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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 Psalm 79:6 and Jeremiah 10:25

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Jeremiah 10 and Psalm 79 share language, based on Deuteronomy, asking God to judge the nations that do not acknowledge him. In both, the appeal is not only for justice but an appeal to God to defend his own honor, to act against those who attack Israel.

Passages

Psalm 79:6

Hebrew Bible
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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Jeremiah 10:25

Hebrew Bible
23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. 24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. Do not punish us in anger, or you will reduce us to nothing. 25 Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. Vent it on the peoples who do not worship you. For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. They have completely destroyed them and left their homeland in utter ruin.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

References

"... Sirach 36:7 contains a fervent request ... These imperative petitions have parallels in Jeremiah 10:25 and Psalm 79:6 ("Pour out your wrath on the nations"), and Psalm 78:38 ("He restrained his anger and did not stir up all his wrath"). Both psalms - Psalm 78 and 79 - are history psalms that contain many Deuteronomistic expressions and features. As the analysis so far has shown, also the prayer in Sirach 36 is branded by its adherence to Deuteronomistic themes and vocabulary ..."
Marko Marttila, Foreign Nations in the Wisdom of Ben Sira: A Jewish Sage between Opposition and Assimilation, DCLS 13 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2012), 140.

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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Psalm 79:6 and Jeremiah 10:25

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