Psalms 79

KJV · Chapter 79/150

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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A national lament after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple: the bodies of God's servants were left unburied, and the people cry out for help and just vengeance against the invaders.

Explanation

This is a communal lament psalm, a literary genre used after great national tragedies — many scholars associate this text with the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. Leaving the dead unburied was considered an extreme dishonor in ancient culture, which is why verse 3 emphasizes this shocking detail. The psalm does not hide the pain or pretend acceptance; it cries out to God asking for justice, but ends with a vow of continual praise. Today's application is that biblical faith allows for openly lamenting before God without that being a lack of faith.

Fun facts

  • Communal lament psalms like this one (also 74 and 137) form their own genre within the book of Psalms, used in moments of national crisis.
  • The request for 'sevenfold' retribution (v. 12) reflects a common principle of proportional justice in ancient Near Eastern culture, not a call for excessive personal revenge.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Psalms 79:1Describes, without literary exaggeration, the real destruction of the city and the temple — likely by the Babylonians in 586 BC — the historical backdrop explaining the tone of mourning and outrage in the whole psalm.
  2. Psalms 79:2Leaving bodies unburied, becoming food for birds and beasts, was the worst possible dishonor in the ancient world: denying a fallen warrior even the basic right to burial.
  3. Psalms 79:3Blood “like water” is an image of mass slaughter, lives treated as worthless. No one being left to bury the dead repeats the same ultimate dishonor already mentioned in the previous verse.
  4. Psalms 79:4Being a source of ridicule to neighboring peoples was an added humiliation on top of the military defeat: the fall of Jerusalem became a joke among nations that had long rivaled Israel.
  5. Psalms 79:5“How long” is a cry of anguish repeated in several lament psalms, not a calculated question about deadlines — it is the poetic way of saying the suffering already feels too long to bear.
  6. Psalms 79:6The request is not for Israel to escape all divine wrath, but for that wrath to turn against the nations that attacked the people, sparing those who suffered the invasion.
  7. Psalms 79:7“Jacob” functions here as a poetic name for the whole people of Israel, recalling the patriarch from whom the twelve tribes descend — a device common in the Psalms for speaking of the entire nation.
  8. Psalms 79:8The request is not for exemption from all guilt, but that God not punish based on accumulated sins of past generations: the people are already so beaten down that they beg for immediate help.
  9. Psalms 79:9“Purge” here carries the old sense of wiping away, that is, blotting out: the request is not based on personal merit, but that God act for the sake of His own reputation — delivering the people also protects the honor of His name.
  10. Psalms 79:10If Jerusalem is destroyed without response, the neighboring nations will mock, asking where the God of Israel is: behind the plea for help lies concern for God’s reputation before the world.
  11. Psalms 79:11“Thy power” is a common image of God’s strength. “The prisoner” and those “appointed to die” are probably the captives taken by the invaders, whose only hope now is divine intervention.
  12. Psalms 79:12This is an imprecation using an image of measure: the bosom, the fold of a garment used as a pocket, was where grain or objects were carried. To “render into their bosom” means paying back the harm received multiplied, fully and visibly.
  13. Psalms 79:13The psalm ends like many Hebrew laments: despite the pain described, it closes with a vow of continual praise, using the image of the shepherd and the flock to describe the relationship between God and the people.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.