God's New Bible

The Book of Psalms

Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 74 -

Why have you rejected us forever?

(Psalm 79:1-13; Jeremiah 52:1-11)
1
God, why have you abandoned us? Will you keep rejecting us forever? Why are you angry with us since we are like sheep in your pasture and you are like our shepherd?
2
Do not forget your people whom you chose long ago, the people whom you freed from being slaves in Egypt and caused to become your tribe. Do not forget Jerusalem, which is your home on this earth.
3
Walk along and see where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners to show they had defeated us.
5
They cut down all the engraved objects in the temple as woodsmen cut down trees.
6
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7
Then they burned your temple to the ground; they caused that place where you were worshiped to be unfit for people to worship in.
8
They said to themselves, “We will destroy the Israelites completely,” and they also burned down all the other places where we gathered to worship you.
9
All our sacred symbols are gone; there are no prophets now, and no one knows how long this situation will continue.
10
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you? Will they insult you?
11
Why do you refuse to help us? Why do you keep your hand inside your cloak instead of using it to destroy our enemies?
12
God, you have been our king during all the years since we came out of Egypt, and you have enabled us to defeat our enemies in the land of Israel.
13
By your power you caused the sea to divide; it was as though you had smashed the heads of the rulers of Egypt who were like huge sea dragons.
14
It was as though you crushed the head of the king of Egypt and gave his body to the animals in the desert to eat.
15
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you also dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17
You determined where the oceans end and the land begins, and you created the summer season and the winter season.
18
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you and that it is foolish people who despise you.
19
Do not abandon your helpless people into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering people.
20
Continue thinking about the covenant that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
21
Do not allow your oppressed people to be disgraced; help those poor and needy people in order that they will again praise you.
22
God, arise and defend yourself by defending your people! Do not forget that foolish people laugh at you all during the day!
23
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily at you; the uproar that they make while they oppose you never stops.

Why have you rejected us forever?

(Psalm 79:1-13; Jeremiah 52:1-11)
1
God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2
Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived.
3
Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
4
Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs.
5
They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.
6
Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.
7
They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.
8
They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.
9
We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
10
How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11
Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them!
12
Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth.
13
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14
You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
15
You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.
16
The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.
17
You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, LORD. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.
19
Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.
20
Honor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.
21
Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.
22
Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.
23
Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.