God, how long will our enemy make fun of you? Will he keep insulting your name forever?

11Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.

11Why do you hold your hand back? Reach out your strong right hand and help us.

Note"Pluck it out of thy bosom" pictures a hand tucked inside the folds of a robe. The prayer is asking God to take his hand out and use it.

12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

12But God has been my King since long, long ago. He rescues people right here on the earth.

13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.

13You split the sea open with your strength. You crushed the heads of the sea monsters in the water.

14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

14You crushed the heads of Leviathan, a huge sea monster. You gave his body as food to the creatures of the desert.

15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.

15You opened up springs and streams so water poured out. You dried up rivers that never stopped running.

16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

16The day belongs to you, and the night belongs to you too. You made the light and the sun.

17Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

17You set the edges of all the land in place. You made summer and winter.

18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.

18LORD, remember this: the enemy has made fun of you. Foolish people have said ugly things about your name.

19O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.

19Do not hand your little dove over to a crowd of cruel people. Do not forget your poor people, not ever.

20Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.

20Pay attention to your covenant, the promise you made to your people. The dark corners of the land are full of violence.

21O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.

21Do not let hurting people walk away ashamed. Let poor and needy people praise your name.

22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.

22Stand up, God, and speak up for yourself. Remember how foolish people make fun of you all day long.

23Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

23Do not forget the shouting of your enemies. The noise of those who fight you gets louder and louder.