Psalms 79:5-10

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ¹ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ²  burn like fire?

79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, ³ 

on the kingdoms that do not pray to you! ⁴ 

79:7 For they have devoured Jacob

and destroyed his home.

79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! ⁵ 

Quickly send your compassion our way, ⁶ 

for we are in serious trouble! ⁷ 

79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!

For the sake of your glorious reputation, ⁸  rescue us!

Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation! ⁹ 

79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants

be avenged among the nations! ¹⁰ 

[79:5]  ¹ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ² tn Or “jealous anger.”

[79:6]  ³ tn Heb “which do not know you.” Here the Hebrew term “know” means “acknowledge the authority of.”

[79:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.

[79:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “for we are very low.”

[79:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the glory of your name.” Here and in the following line “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[79:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “your name.”

[79:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”