Psalm 74:8
New International Version
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

New Living Translation
Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.

English Standard Version
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

Berean Standard Bible
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.

King James Bible
They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

New King James Version
They said in their hearts, “Let us destroy them altogether.” They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.

New American Standard Bible
They said in their heart, “Let’s completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

NASB 1995
They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

NASB 1977
They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

Legacy Standard Bible
They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

Amplified Bible
They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

Christian Standard Bible
They said in their hearts, “Let’s oppress them relentlessly.” They burned every place throughout the land where God met with us.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They said in their hearts,” Let us oppress them relentlessly.” They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.

American Standard Version
They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether: They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

Contemporary English Version
They said to themselves, "We'll crush them!" Then they burned every one of your meeting places all over the country.

English Revised Version
They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They said to themselves, "We will crush them." They burned every meeting place of God in the land.

Good News Translation
They wanted to crush us completely; they burned down every holy place in the land.

International Standard Version
They say to themselves, "We'll crush them completely;" They burned down all the meeting places of God in the land.

Majority Standard Bible
They said in their hearts, ?We will crush them completely.? They burned down every place where God met us in the land.

NET Bible
They say to themselves, "We will oppress all of them." They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land.

New Heart English Bible
They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely." They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.

Webster's Bible Translation
They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

World English Bible
They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
They said in their hearts, “Let us oppress them together,” "" They burned all the meeting-places of God in the land.

Young's Literal Translation
They said in their hearts, 'Let us oppress them together,' They did burn all the meeting-places of God in the land.

Smith's Literal Translation
They said in their heart, We will rage against them together: they burnt up all the appointments of God in the earth.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: Let us abolish all the festival days of God from the land.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They have said in their heart, the whole group of them together: “Let us cause all the feast days of God to cease from the land.

New American Bible
They said in their hearts, “We will destroy them all! Burn all the assembly-places of God in the land!”

New Revised Standard Version
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together; let us abolish all the feast days of God from the land.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They said in her heart, "We will destroy them together and we will destroy all the feast days of God from the land.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
They said in their heart: 'Let us make havoc of them altogether'; They have burned up all the meeting-places of God in the land.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They have said in their heart, even all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Why Have You Rejected Us Forever?
7They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name. 8They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land. 9There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 52:13
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.

2 Kings 25:9
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.

Lamentations 2:6-7
He has laid waste His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His place of meeting. The LORD has made Zion forget her appointed feasts and Sabbaths. In His fierce anger He has despised both king and priest. / The Lord has rejected His altar; He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of the LORD as on the day of an appointed feast.

2 Chronicles 36:19
Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value.

Isaiah 64:11
Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.

Ezekiel 7:21-22
And I will hand these things over as plunder to foreigners and loot to the wicked of the earth, who will defile them. / I will turn My face away from them, and they will defile My treasured place. Violent men will enter it, and they will defile it.

Micah 3:12
Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.

Nehemiah 1:3
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

Jeremiah 7:14
therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.

Amos 2:5
So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

Matthew 24:2
“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Mark 13:2
“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Luke 21:6
“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Acts 6:14
For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

John 2:19
Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”


Treasury of Scripture

They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

said

Psalm 83:4
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

Psalm 137:7
Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

Esther 3:8,9
And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them…

destroy.

2 Kings 2:3,5
And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace…

2 Kings 4:23
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

2 Chronicles 17:9
And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.

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Altogether Assembly Burn Burned Completely Crush Destroy Fire God's Havoc Heart Hearts Meeting Meeting-Places Oppress Places Subdue Synagogues Themselves Together Utterly Worship Worshiped
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Altogether Assembly Burn Burned Completely Crush Destroy Fire God's Havoc Heart Hearts Meeting Meeting-Places Oppress Places Subdue Synagogues Themselves Together Utterly Worship Worshiped
Psalm 74
1. The prophet complains of the desolation of the sanctuary
10. He moves God to help in consideration of his power
18. Of his reproachful enemies, or his children and of his covenant.














They said in their hearts
This phrase reveals the inner thoughts and intentions of the adversaries of Israel. In Hebrew, the heart (לֵב, "lev") often represents the center of one's being, encompassing mind, will, and emotions. The adversaries' plotting against God's people is not just a surface-level action but a deep-seated intention. This highlights the seriousness of their rebellion against God, as it is premeditated and rooted in their very being. Historically, this reflects the persistent opposition Israel faced from surrounding nations, who often sought to undermine their faith and practices.

Let us crush them completely
The word "crush" (שָׁמַם, "shamem") in Hebrew conveys a sense of utter desolation and destruction. The enemies' goal was not merely to defeat Israel but to obliterate their identity and existence. This reflects the spiritual warfare that believers face, where the enemy seeks to destroy faith and testimony. The historical context may point to times when Israel's enemies sought to eradicate their worship and culture, such as during the Babylonian exile.

They burned down all the meeting places of God in the land
The "meeting places of God" (מוֹעֵד, "moed") refer to the sacred spaces where the Israelites gathered to worship and encounter God. The destruction of these places signifies a direct attack on the worship and religious life of the community. In the ancient Near East, temples and altars were central to a nation's identity and spiritual life. The burning of these places was not just a physical act but a symbolic attempt to sever the connection between God and His people. This echoes the historical events where invaders destroyed the temple and other sacred sites, aiming to demoralize and disperse the Israelites.

(8) All the synagogues of God in the land.--This expression excludes from moed either of the meanings possible for it in Psalm 74:4, "the Temple" or "the assembly." Buildings, and these places of worship, must be meant, and it is implied that they are scattered over the land, and can therefore mean nothing but synagogues. The "high places" would' not be called God's, nor would Bethel and Dan have been so called, being connected with irregular and unorthodox worship. Thus we have a clear note of time, indicating a period not only later than the rise of the synagogue in Ezra's time, but much later, since it takes time for a new institution to spread over a country. Aquila and Symmachus actually render "synagogues." Possibly the LXX. are right in putting the latter clause into the mouth of the enemies, "let us burn," &c

Verse 8. - They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them altogether. It was, no doubt, the intention of Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Israel as a nation. Hence the complete destruction of the city and temple (2 Kings 25:9, 10; 2 Chronicles 36:19; Lamentations 2:1-9, etc.); hence the deportation of all the strength of the nation (2 Kings 24:14-16; 2 Kings 25:11), and their settlement in the far off region of Babylonia; hence the desolation, not only of Jerusalem, but of "all the habitations of Jacob" (Lamentations 2:2), all the "strongholds of the daughter of Judah" (Lamentations 2:2, 5). They have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land. The synagogue system was first introduced by Ezra, according to Jewish tradition; and it has been argued that the mention of "synagogues" here - literally, "sacred meeting places" - proves the psalm to be Maccabean. But meeting places for worship, other than the temple, always existed in Palestine, both before and after its erection. Mesha speaks of having plundered a "house of Jehovah" in his war with Ahab ('Records of the Past,' vol. 11:p. 167); and it is plain from 2 Kings 4:23 that religious meetings were held by the prophets, probably in houses devoted to the purpose, during the period of the divided monarchy. Hezekiah's destruction of the high places (2 Kings 18:4) is not likely to have interfered with the use of these buildings, to which no savour of idolatry can have attached in the mind of the most violent iconoclast. I should therefore believe, with Leopold Low, that buildings existed before the Exile, in which religious instruction was given by authorized teachers.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They said
אָמְר֣וּ (’ā·mə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

in their hearts,
בְ֭לִבָּם (ḇə·lib·bām)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

“We will crush them
נִינָ֣ם (nî·nām)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3238: To rage, be violent, to suppress, to maltreat

completely.”
יָ֑חַד (yā·ḥaḏ)
Adverb
Strong's 3162: A unit, unitedly

They burned down
שָׂרְפ֖וּ (śā·rə·p̄ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8313: To be, on fire

every
כָל־ (ḵāl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

place
מוֹעֲדֵי־ (mō·w·‘ă·ḏê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4150: Appointed time, place, or meeting

where God met us
אֵ֣ל (’êl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 410: Strength -- as adjective, mighty, the Almighty

in the land.
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ (bā·’ā·reṣ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land


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OT Poetry: Psalm 74:8 They said in their heart We will (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 74:7
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