Psalms 74

1O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

1O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why is your anger smoldering against the sheep of your own pasture?

2Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance; Andmount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.

2Remember your people, whom you acquired long ago; remember the tribe you redeemed as your own inheritance, and Mount Zion, where you have lived.

3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins, All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.

3Walk through these total ruins; look at all the destruction the enemy has brought into your sanctuary.

4Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly; They have set up their ensigns for signs.

4Your enemies shouted out in the place where you meet with us; they set up their own banners as signs of victory.

5They seemed as men that lifted up Axes upon a thicket of trees.

5They acted like men swinging axes in a thick forest.

6And now all the carved work thereof They break down with hatchet and hammers.

6Now they have smashed all the beautiful carved woodwork using hatchets and hammers.

7They have set thy sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name by casting it to the ground.

7They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they treated the place where your name lives as something unholy.

8They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether: They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

8They said to themselves, 'We will crush them completely!' They burned down every place where you were worshiped in the land.

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

9We don't see our miraculous signs anymore; there is no longer a prophet, and none of us knows how long this will last.

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

10How long, O God, will the enemy insult you? Will the enemy mock your name forever?

11Why drawest thou back thy hand, even thy right hand? Pluck itout of thy bosom and consume them.

11Why do you hold back your hand, even your strong right hand? Pull it out from your robe and destroy them!

12Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

12But God has been my King from long ago, bringing salvation to the earth.

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

13You split the sea by your power; you smashed the heads of the great sea monsters in the water.

14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces; Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

14You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.

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

15You opened up springs and streams; you dried up rivers that never stopped flowing.

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 is yours too; you created the light and the sun.

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

17You set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.

18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah, And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name.

18Remember this, Lord: the enemy has insulted you, and foolish people have mocked your name.

19Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast: Forget not the life of thy poor for ever.

19Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild animals; do not forget the lives of your suffering people forever.

20Have respect unto the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.

20Remember your covenant, because the dark corners of the land are filled with violence.

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

21Do not let the oppressed people turn away in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.

22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day.

22Rise up, O God, and defend your honor; remember how these fools insult you all day long.

23Forget not the voice of thine adversaries: The tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually.

23Do not forget the shouts of your enemies, the constant noise of those who rise up against you.