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Psalm 79:5
How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
3They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem. There was no one to bury them.
4We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those who are around us.
5How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name,
7for they have devoured Jacob, and destroyed his homeland.
Notice
“Forever” sharpens the lament: amid Jerusalem’s unburied dead and neighbors’ scorn, the speaker asks whether God’s burning anger will ever end.
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What changes in your reading of these questions when you picture Jerusalem’s unburied dead?
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Write on thisHow does the image of burning jealousy shape your understanding of the speaker’s plea?
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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
Psalm 89:46How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?Both prayers ask how long the LORD’s anger will last and describe it as fire, with the word “forever” sharpening their distress.
Deuteronomy 29:20The LORD will not pardon him, but then the LORD’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book will fall …Both texts join the LORD’s anger and jealousy with images of burning, though Deuteronomy announces judgment while the psalm questions its duration.
Psalm 74:1A contemplation by Asaph. God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?Both prayers ask whether God’s displeasure will last forever, describing his anger through the heat of fire.
Psalm 85:5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations?Both prayers address God with the same fear: that his anger toward his people might continue forever.
Zephaniah 3:8“Therefore wait for me”, says the LORD, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the …Both describe God’s jealousy as fire; Psalm 79 questions its duration, while Zephaniah announces judgment upon gathered nations and kingdoms.
Psalm 13:1–2For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?Both address the LORD with questions about duration and forever, one fearing anger and the other fearing being forgotten.
Ezekiel 36:5therefore the Lord GOD says: “Surely in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed my …Both speak of God’s jealousy as fire; Ezekiel directs that jealousy against nations that have claimed his land.
Isaiah 30:27Behold, the LORD’s name comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke. His lips are full of indignation. His tongue is as a devouring …Both portray the LORD’s anger through burning fire, giving his displeasure a fierce and consuming character.
Jeremiah 3:12Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, you backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not look in anger on you, for I am merciful,’ …Psalm 79 asks whether God will remain angry forever; Jeremiah records his declaration to backsliding Israel that he will not.
Lamentations 2:3He has cut off all the horn of Israel in fierce anger. He has drawn back his right hand from before the enemy. He has burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, …Both describe God’s anger as fire amid devastation involving Jacob, with Lamentations naming the destruction that anger has brought.
Daniel 8:13Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will the vision about the continual burnt offering, and …Both ask how long devastation will continue, though Daniel’s question concerns a vision of the sanctuary and army being trampled.
Genesis 44:18Then Judah came near to him, and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and don’t let your anger burn against your …Both use burning anger in an appeal to a superior, though Judah addresses a human ruler and the psalm addresses God.
Where this verse fits
Grief. feeling distant from God. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
These questions remain prayer, addressed to YHWH amid devastation. The verse offers no timetable for relief; even the fear of enduring anger is spoken to God.
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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).