Psalms 74:4-14

4 Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple; they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.
5 They looked like woodsmen cutting down trees with their axes.
6 They smashed all the wooden panels with their axes and sledge hammers.
7 They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire; they desecrated the place where you are worshiped.
8 They wanted to crush us completely; they burned down every holy place in the land.
9 All our sacred symbols are gone; there are no prophets left, and no one knows how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you? Will they insult your name forever?
11 Why have you refused to help us? Why do you keep your hands behind you?
12 But you have been our king from the beginning, O God; you have saved us many times.
13 With your mighty strength you divided the sea 1 and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;
14 you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathan 2 and fed his body to desert animals.

Cross References 2

  • 1. 74.13Exodus 14.21.
  • 2. 74.14Job 41.1;Psalms 104.26;Isaiah 27.1.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. [Verse 5 in Hebrew is unclear.]
  • [b]. [Probable text] Why do you keep your hands behind you; [Hebrew unclear.]
  • [c]. leviathan: [A legendary monster which was a symbol of the forces of chaos and evil.]
  • [d]. animals; [or] people.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.