Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 79

Psalm 79: a plea after the heathen defile the temple and lay Jerusalem on heaps

General context

The community speaks to God: the heathen have come into thine inheritance, defiled the holy temple and laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of God's servants have been given as meat to the fowls and beasts, their blood shed like water round about Jerusalem with none to bury them. The speakers say they have become a reproach and derision to their neighbours. They ask how long the Lord will be angry and whether his jealousy will burn like fire, then ask him to pour out wrath on the heathen who have not known him and have devoured Jacob. They ask God not to remember former iniquities against them, to let his tender mercies come quickly because they are brought very low, and to help, deliver and purge away their sins for his name's sake. They ask why the heathen should say, Where is their God, and ask that God be known among the heathen by revenging the blood of his servants. They ask that the sighing of the prisoner come before God and that those appointed to die be preserved, and that the neighbours receive sevenfold their reproach. The psalm ends with a promise: we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thanks for ever and shew forth thy praise to all generations.

Cited passages: Psalms 79:1, Psalms 79:2, Psalms 79:3, Psalms 79:4, Psalms 79:5, Psalms 79:6, Psalms 79:7, Psalms 79:8, Psalms 79:9, Psalms 79:10, Psalms 79:11, Psalms 79:12, Psalms 79:13

Psalms 79 (KJV)

¹O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

²The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

³Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.

⁴We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

⁵How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

⁶Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

⁷For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.

⁸O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.

¹⁰Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

¹¹Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

¹²And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

¹³So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm opens with O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. The speakers are plural, we and us, and identify themselves as thy people and sheep of thy pasture. What they report is specific: a defiled temple, Jerusalem laid on heaps, unburied bodies, blood round about Jerusalem, neighbours who mock, prisoners sighing, people appointed to die. The attackers are called only the heathen and the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name; no nation or king is named, and no date is given. The speakers admit former iniquities and our sins alongside the complaint, so the psalm holds both the enemies' violence and the people's own guilt. The request for vengeance is stated plainly as revenging the blood of thy servants which is shed and rendering reproach sevenfold. There is no Selah in this psalm.

Cited passages: Psalms 79:1, Psalms 79:13, Psalms 79:3, Psalms 79:6, Psalms 79:8, Psalms 79:9, Psalms 79:10, Psalms 79:11, Psalms 79:12

Literary context

The psalm moves from report to question to petition to promise. Verses 1 to 4 state what has happened in the past tense; verse 5 breaks in with How long, Lord? and the rest is request. The word reproach frames the poem: the speakers are a reproach to their neighbours in verse 4, and in verse 12 they ask that the neighbours' reproach be returned sevenfold. The mockers' question, Where is their God, is quoted so that God's answer would be known among the heathen in our sight. The reasons given for help are tied to God's name rather than to the people's merit: for the glory of thy name and for thy name's sake. The image of sheep of thy pasture at the close answers the opening image of an inheritance invaded, and the last line turns the complaint into a promised praise to all generations.

Cited passages: Psalms 79:5, Psalms 79:4, Psalms 79:12, Psalms 79:10, Psalms 79:9, Psalms 79:13, Psalms 79:1

Key moments

Jerusalem on heaps (Psalms 79:1). The speakers tell God that the heathen have defiled his temple and ruined Jerusalem.
None to bury them (Psalms 79:3). Blood is shed like water around Jerusalem and the dead lie unburied.
How long, Lord? (Psalms 79:5). The report turns into a question about the length of God's anger.
For thy name's sake (Psalms 79:9). The speakers ask for help and cleansing on account of God's name.
Where is their God? (Psalms 79:10). The mockers' question becomes the ground for asking God to act in sight of the heathen.
Sheep who promise thanks (Psalms 79:13). The people vow praise for ever and to all generations.

For reflection

The speakers ask for vengeance on their neighbours and in the same breath ask to be purged of their own sins. How do those two requests sit together in the psalm, and which one does the final promise of praise seem to rest on?