Psalms 74:6-7

74:6 And now ¹  they are tearing down ²  all its engravings ³ 

with axes ⁴  and crowbars. ⁵ 

74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire;

they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground. ⁶ 

[74:6]  ¹ tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”

[74:6]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.

[74:6]  ³ tn Heb “its engravings together.”

[74:6]  ⁴ tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).

[74:6]  ⁵ 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”).

[74:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”