Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/leviathan

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Psalm 74

Biblical psalm


Summary

Biblical psalm

FieldValue
namePsalm 74
subtitle"O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?"
imageGedenktafel Synagoge Weener Weserstraße 32.jpg
captionPsalm 74:7 ("They have set Thy sanctuary on fire") on a memorial plaque at the Weener Synagogue
other_name{{plainlist
languageHebrew (original)
  • Psalmus 73
  • "Ut quid Deus reppulisti in finem iratus" Psalm 74 is the 74th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 73. In Latin, it is known as "Ut quid Deus reppulisti in finem iratus". Subheaded a maschil or contemplation, and a community lament, it expresses the pleas of the Jewish community in the Babylonian captivity. It is attributed to Asaph.

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music, notably in Bach's Gott ist mein König, BWV 71. Several composers set the psalm or verses from it in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Content

Verses 1–3 open this psalm by imploring God to "remember your people", and to "remember Mount Zion". The psalm continues in verses 3b to 11 by describing the destruction of the Temple by "the enemies of God". Verses 12–17 recall and praise the might of God, and the psalm ends (verses 18–23) by imploring the Lord (verse 18) to remember Israel and come to her aid.

The enemy is not named, but may refer to King Nebuchadnezzar. According to the Targum, the reference is to Antiochus Epiphanes.

Verse 1 portrays the image of the people of Israel as God's flock, "the sheep of your pasture".

Uses

Judaism

  • Psalm 74 is recited on the fast of the Tenth of Tevet in some traditions.
  • It is recited on the second day of Passover in some traditions.
  • Verses 2 and 12 are recited during the blessings before the Shema on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

Christianity

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 74 in a metred version in German, "Dennoch hat Israel zum Trost", SWV 171, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.

In his 1708 cantata Gott ist mein König, BWV 71, Bach used three verses from the psalm.

Pavel Chesnokov composed "*Salvation is Created'''" as a choral work in 1912, the fifth in his *Ten Communion Hymns'', scored for six voices (SATTBB), as a communion hymn based on verse 12 in Russian and on a synodal Kievan chant melody.

Max Drischner composed a setting of verse 16, added to Psalm 4: 7, 9, as the final movement of his Tübinger Psalmen for voice, violin and organ, or choir, melody instrument and keyboard instrument, in 1948. Stefans Grové set the psalm for mezzo-soprano, flute and harp in 1974.

Ernani Aguiar composed a choral setting in Latin, Salmo 74, in 2001.

Text

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions.A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found here or here, and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found here. Both translations are in the public domain. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 73.

#HebrewEnglishGreek
1(Maschil of Asaph.) O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?Συνέσεως τῷ ᾿Ασάφ. - ΙΝΑΤΙ ἀπώσω, ὁ Θεός, εἰς τέλος; ὠργίσθη ὁ θυμός σου ἐπὶ πρόβατα νομῆς σου;
2Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.μνήσθητι τῆς συναγωγῆς σου, ἧς ἐκτήσω ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς· ἐλυτρώσω ῥάβδον κληρονομίας σου, ὄρος Σιὼν τοῦτο, ὃ κατεσκήνωσας ἐν αὐτῷ.
3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.ἔπαρον τὰς χεῖράς σου ἐπὶ τὰς ὑπερηφανίας αὐτῶν εἰς τέλος, ὅσα ἐπονηρεύσατο ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις σου.
4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.καὶ ἐνεκαυχήσαντο οἱ μισοῦντές σε ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ἑορτῆς σου, ἔθεντο τὰ σημεῖα αὐτῶν σημεῖα καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν.
5A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.ὡς εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον ὑπεράνω,
6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.ὡς ἐν δρυμῷ ξύλων ἀξίναις ἐξέκοψαν τὰς θύρας αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐν πελέκει καὶ λαξευτηρίῳ κατέρραξαν αὐτήν.
7They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.ἐνεπύρισαν ἐν πυρὶ τὸ ἁγιαστήριόν σου, εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐβεβήλωσαν τὸ σκήνωμα τοῦ ὀνόματός σου.
8They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.εἶπαν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν αἱ συγγένειαι αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό· δεῦτε καὶ καταπαύσωμεν πάσας τὰς ἑορτὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς.
9We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.τὰ σημεῖα αὐτῶν οὐκ εἴδομεν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι προφήτης, καὶ ἡμᾶς οὐ γνώσεται ἔτι.
10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?ἕως πότε, ὁ Θεός, ὀνειδιεῖ ὁ ἐχθρός, παροξυνεῖ ὁ ὑπεναντίος τὸ ὄνομά σου εἰς τέλος;
11Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.ἱνατί ἀποστρέφεις τὴν χεῖρά σου καὶ τὴν δεξιάν σου ἐκ μέσου τοῦ κόλπου σου εἰς τέλος;
12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.ὁ δὲ Θεὸς βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν πρὸ αἰώνων, εἰργάσατο σωτηρίαν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς.
13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.σὺ ἐκραταίωσας ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου τὴν θάλασσαν, σὺ συνέτριψας τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν δρακόντων ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος.
14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.σὺ συνέθλασας τὰς κεφαλὰς τοῦ δράκοντος, ἔδωκας αὐτὸν βρῶμα λαοῖς τοῖς Αἰθίοψι.
15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.σὺ διέρρηξας πηγὰς καὶ χειμάρρους, σὺ ἐξήρανας ποταμοὺς ᾿Ηθάμ.
16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.σή ἐστιν ἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ σή ἐστιν ἡ νύξ, σὺ κατηρτίσω φαῦσιν καὶ ἥλιον.
17Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.σὺ ἐποίησας πάντα τὰ ὡραῖα τῆς γῆς· θέρος καὶ ἔαρ, σὺ ἔπλασας αὐτά.
18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.μνήσθητι ταύτης· ἐχθρὸς ὠνείδισε τὸν Κύριον, καὶ λαὸς ἄφρων παρώξυνε τὸ ὄνομά σου.
19O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.μὴ παραδῷς τοῖς θηρίοις ψυχὴν ἐξομολογουμένην σοι, τῶν ψυχῶν τῶν πενήτων σου μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ εἰς τέλος.
20Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.ἐπίβλεψον εἰς τὴν διαθήκην σου, ὅτι ἐπληρώθησαν οἱ ἐσκοτισμένοι τῆς γῆς οἴκων ἀνομιῶν.
21O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.μὴ ἀποστραφήτω τεταπεινωμένος καὶ κατῃσχυμένος· πτωχὸς καὶ πένης αἰνέσουσι τὸ ὄνομά σου.
22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.ἀνάστα, ὁ Θεός, δίκασον τὴν δίκην σου· μνήσθητι τοῦ ὀνειδισμοῦ σου τοῦ ὑπὸ ἄφρονος ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν.
23Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ τῆς φωνῆς τῶν ἱκετῶν σου· ἡ ὑπερηφανία τῶν μισούντων σε ἀνέβη διὰ παντός.

Notes

References

References

  1. Parallel Latin/English Psalter, [http://medievalist.net/psalmstxt/ps73.htm Psalmus 73 (74)]. {{webarchive. link. (2017-05-07 Medievalist.)
  2. {{bibleverse. Psalm. 74. NKJV: Sub-heading, [[New King James Version]]
  3. Verse 4, [[King James Version]]
  4. [[Jerusalem Bible]] (1966), footnote a at Psalm 74
  5. Verse 1, [[New Revised Standard Version]]
  6. The Artscroll Tehillim, page 329
  7. The Complete Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah, page 271
  8. Church of England, [https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/The%20Book%20of%20Common%20Prayer%201662.pdf Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter] as printed by [[John Baskerville]] in 1762, pp. 196ff
  9. (October 2018). "Salmo 150 de Ernani Aguiar: análise de gravações a partir da década de 90". Anais do I Congresso de Canto Coral.
  10. "Psalms – Chapter 74". Mechon Mamre.
  11. "Psalms 74 - JPS 1917". [[Sefaria.
  12. "Psalm 73 - Septuagint and Brenton's Septuagint Translation". Ellopos.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Psalm 74 — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report