Psalm 13:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
I
2 How long, Lord? Will you utterly forget me?
How long will you hide your face from me?(A)
Psalm 44:24
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 74:1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 74[a]
Prayer at the Destruction of the Temple
1 A maskil of Asaph.
I
Why, God, have you cast us off forever?[b](A)
Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?(B)
Footnotes
- Psalm 74 A communal lament sung when the enemy invaded the Temple; it would be especially appropriate at the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. Israel’s God is urged to look upon the ruined sanctuary and remember the congregation who worshiped there (Ps 74:1–11). People and sanctuary are bound together; an attack on Zion is an attack on Israel. In the second half of the poem, the community brings before God the story of their origins—their creation (Ps 74:12–17)—in order to move God to reenact that deed of creation now. Will God allow a lesser power to destroy the divine project (Ps 74:18–23)?
- 74:1 Forever: the word implies that the disaster is already of long duration, cf. Ps 74:9 and note.
Psalm 79:5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
II
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous anger keep burning like fire?(A)
Psalm 89:47
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
47 How long, Lord? Will you hide forever?
Must your wrath smolder like fire?(A)
Deuteronomy 4:24
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
24 For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.[a](A)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 4:24 A jealous God: Hebrew ’el qanna. The root of the adjective qanna expresses the idea of intense feeling focused on solicitude for someone or something; see, e.g., Ps 69:10; Sg 8:6; Is 9:6; 37:32; Ez 39:25. The Septuagint translated the adjective as zelotes, and the Vulgate followed suit; hence the traditional English rendering “jealous” (and sometimes “zealous”) found in the Douai-Rheims and King James versions. In modern usage, however, “jealous” denotes unreasonable, petty possessiveness, a meaning, even as nuance, wanting in the Hebrew. In the first commandment (5:6–10; Ex 20:2–6) and passages derived from it (like 4:24; 6:15; Ex 34:14; Jos 24:19; Na 1:2), Israel’s God is represented as totally committed to his purpose, and Israel is put on notice to take him and his directives for their life as a people with equal seriousness.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.