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Psalm 74:13
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
11Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them!
12Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth.
13You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
15You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.
Notice
Broken heads and a divided sea make God's victory stark and violent in a lament where his people are still asking him to act.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What would you want to say to God after reading about the sea monsters' broken heads?
Write on thisHow does the plea in verse 11 shape your reading of “by your strength” in verse 13?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 14:21Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters …Both describe God dividing the sea; Exodus names Moses' outstretched hand and the strong east wind through which God acts.
Job 26:12He stirs up the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab.Both describe God's power over the sea together with his defeat of a creature, called Rahab in Job.
Psalm 78:13He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.Both recall God splitting the sea; Psalm 78 adds that he caused people to pass through.
Ezekiel 29:3Speak and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers, that has said, …Both portray God opposing monsters in water; Ezekiel identifies its monster as Pharaoh, while Psalm 74 leaves its monsters unnamed.
Isaiah 51:9–10Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of the LORD! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who …Both recall God's strength through violent defeat of monsters, with broken heads in the psalm and piercing in Isaiah.
Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, ‘You were likened to a young lion of the nations; yet you are as a monster in the …Both use sea-monster imagery; Ezekiel compares Pharaoh to a monster troubling the waters, while Psalm 74 describes monsters God defeated.
Isaiah 51:15For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. the LORD of Armies is his name.Both attribute power over the sea to God, whether dividing its waters or making its waves roar.
Isaiah 11:15–16The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven …Both describe God's power to divide waters; Isaiah speaks of splitting the River into streams people can cross.
Nehemiah 9:11You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into …Both address God as the one who divided the sea, and both describe destruction within its waters.
Psalm 106:8–9Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power known.Both speak of God's mighty power, with Psalm 74 recalling victory in the sea and Psalm 106 naming salvation.
Exodus 14:28The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one …Both describe destruction in the sea: Psalm 74 depicts broken monsters, while Exodus recounts the drowning of Pharaoh's army.
Psalm 66:6He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him.Both recall God's command over the sea; Psalm 66 describes dry land and people crossing the river on foot.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. feeling distant from God. waiting.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The prayer remembers God's strength while help is still being sought. You do not have to hide that tension: the sea and its monsters are beneath God's power.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).