Maschil of Asaph.
O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?
Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old,
Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance;
And mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins,
{Or, The enemy hath wrought all evil}All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.
Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly;
They have set up their ensigns for signs.
They {Or, made themselves known}seemed as men that lifted up
Axes upon a thicket of trees.
And now all the carved work thereof
They break down with hatchet and hammers.
They have set thy sanctuary on fire;
They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name by casting it to the ground.
They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether:
They have burned up all the {Or, places of assembly}synagogues of God in the land.
We see not our signs:
There is no more any prophet;
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach?
Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
Why drawest thou back thy hand, even thy right hand?
Pluck it out of thy bosom and consume them.
Yet God is my King of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst {Hebrew: break up.}divide the sea by thy strength:
Thou brakest the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces;
Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Thou didst cleave fountain and flood:
Thou driedst up {Or, ever-flowing}mighty rivers.
The day is thine, the night also is thine:
Thou hast prepared the {Hebrew: luminary.}light and the sun.
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth:
Thou hast made summer and winter.
Remember this, that the enemy {Or, hath reproached Jehovah}hath reproached, O Jehovah,
And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name.
Oh deliver not {Or, the turtle-dove unto the greedy multitude}the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast:
Forget not the {Or, multitude}life of thy poor for ever.
Have respect unto the covenant;
For the dark places of the {Or, land}earth are full of the habitations of violence.
Oh let not the oppressed return ashamed:
Let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Arise, O God, plead thine own cause:
Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day.
Forget not the voice of thine adversaries:
The tumult of those that rise up against thee {Or, which ascendeth}ascendeth continually.
Querverweise zu Psalm 74,14 Ps 74,14
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,Wherein are things creeping innumerable,Both small and great beasts.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;And his enemies shall lick the dust.
There go the ships;There is leviathan, whom thou hast formed to play {Or, with him See Job 41:5.}therein.
And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
Let them curse it that curse the day,Who are {Or, skilful}ready to rouse up leviathan.
and Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians.
{[Chapter 40:25 in Hebrew]}Canst thou draw out {That is, the crocodile.}leviathan with a fishhook?Or press down his tongue with a cord?
Canst thou put {Hebrew: a rope of rushes.}a rope into his nose?Or pierce his jaw through with a {Or, spike}hook?
Will he make many supplications unto thee?Or will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will he make a covenant with thee,That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him?Will they part him among the merchants?
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons,Or his head with fish-spears?
Lay thy hand upon him;Remember the battle, and do so no more.
{[Chapter 41:1 in Hebrew]}Behold, the hope of him is in vain:Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
None is so fierce that he dare stir him up;Who then is he that can stand before me?
Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him?Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
Who can {Hebrew: uncover the face of his garment.}strip off his outer garment?Who shall come within his jaws?
Who can open the doors of his face? {Or, His teeth are terrible round about}Round about his teeth is terror.
His {Or, courses of scales Hebrew: channels of shields.}strong scales are his pride,Shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another,That no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.
His sneezings flash forth light,And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of his mouth go burning torches,And sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth,As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindleth coals,And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
In his neck abideth strength,And terror danceth before him.
The flakes of his flesh are joined together:They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.
His heart is as firm as a stone;Yea, firm as the nether millstone.
When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid:By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.
If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail;Nor the spear, the dart, nor the {Or, coat of mail}pointed shaft.
He counteth iron as straw,And brass as rotten wood.
The {Hebrew: son of the bow.}arrow cannot make him flee:Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble:He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds:He spreadeth as it were a threshing-wain upon the mire.
He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
He maketh a path to shine after him;One would think the deep to be hoary.
Upon earth there is not his like,That is made without fear.
He beholdeth everything that is high:He is king over all the sons of pride.
Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore.
In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the {Or, gliding Or, fleeing}swift serpent, and leviathan the {Or, winding}crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
Only rebel not against Jehovah, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their {Hebrew: shadow.}defence is removed from over them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not.
And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,