Psalms 74:1-11

1Why, O God, have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep in your care?

2Remember 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.

3Turn your steps toward these pathetic ruins. The enemy has destroyed everything in the holy temple.

4Your opponents have roared inside your meeting place. They have set up their own emblems as symbols.

5Starting from its entrance, they hacked away like a woodcutter in a forest.

6They smashed all its carved paneling with axes and hatchets.

7They burned your holy place to the ground. They dishonored the place where you live among us.

8They said to themselves, “We will crush them.” They burned every meeting place of God in the land.

9We no longer see miraculous signs. There are no prophets anymore. No one knows how long this will last.

10How long, O God, will the enemy insult us? Will the enemy despise you forever?

11Why do you hold back your hand, especially your right hand? Take your hands out of your pockets. Destroy your enemies!