Psalms 74:2-4
Context74:2 Remember your people 1 whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued 2 so they could be your very own nation, 3
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!
74:3 Hurry and look 4 at the permanent ruins,
and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! 5
74:4 Your enemies roar 6 in the middle of your sanctuary; 7
they set up their battle flags. 8
1 tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.
2 tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).
3 tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).
4 tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”
5 tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”
6 tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.
7 tn Heb “your meeting place.”
8 tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).