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Psalm 74:21

Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.

19Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.
20Honor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.
21Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.
22Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.
23Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.
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← Psalm 74:20Psalm 74:22 →
Notice

The plea that the oppressed should not return ashamed links their need for help with the hope that they will praise God’s name.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What would returning ashamed look like for someone whose need you know?

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How does asking for the poor to praise God shape your prayer for their relief?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

7 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
Psalm 67:3let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.Both prayers ask that people praise God; Psalm 74 names the poor and needy, while Psalm 67 asks for all peoples.
Psalm 12:5“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in safety from those who …Both passages concern oppression and need: Psalm 74 pleads for help, and Psalm 12 records God’s promise to act.
Psalm 103:6The LORD executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.The oppressed are central to both texts: one asks God to help them, and the other declares his justice for them.
Psalm 9:18For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.Both name the poor and needy, connecting their plight with hope that they will not remain forgotten or ashamed.
Ezra 3:11They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people …Both speak of praise to God, though Ezra describes praise already sounding and Psalm 74 asks that the needy may praise.
Isaiah 45:17Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.Psalm 74 asks that the oppressed avoid shame; Isaiah promises Israel salvation without lasting disappointment or confusion.
Jeremiah 33:11the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to the LORD of …Both look toward voices praising God, though Jeremiah describes joy and thanksgiving while Psalm 74 pleads for the poor and needy.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. waiting.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about patience →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray both lines for someone facing oppression

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Encouragement

You need no report of rescue before praying these words. Amid violence, the psalm asks God to help the oppressed and let the needy praise his name.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 74:21. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 74 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).