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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 79

1 A psalm of Asaph. O God, foreigners have invaded your chosen land; they have polluted your holy temple and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins. 2 They have given the corpses of your servants to the birds of the sky, the flesh of your loyal followers to the beasts of the earth.⁠ 3 They have made their blood flow like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors; those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. 5 How long will this go on, O Lord? Will you stay angry forever? How long will your rage burn like fire? 6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.⁠ 7 For they have devoured Jacob and destroyed his home. 8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations. Quickly send your compassion our way, for we are in serious trouble. 9 Help us, O God, our deliverer! For the sake of your glorious reputation, rescue us. Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.⁠ 10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”⁠ Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants be avenged among the nations. 11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners. Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die. 12 Pay back our neighbors in full. May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord. 13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will continually thank you. We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.

Texts in conversation

Compare Joel 2:17 and Psalm 79:10

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Joel calls on priests to plead with God so that the people won't be mocked with the question, “Where is their God?”, echoing the lament of Psalm 79. Both use the same appeal to highlight national shame in the face of foreign taunts.

Passages

Joel 2:17

Hebrew Bible
17 Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep from the vestibule all the way back to the altar. Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people; please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked, to become a proverb among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” 18 Then the Lord became zealous for his land; he had compassion on his people. 19 The Lord responded to his people, “Look! I am about to restore your grain as well as fresh wine and olive oil. You will be fully satisfied. I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joel

Psalm 79:10

Hebrew Bible
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations. Quickly send your compassion our way, for we are in serious trouble. 9 Help us, O God, our deliverer! For the sake of your glorious reputation, rescue us. Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation. 10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants be avenged among the nations. 11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners. Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die. 12 Pay back our neighbors in full. May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... A distinctive characteristic of [Joel], its use of specific phrases from other canonical works, gives Joel the appearance of a learned interpreter. Where earlier prophets claim to have received their words directly from YHWH, Joel frequently "cites" predecessors. In some instances he probably draws on phrases in vogue at the time, but sometimes Joel may actually quote written texts ... (compare Joel 1:15 - Ezekiel 30:2; Joel 2:2 - Zephaniah 1:14-15; Joel 2:6 - Nahum 2:11; Joel 2:14 - Jonah 3:9; Joel 2:17 - Psalm 79:10; Joel 3:5 - Obadiah 17; Joel 4:1 - Jeremiah 33:15; Joel 4:2 - Isaiah 66:18) ... Establishing priority in such cases is notoriously difficult, and determining dates for insertions into older prophetic complexes seldom carries much conviction (e.g., Isaiah 13:6, 16; Amos 9:13). The texts under scrutiny do include some rather late postexilic entries, particularly Obadiah and Malachi ..."
James L. Crenshaw, Joel (New York: Doubleday, 1995), 26–27.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Joel 2:17 and Psalm 79:10

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