Psalms 74:1-6

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?

74:2 Remember your people ⁵  whom you acquired in ancient times,

whom you rescued ⁶  so they could be your very own nation, ⁷ 

as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!

74:3 Hurry and look ⁸  at the permanent ruins,

and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ⁹ 

74:4 Your enemies roar ¹⁰  in the middle of your sanctuary; ¹¹ 

they set up their battle flags. ¹² 

74:5 They invade like lumberjacks

swinging their axes in a thick forest. ¹³ 

74:6 And now ¹⁴  they are tearing down ¹⁵  all its engravings ¹⁶ 

with axes ¹⁷  and crowbars. ¹⁸ 

[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.

[74:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.

[74:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[74:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).

[74:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”

[74:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”

[74:4]  ¹⁰ tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.

[74:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your meeting place.”

[74:4]  ¹² tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).

[74:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.

[74:6]  ¹⁴ tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”

[74:6]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.

[74:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “its engravings together.”

[74:6]  ¹⁷ tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).

[74:6]  ¹⁸ tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. An Akkadian cognate refers to a “pickaxe” (cf. NEB “hatchet and pick”; NIV “axes and hatchets”; NRSV “hatchets and hammers”).