74:1 A maskil by Asaph. Why, O Elohim, have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep in your care?
74:2 Remember your congregation. Long ago you made it your own. You bought this tribe to be your possession. This tribe is Mount Zion, where you have made your home.
74:3 Turn your steps toward these pathetic ruins. The enemy has destroyed everything in the holy temple.
74:4 Your opponents have roared inside your meeting place. They have set up their own emblems as symbols.
74:5 Starting from its entrance, they hacked away like a woodcutter in a forest.
74:6 They smashed all its carved paneling with axes and hatchets.
74:7 They burned your holy place to the ground. They dishonored the place where you live among us.
74:8 They said to themselves, “We will crush them.” They burned every meeting place of El in the land.
74:9 We no longer see miraculous signs. There are no prophets anymore. No one knows how long this will last.
74:10 How long, O Elohim, will the enemy insult us? Will the enemy despise you forever?
74:11 Why do you hold back your hand, especially your right hand? Take your hands out of your pockets. Destroy your enemies!
74:12 And yet, from long ago Elohim has been my Melek, the one who has been victorious throughout the earth.
74:13 You stirred up the sea with your own strength. You smashed the heads of sea monsters in the water.
74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave them to the creatures of the desert for food.
74:15 You opened the springs and brooks. You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
74:16 The day and the night are yours. You set the moon and the sun in their places.
74:17 You determined all the boundaries of the earth. You created summer and winter.
74:18 Remember how the enemy insulted you, O Yahweh. Remember how an entire nation of godless fools despised your name.
74:19 Do not hand over the soul of your dove to wild animals. Do not forget the life of your oppressed people forever.
74:20 Consider your promise because every dark corner of the land is filled with violence.
74:21 Do not let oppressed people come back in disgrace. Let weak and needy people praise your name.
74:22 Arise, O Elohim! Fight for your own cause! Remember how godless fools insult you all day long.
74:23 Do not forget the shouting of your opponents. Do not forget the uproar made by those who attack you.
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