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Psalm 74:9
We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
7They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.
8They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.
9We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
10How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them!
Notice
With the sanctuary burned, the absence of signs and prophets leaves the people facing devastation without anyone who can say how long it will last.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What, if anything, are you waiting through without knowing how long it will last?
Write on thisHow does the loss of both sanctuary and prophets shape your reading of this lament?
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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
Amos 8:11Behold, the days come,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the LORD’s …Amos describes a famine of hearing God's words; the psalm mourns the absence of prophets who could speak into the devastation.
1 Samuel 3:1The child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. The LORD’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then.Samuel's childhood setting has few visions and a rare word from God; the psalm describes no miraculous signs and no prophet.
Psalm 86:17Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.Psalm 86 asks for a sign of God's goodness, while Psalm 74 laments that no miraculous signs are seen.
Proverbs 29:18Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but one who keeps the law is blessed.Both passages name the absence of revelation, though Proverbs describes lost restraint and the psalm describes uncertainty about how long devastation will last.
Ezekiel 7:26Mischief will come on mischief, and rumor will be on rumor. They will seek a vision of the prophet; but the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from …Ezekiel describes people seeking a prophetic vision amid mounting disaster; the psalm laments devastation with no prophet among the people.
Isaiah 30:20Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won’t be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your …Both concern access to those who teach or speak for God: Isaiah promises visible teachers, while the psalm reports no prophet.
1 Samuel 28:6When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD didn’t answer him by dreams, by Urim, or by prophets.Saul receives no answer through prophets; the people in the psalm have no prophet and no one who knows how long.
Lamentations 2:9Her gates have sunk into the ground. He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not. Yes, her …Lamentations describes ruined gates and prophets without a vision from God; the psalm describes a burned sanctuary and no prophet.
2 Kings 3:11But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” One of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Elisha …Jehoshaphat seeks a prophet through whom to inquire of God; the psalm laments that no prophet is present.
Exodus 13:9–10It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has …Both mention a sign, though Exodus describes a memorial of deliverance and the psalm reports the absence of miraculous signs.
Micah 3:6“Therefore night is over you, with no vision, and it is dark to you, that you may not divine; and the sun will go down on the prophets, and the day will be …Micah describes darkness over the prophets with no vision; the psalm mourns the absence of prophets and miraculous signs.
Ezekiel 20:12Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.Both mention signs: Ezekiel names the Sabbaths as God's sign to his people, while the psalm laments seeing no miraculous signs.
Where this verse fits
Waiting. feeling distant from God. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
You do not have to invent an end date for suffering to pray. Here, God's people speak to him while no one knows how long.
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).