Book Three (Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

The Foolishness of Envying the Proud

A psalm of Asaph.

1Truly God is good to Israel,

to those whose hearts are pure.

2But as for me, I almost lost my footing.

My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.

3For I envied the proud

when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.

4They seem to live such painless lives;

their bodies are so healthy and strong.

5They don’t have troubles like other people;

they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.

6They wear pride like a jeweled necklace

and clothe themselves with cruelty.

7These fat cats have everything

their hearts could ever wish for!

8They scoff and speak only evil;

in their pride they seek to crush others.

9They boast against the very heavens,

and their words strut throughout the earth.

10And so the people are dismayed and confused,

drinking in all their words.

11“What does God know?” they ask.

“Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”

12Look at these wicked people—

enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

13Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?

Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?

14I get nothing but trouble all day long;

every morning brings me pain.

15If I had really spoken this way to others,

I would have been a traitor to your people.

16So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.

But what a difficult task it is!

17Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,

and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

18Truly, you put them on a slippery path

and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

19In an instant they are destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors.

20When you arise, O Lord,

you will laugh at their silly ideas

as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

21Then I realized that my heart was bitter,

and I was all torn up inside.

22I was so foolish and ignorant—

I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

23Yet I still belong to you;

you hold my right hand.

24You guide me with your counsel,

leading me to a glorious destiny.

25Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

26My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

but God remains the strength of my heart;

he is mine forever.

27Those who desert him will perish,

for you destroy those who abandon you.

28But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Psalm 74

A Plea for God to Remember His Promises

A psalm*74: title Hebrew maskil. This may be a literary or musical term. of Asaph.

1O God, why have you rejected us so long?

Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?

2Remember that we are the people you chose long ago,

the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession!

And remember Jerusalem,*74:2 Hebrew Mount Zion. your home here on earth.

3Walk through the awful ruins of the city;

see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.

4There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries;

there they set up their battle standards.

5They swung their axes

like woodcutters in a forest.

6With axes and picks,

they smashed the carved paneling.

7They burned your sanctuary to the ground.

They defiled the place that bears your name.

8Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!”

So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.

9We no longer see your miraculous signs.

All the prophets are gone,

and no one can tell us when it will end.

10How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you?

Will you let them dishonor your name forever?

11Why do you hold back your strong right hand?

Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them.

12You, O God, are my king from ages past,

bringing salvation to the earth.

13You split the sea by your strength

and smashed the heads of the sea monsters.

14You crushed the heads of Leviathan*74:14 The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.

and let the desert animals eat him.

15You caused the springs and streams to gush forth,

and you dried up rivers that never run dry.

16Both day and night belong to you;

you made the starlight*74:16 Or moon; Hebrew reads light. and the sun.

17You set the boundaries of the earth,

and you made both summer and winter.

18See how these enemies insult you, Lord.

A foolish nation has dishonored your name.

19Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves.

Don’t forget your suffering people forever.

20Remember your covenant promises,

for the land is full of darkness and violence!

21Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again.

Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name.

22Arise, O God, and defend your cause.

Remember how these fools insult you all day long.

23Don’t overlook what your enemies have said

or their growing uproar.

Psalm 75

God’s Promise to Judge the Wicked

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph. A song to be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!”

1We thank you, O God!

We give thanks because you are near.

People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds.

2God says, “At the time I have planned,

I will bring justice against the wicked.

3When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil,

I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.

Interlude

4“I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’

I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!

5Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens

or speak with such arrogance.’”

6For no one on earth—from east or west,

or even from the wilderness—

should raise a defiant fist.*75:6 Hebrew should lift.

7It is God alone who judges;

he decides who will rise and who will fall.

8For the Lord holds a cup in his hand

that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices.

He pours out the wine in judgment,

and all the wicked must drink it,

draining it to the dregs.

9But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked,

but I will increase the power of the godly.”

Psalm 76

God Breaks the Pride of Princes

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph. A song to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1God is honored in Judah;

his name is great in Israel.

2Jerusalem*76:2 Hebrew Salem, another name for Jerusalem. is where he lives;

Mount Zion is his home.

3There he has broken the fiery arrows of the enemy,

the shields and swords and weapons of war.

Interlude

4You are glorious and more majestic

than the everlasting mountains.*76:4 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads than mountains filled with beasts of prey.

5Our boldest enemies have been plundered.

They lie before us in the sleep of death.

No warrior could lift a hand against us.

6At the blast of your breath, O God of Jacob,

their horses and chariots lay still.

7No wonder you are greatly feared!

Who can stand before you when your anger explodes?

8From heaven you sentenced your enemies;

the earth trembled and stood silent before you.

9You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God,

and to rescue the oppressed of the earth.

Interlude

10Human defiance only enhances your glory,

for you use it as a weapon.*76:10 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

11Make vows to the Lord your God, and keep them.

Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.

12For he breaks the pride of princes,

and the kings of the earth fear him.

Psalm 77

A Lament over Unanswered Prayer

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of Asaph.

1I cry out to God; yes, I shout.

Oh, that God would listen to me!

2When I was in deep trouble,

I searched for the Lord.

All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,

but my soul was not comforted.

3I think of God, and I moan,

overwhelmed with longing for his help.

Interlude

4You don’t let me sleep.

I am too distressed even to pray!

5I think of the good old days,

long since ended,

6when my nights were filled with joyful songs.

I search my soul and ponder the difference now.

7Has the Lord rejected me forever?

Will he never again be kind to me?

8Is his unfailing love gone forever?

Have his promises permanently failed?

9Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he slammed the door on his compassion?

Interlude

10And I said, “This is my fate;

the Most High has turned his hand against me.”

11But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;

I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.

12They are constantly in my thoughts.

I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

13O God, your ways are holy.

Is there any god as mighty as you?

14You are the God of great wonders!

You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.

15By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Interlude

16When the Red Sea*77:16 Hebrew the waters. saw you, O God,

its waters looked and trembled!

The sea quaked to its very depths.

17The clouds poured down rain;

the thunder rumbled in the sky.

Your arrows of lightning flashed.

18Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;

the lightning lit up the world!

The earth trembled and shook.

19Your road led through the sea,

your pathway through the mighty waters—

a pathway no one knew was there!

20You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,

with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.

Psalm 78

Lessons from Israel’s History

A psalm*78: title Hebrew maskil. This may be a literary or musical term. of Asaph.

1O my people, listen to my instructions.

Open your ears to what I am saying,

2for I will speak to you in a parable.

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—

3stories we have heard and known,

stories our ancestors handed down to us.

4We will not hide these truths from our children;

we will tell the next generation

about the glorious deeds of the Lord,

about his power and his mighty wonders.

5For he issued his laws to Jacob;

he gave his instructions to Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

to teach them to their children,

6so the next generation might know them—

even the children not yet born—

and they in turn will teach their own children.

7So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

not forgetting his glorious miracles

and obeying his commands.

8Then they will not be like their ancestors—

stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,

refusing to give their hearts to God.

9The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows,

turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.

10They did not keep God’s covenant

and refused to live by his instructions.

11They forgot what he had done—

the great wonders he had shown them,

12the miracles he did for their ancestors

on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

13For he divided the sea and led them through,

making the water stand up like walls!

14In the daytime he led them by a cloud,

and all night by a pillar of fire.

15He split open the rocks in the wilderness

to give them water, as from a gushing spring.

16He made streams pour from the rock,

making the waters flow down like a river!

17Yet they kept on sinning against him,

rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18They stubbornly tested God in their hearts,

demanding the foods they craved.

19They even spoke against God himself, saying,

“God can’t give us food in the wilderness.

20Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out,

but he can’t give his people bread and meat.”

21When the Lord heard them, he was furious.

The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob.

Yes, his anger rose against Israel,

22for they did not believe God

or trust him to care for them.

23But he commanded the skies to open;

he opened the doors of heaven.

24He rained down manna for them to eat;

he gave them bread from heaven.

25They ate the food of angels!

God gave them all they could hold.

26He released the east wind in the heavens

and guided the south wind by his mighty power.

27He rained down meat as thick as dust—

birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!

28He caused the birds to fall within their camp

and all around their tents.

29The people ate their fill.

He gave them what they craved.

30But before they satisfied their craving,

while the meat was yet in their mouths,

31the anger of God rose against them,

and he killed their strongest men.

He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men.

32But in spite of this, the people kept sinning.

Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him.

33So he ended their lives in failure,

their years in terror.

34When God began killing them,

they finally sought him.

They repented and took God seriously.

35Then they remembered that God was their rock,

that God Most High*78:35 Hebrew El-Elyon. was their redeemer.

36But all they gave him was lip service;

they lied to him with their tongues.

37Their hearts were not loyal to him.

They did not keep his covenant.

38Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins

and did not destroy them all.

Many times he held back his anger

and did not unleash his fury!

39For he remembered that they were merely mortal,

gone like a breath of wind that never returns.

40Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness

and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.

41Again and again they tested God’s patience

and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

42They did not remember his power

and how he rescued them from their enemies.

43They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt,

his wonders on the plain of Zoan.

44For he turned their rivers into blood,

so no one could drink from the streams.

45He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them

and hordes of frogs to ruin them.

46He gave their crops to caterpillars;

their harvest was consumed by locusts.

47He destroyed their grapevines with hail

and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet.

48He abandoned their cattle to the hail,

their livestock to bolts of lightning.

49He loosed on them his fierce anger—

all his fury, rage, and hostility.

He dispatched against them

a band of destroying angels.

50He turned his anger against them;

he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives

but ravaged them with the plague.

51He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family,

the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.*78:51 Hebrew in the tents of Ham.

52But he led his own people like a flock of sheep,

guiding them safely through the wilderness.

53He kept them safe so they were not afraid;

but the sea covered their enemies.

54He brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this land of hills he had won for them.

55He drove out the nations before them;

he gave them their inheritance by lot.

He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.

56But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High.

They did not obey his laws.

57They turned back and were as faithless as their parents.

They were as undependable as a crooked bow.

58They angered God by building shrines to other gods;

they made him jealous with their idols.

59When God heard them, he was very angry,

and he completely rejected Israel.

60Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,

the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.

61He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured;

he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.

62He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword,

because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession.

63Their young men were killed by fire;

their young women died before singing their wedding songs.

64Their priests were slaughtered,

and their widows could not mourn their deaths.

65Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep,

like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.

66He routed his enemies

and sent them to eternal shame.

67But he rejected Joseph’s descendants;

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

68He chose instead the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loved.

69There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens,

as solid and enduring as the earth.

70He chose his servant David,

calling him from the sheep pens.

71He took David from tending the ewes and lambs

and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—

God’s own people, Israel.

72He cared for them with a true heart

and led them with skillful hands.

Psalm 79

A Lament over Conquered Jerusalem

A psalm of Asaph.

1O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,

your special possession.

They have defiled your holy Temple

and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.

2They have left the bodies of your servants

as food for the birds of heaven.

The flesh of your godly ones

has become food for the wild animals.

3Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;

no one is left to bury the dead.

4We are mocked by our neighbors,

an object of scorn and derision to those around us.

5O Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Forever?

How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

6Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—

on kingdoms that do not call upon your name.

7For they have devoured your people Israel,*79:7 Hebrew devoured Jacob. See note on 44:4.

making the land a desolate wilderness.

8Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors!

Let your compassion quickly meet our needs,

for we are on the brink of despair.

9Help us, O God of our salvation!

Help us for the glory of your name.

Save us and forgive our sins

for the honor of your name.

10Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff,

asking, “Where is their God?”

Show us your vengeance against the nations,

for they have spilled the blood of your servants.

11Listen to the moaning of the prisoners.

Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die.

12O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times

for the scorn they have hurled at you.

13Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will thank you forever and ever,

praising your greatness from generation to generation.

Psalm 80

A Plea for Revival and Restoration

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be sung to the tune “Lilies of the Covenant.”

1Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock.

O God, enthroned above the cherubim,

display your radiant glory

2to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.

Show us your mighty power.

Come to rescue us!

3Turn us again to yourself, O God.

Make your face shine down upon us.

Only then will we be saved.

4O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,

how long will you be angry with our prayers?

5You have fed us with sorrow

and made us drink tears by the bucketful.

6You have made us the scorn*80:6 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads the strife. of neighboring nations.

Our enemies treat us as a joke.

7Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven’s Armies.

Make your face shine down upon us.

Only then will we be saved.

8You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;

you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.

9You cleared the ground for us,

and we took root and filled the land.

10Our shade covered the mountains;

our branches covered the mighty cedars.

11We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea;

our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River.*80:11 Hebrew west to the sea, . . . east to the river.

12But now, why have you broken down our walls

so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?

13The wild boar from the forest devours it,

and the wild animals feed on it.

14Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven’s Armies.

Look down from heaven and see our plight.

Take care of this grapevine

15that you yourself have planted,

this son you have raised for yourself.

16For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies.

May they perish at the sight of your frown.

17Strengthen the man you love,

the son of your choice.

18Then we will never abandon you again.

Revive us so we can call on your name once more.

19Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

Make your face shine down upon us.

Only then will we be saved.

Psalm 81

A Call to the Lord’s Feast

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.*81: title Hebrew according to the gittith.

1Sing praises to God, our strength.

Sing to the God of Jacob.

2Sing! Beat the tambourine.

Play the sweet lyre and the harp.

3Blow the ram’s horn at new moon,

and again at full moon to call a festival!

4For this is required by the decrees of Israel;

it is a regulation of the God of Jacob.

5He made it a law for Israel*81:5 Hebrew for Joseph.

when he attacked Egypt to set us free.

I heard an unknown voice say,

6“Now I will take the load from your shoulders;

I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.

7You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;

I answered out of the thundercloud

and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah.

Interlude

8“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.

O Israel, if you would only listen to me!

9You must never have a foreign god;

you must not bow down before a false god.

10For it was I, the Lord your God,

who rescued you from the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.

11“But no, my people wouldn’t listen.

Israel did not want me around.

12So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,

living according to their own ideas.

13Oh, that my people would listen to me!

Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!

14How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!

How soon my hands would be upon their foes!

15Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him;

they would be doomed forever.

16But I would feed you with the finest wheat.

I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”

Psalm 82

God Judges Unjust Rulers

A psalm of Asaph.

1God presides over heaven’s court;

he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:

2“How long will you hand down unjust decisions

by favoring the wicked?

Interlude

3“Give justice to the poor and the orphan;

uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

4Rescue the poor and helpless;

deliver them from the grasp of evil people.

5But these oppressors know nothing;

they are so ignorant!

They wander about in darkness,

while the whole world is shaken to the core.

6I say, ‘You are gods;

you are all children of the Most High.

7But you will die like mere mortals

and fall like every other ruler.’”

8Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,

for all the nations belong to you.

Psalm 83

A Plea for Victory over Enemies

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

1O God, do not be silent!

Do not be deaf.

Do not be quiet, O God.

2Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?

Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?

3They devise crafty schemes against your people;

they conspire against your precious ones.

4“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.

We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”

5Yes, this was their unanimous decision.

They signed a treaty as allies against you—

6these Edomites and Ishmaelites;

Moabites and Hagrites;

7Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites;

and people from Philistia and Tyre.

8Assyria has joined them, too,

and is allied with the descendants of Lot.

Interlude

9Do to them as you did to the Midianites

and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.

10They were destroyed at Endor,

and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil.

11Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did.

Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12for they said, “Let us seize for our own use

these pasturelands of God!”

13O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed,

like chaff before the wind!

14As a fire burns a forest

and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,

15chase them with your fierce storm;

terrify them with your tempest.

16Utterly disgrace them

until they submit to your name, O Lord.

17Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.

Let them die in disgrace.

18Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord,

that you alone are the Most High,

supreme over all the earth.