74:1  A Maskil of Asaph. O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

74:2  Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt.

74:3  Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

74:4  Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.

74:5  At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.

74:6  And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

74:7  They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name.

74:8  They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

74:9  We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.

74:10  How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever?

74:11  Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom?

74:12  Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

74:13  Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters.

74:14  Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

74:15  Thou didst cleave open springs and brooks; thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams.

74:16  Thine is the day, thine also the night; thou hast established the luminaries and the sun.

74:17  Thou hast fixed all the bounds of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter.

74:18  Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles thy name.

74:19  Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of thy poor for ever.

74:20  Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

74:21  Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise thy name.

74:22  Arise, O God, plead thy cause; remember how the impious scoff at thee all the day!

74:23  Do not forget the clamor of thy foes, the uproar of thy adversaries which goes up continually!