Psalms 74:1

Psalm 74 ¹ 

A well-written song ²  by Asaph.

74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? ³ 

Why does your anger burn ⁴  against the sheep of your pasture?

Psalms 77:9

77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has his anger stifled his compassion?”

Psalms 79:5

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

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ⁶  burn like fire?

Psalms 80:4

80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! ⁷ 

How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? ⁸ 

Psalms 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ⁹ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Isaiah 64:9-12

64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!

Do not hold our sins against us continually! ¹⁰ 

Take a good look at your people, at all of us! ¹¹ 

64:10 Your chosen ¹²  cities have become a desert;

Zion has become a desert,

Jerusalem ¹³  is a desolate ruin.

64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, ¹⁴ 

the place where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned with fire;

all our prized possessions have been destroyed. ¹⁵ 

64:12 In light of all this, ¹⁶  how can you still hold back, Lord?

How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

Micah 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹⁷ 

You ¹⁸  forgive sin

and pardon ¹⁹  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ²⁰ 

You do not remain angry forever, ²¹ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

[74:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.

[74:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[74:1]  ³ sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.

[74:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.

[79:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ⁶ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[80:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot; “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. In this context the term “hosts” (meaning “armies”) has been rendered “invincible warrior.”

[80:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.

[89:46]  ⁹ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[64:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”

[64:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”

[64:10]  ¹² tn Heb “holy” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT); NIV “sacred.”

[64:10]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[64:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “our source of pride.”

[64:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”

[64:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “because of these”; KJV, ASV “for these things.”

[7:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”