Psalm 74 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Psalm 74 is a psalm of supplication or lament. It includes all the basic elements of that type of psalm except a vow of praise. (There is only the hint of a vow of praise in verse 21b.) See the discussion of the types of psalms in the introduction to the book of Psalms. 1. Cry for help (1–3) 2. Description of troubles (4–9) 3. Cry for help (10–11) 4. Statement of trust (12–17) 5. Petition (18–23)The superscription to this psalm identifies it as a “maskil.” See the discussion of that term in the introduction to Psalms.

Translation Issues in this Psalm

Imperatives

Throughout this psalm, the psalmist is requesting things from Yahweh by using an imperative form which may sound like a command in your language. If this would be impolite in your language, then use a form that would be more appropriate for addressing Yahweh with a request.

Parallelisms

Parallelisms arise when two phrases occur together which mean the same thing. The second phrase emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea using different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine the phrases and express the emphasis in another way. Another approach would be to connect the phrases with a word that shows that the second phrase is repeating the first one and not saying something additional. See how your translation team has decided to represent pairs of phrases in Hebrew poetry that mean basically the same thing.