Joshua 7:9

7:9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ¹  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ² 

Nehemiah 1:3-4

1:3 They said to me, “The remnant that remains from the exile there in the province are experiencing considerable ³  adversity and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been burned down!” ⁴ 

1:4 When I heard these things I sat down abruptly, ⁵  crying and mourning for several days. I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Psalms 26:8

26:8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live, ⁶ 

the place where your splendor is revealed. ⁷ 

Psalms 79:1-8

Psalm 79 ⁸ 

A psalm of Asaph.

79:1 O God, foreigners ⁹  have invaded your chosen land; ¹⁰ 

they have polluted your holy temple

and turned Jerusalem ¹¹  into a heap of ruins.

79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants

to the birds of the sky; ¹² 

the flesh of your loyal followers

to the beasts of the earth.

79:3 They have made their blood flow like water

all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. ¹³ 

79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ¹⁴ 

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ¹⁵ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ¹⁶  burn like fire?

79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, ¹⁷ 

on the kingdoms that do not pray to you! ¹⁸ 

79:7 For they have devoured Jacob

and destroyed his home.

79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! ¹⁹ 

Quickly send your compassion our way, ²⁰ 

for we are in serious trouble! ²¹ 

Psalms 137:4-6

137:4 How can we sing a song to the Lord

in a foreign land?

137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

may my right hand be crippled! ²² 

137:6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

and do not give Jerusalem priority

over whatever gives me the most joy. ²³ 

[7:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and cut off our name.”

[7:9]  ² tn Heb “What will you do for your great name?”

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “great.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “have been burned with fire” (so also in Neh 2:17). The expression “burned with fire” is redundant in contemporary English; the translation uses “burned down” for stylistic reasons.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “sat down.” Context suggests that this was a rather sudden action, resulting from the emotional shock of the unpleasant news, so “abruptly” has been supplied in the present translation.

[26:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”

[26:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”

[79:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.

[79:1]  ⁹ tn Or “nations.”

[79:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”

[79:1]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[79:2]  ¹² tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”

[79:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”

[79:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.

[79:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[79:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “which do not know you.” Here the Hebrew term “know” means “acknowledge the authority of.”

[79:6]  ¹⁸ sn The kingdoms that do not pray to you. The people of these kingdoms pray to other gods, not the Lord, because they do not recognize his authority over them.

[79:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “do not remember against us sins, former.” Some understand “former” as an attributive adjective modifying sins, “former [i.e., chronologically prior] sins” (see BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). The present translation assumes that ראשׁנים (“former”) here refers to those who lived formerly, that is, the people’s ancestors (see Lam 5:7). The word is used in this way in Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14 and Eccl 1:11.

[79:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.

[79:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “for we are very low.”

[137:5]  ²² tn Heb “may my right hand forget.” In this case one must supply an object, such as “how to move.” The elliptical nature of the text has prompted emendations (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 236). The translation assumes an emendation to תִּכְשַׁח (tikhshakh), from an otherwise unattested root כשׁח, meaning “to be crippled; to be lame.” See HALOT 502 s.v. כשׁח, which cites Arabic cognate evidence in support of the proposal. The corruption of the MT can be explained as an error of transposition facilitated by the use of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”) just before this.

[137:6]  ²³ tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”