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let him be known among the heathen in our sight <i>by</i> the revenging of the blood of thy servants <i>which is</i> shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/psalms/79.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where <i>is</i> their God?” Let there be known among the nations in our sight The avenging of the blood of Your servants <i>which has been</i> shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/psalms/79.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed Be known among the nations in our sight.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/psalms/79.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, &#8220Where is their God?&#8221 Let there be known among the nations in our sight, Vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/psalms/79.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let there be known among the nations in our sight, Vengeance for the blood of Thy servants, which has been shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/psalms/79.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let it be known among the nations before our eyes: Vengeance for the blood of Your slaves which has been poured out.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/psalms/79.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?” Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation], Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/psalms/79.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations ask, “Where is their God? ” Before our eyes, let vengeance for the shed blood of your servants be known among the nations.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/psalms/79.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations ask,&#8221 Where is their God?&#8221 Before our eyes, let vengeance for the shed blood of Your servants be known among the nations. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/psalms/79.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/psalms/79.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />Why should nations ask us, "Where is your God?" Let us and the other nations see you take revenge for your servants who died a violent death. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/psalms/79.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed be known among the heathen in our sight.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/psalms/79.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />Why should the nations [be allowed to] say, "Where is their God?" Let us watch as the nations learn that there is punishment for shedding the blood of your servants.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/psalms/79.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Why should the nations ask us, "Where is your God?" Let us see you punish the nations for shedding the blood of your servants. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/psalms/79.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let vengeance for the blood of your servants be meted out before our eyes and among the nations.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/psalms/79.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations ask, ?Where is their God?? Before our eyes, make known among the nations Your vengeance for the bloodshed of Your servants.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/psalms/79.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants be avenged among the nations! <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/psalms/79.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the nations, before our eyes, that vengeance for your servants' blood is being poured out.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/psalms/79.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by avenging the blood of thy servants which is shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/psalms/79.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let it be known among the nations, before our eyes, that vengeance for your servants’ blood is being poured out. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/psalms/79.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Why do the nations say, “Where [is] their God?” Let [it] be known among the nations before our eyes, "" The vengeance of the blood of Your servants that is shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/psalms/79.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Why do the nations say, 'Where is their God?' Let be known among the nations before our eyes, The vengeance of the blood of Thy servants that is shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/psalms/79.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Wherefore shall the nations say, Where is their God? He will make known among the nations before our eyes the vengeance of the blood of thy servants being poured out.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/psalms/79.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Lest they should say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? And let him be made known among the nations before our eyes, By the revenging the blood of thy servants, which hath been shed: <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/psalms/79.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br /><V 78:10>Let them not say among the Gentiles, “Where is their God?” And may your name become known among the nations before our eyes. For the retribution of your servants’ blood, which has been poured out:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/psalms/79.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes make known to the nations that you avenge the blood of your servants which has been poured out. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/psalms/79.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/psalms/79.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? Let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/psalms/79.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Lest the Gentiles say, "Where is your God?” Let the vengeance of the blood of your Servants that is shed be known among the Gentiles before our eyes.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/psalms/79.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Wherefore should the nations say: 'Where is their God?' Let the avenging of Thy servants' blood that is shed Be made known among the nations in our sight.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/psalms/79.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Lets haply they should say among the heathen, Where is their God? and let the avenging of thy servant's blood that has been shed be known among the heathen before our eyes.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/psalms/79-10.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nFaD2oDhKPc?start=10027" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/psalms/79.htm">A Prayer for Deliverance</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">9</span>Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name. <span class="reftext">10</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/4100.htm" title="4100: lām·māh (Interrog) -- What? how? anything. ">Why</a> <a href="/hebrew/1471.htm" title="1471: hag·gō·w·yim (Art:: N-mp) -- Rarely goy; apparently from the same root as gevah; a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts.">should the nations</a> <a href="/hebrew/559.htm" title="559: yō·mə·rū (V-Qal-Imperf-3mp) -- To utter, say. A primitive root; to say.">ask,</a> <a href="/hebrew/346.htm" title="346: ’ay·yêh (Interrog) -- Where?. Prolonged from 'ay; where?.">“Where</a> <a href="/hebrew/430.htm" title="430: ’ĕlō·hê·hem (N-mpc:: 3mp) -- Plural of 'elowahh; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used of the supreme God">is their God?”</a> <a href="/hebrew/5869.htm" title="5869: lə·‘ê·nê·nū (Prep-l:: N-cdc:: 1cp) -- An eye. Probably a primitive word; an eye; by analogy, a fountain.">Before our eyes,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3045.htm" title="3045: yiw·wā·ḏa‘ (V-Nifal-Imperf-3ms) -- A primitive root; to know; used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially.">make known</a> <a href="/hebrew/1471.htm" title="1471: bag·gī·yīm (Prep-b, Art:: N-mp) -- Rarely goy; apparently from the same root as gevah; a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts.">among the nations</a> <a href="/hebrew/5360.htm" title="5360: niq·maṯ (N-fsc) -- Vengeance. Feminine of naqam; avengement, whether the act of the passion.">Your vengeance</a> <a href="/hebrew/1818.htm" title="1818: dam- (N-msc) -- Blood. From damam; blood of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of the grape; figuratively bloodshed.">for the bloodshed</a> <a href="/hebrew/8210.htm" title="8210: haš·šā·p̄ūḵ (Art:: V-Qal-QalPassPrtcpl-ms) -- To pour out, pour. A primitive root; to spill forth; also to expend; intensively, to sprawl out."></a> <a href="/hebrew/5650.htm" title="5650: ‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā (N-mpc:: 2ms) -- Slave, servant. From abad; a servant.">of Your servants.</a> </span><span class="reftext">11</span>May the groans of the captives reach You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/36-20.htm">Ezekiel 36:20-23</a></span><br />And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.’ / But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had gone. / Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/joel/2-17.htm">Joel 2:17</a></span><br />Let the priests who minister before the LORD weep between the portico and the altar, saying, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your heritage a reproach, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/32-27.htm">Deuteronomy 32:27</a></span><br />if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/52-5.htm">Isaiah 52:5</a></span><br />And now what have I here? declares the LORD. For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/14-7.htm">Jeremiah 14:7-9</a></span><br />Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You. / O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night? / Why are You like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? Yet You are among us, O LORD, and we are called by Your name. Do not forsake us!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/micah/7-10.htm">Micah 7:10</a></span><br />Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/42-3.htm">Psalm 42:3</a></span><br />My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/115-2.htm">Psalm 115:2</a></span><br />Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/10-25.htm">Jeremiah 10:25</a></span><br />Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/lamentations/2-15.htm">Lamentations 2:15-16</a></span><br />All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?” / All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_kings/19-16.htm">2 Kings 19:16-19</a></span><br />Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God. / Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands. / They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/daniel/9-16.htm">Daniel 9:16-19</a></span><br />O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, I pray that Your anger and wrath may turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us. / So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary. / Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/2-24.htm">Romans 2:24</a></span><br />As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/6-10.htm">Revelation 6:10</a></span><br />And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/27-39.htm">Matthew 27:39-43</a></span><br />And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads / and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” / In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, ...</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of your servants which is shed.</p><p class="hdg">wherefore</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/42-3.htm">Psalm 42:3,10</a></b></br> My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where <i>is</i> thy God? … </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/115-2.htm">Psalm 115:2</a></b></br> Wherefore should the heathen say, Where <i>is</i> now their God?</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/joel/2-17.htm">Joel 2:17</a></b></br> Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where <i>is</i> their God?</p><p class="hdg">let him</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/9-16.htm">Psalm 9:16</a></b></br> The LORD is known <i>by</i> the judgment <i>which</i> he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/58-11.htm">Psalm 58:11</a></b></br> So that a man shall say, Verily <i>there is</i> a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/83-17.htm">Psalm 83:17,18</a></b></br> Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: … </p><p class="hdg">by the</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/jeremiah/51-35.htm">Jeremiah 51:35</a></b></br> The violence done to me and to my flesh <i>be</i> upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/revelation/18-20.htm">Revelation 18:20</a></b></br> Rejoice over her, <i>thou</i> heaven, and <i>ye</i> holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.</p><p class="hdg">revenging.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/romans/12-19.htm">Romans 12:19</a></b></br> Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but <i>rather</i> give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance <i>is</i> mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/esther/8-13.htm">Avenge</a> <a href="/1_samuel/25-33.htm">Avenging</a> <a href="/psalms/79-3.htm">Blood</a> <a href="/psalms/78-12.htm">Eyes</a> <a href="/psalms/79-6.htm">Heathen</a> <a href="/psalms/79-6.htm">Nations</a> <a href="/psalms/74-2.htm">Payment</a> <a href="/psalms/79-3.htm">Poured</a> <a href="/psalms/79-2.htm">Servants</a> <a href="/psalms/79-3.htm">Shed</a> <a href="/psalms/78-12.htm">Sight</a> <a href="/psalms/58-10.htm">Vengeance</a> <a href="/psalms/49-5.htm">Wherefore</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/isaiah/1-24.htm">Avenge</a> <a href="/nahum/1-2.htm">Avenging</a> <a href="/psalms/94-21.htm">Blood</a> <a href="/psalms/80-14.htm">Eyes</a> <a href="/psalms/80-8.htm">Heathen</a> <a href="/psalms/80-8.htm">Nations</a> <a href="/psalms/109-20.htm">Payment</a> <a href="/psalms/92-10.htm">Poured</a> <a href="/psalms/89-50.htm">Servants</a> <a href="/psalms/97-11.htm">Shed</a> <a href="/psalms/90-4.htm">Sight</a> <a href="/psalms/94-1.htm">Vengeance</a> <a href="/psalms/89-47.htm">Wherefore</a><div class="vheading2">Psalm 79</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/psalms/79-1.htm">The psalmist complains of the desolation of Jerusalem</a></span><br><span class="reftext">8. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/psalms/79-8.htm">He prays for deliverance</a></span><br><span class="reftext">13. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/psalms/79-13.htm">and promises thankfulness</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/psalms/79.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/psalms/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/psalms/79.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Why should the nations ask, “Where is their God?”</b><br>This phrase reflects a common taunt from surrounding nations questioning the power and presence of Israel's God. Historically, Israel's defeats and suffering often led other nations to doubt the sovereignty of Yahweh. This echoes the taunts found in other scriptures, such as <a href="/psalms/42-3.htm">Psalm 42:3</a> and <a href="/2_kings/18-35.htm">2 Kings 18:35</a>, where foreign powers challenge the efficacy of Israel's God. Theologically, this question underscores the tension between God's promises to Israel and their current suffering, prompting a plea for divine intervention to uphold His name and reputation among the nations.<p><b>Before our eyes,</b><br>The psalmist's plea for God to act "before our eyes" indicates a desire for a visible and undeniable demonstration of God's power and justice. This reflects a longing for immediate and tangible evidence of God's intervention, similar to the miraculous acts witnessed by the Israelites during the Exodus (<a href="/exodus/14-31.htm">Exodus 14:31</a>). It emphasizes the need for reassurance of God's presence and action in the midst of adversity.<p><b>make known among the nations Your vengeance</b><br>The call for God to "make known" His vengeance is a request for divine justice to be evident to all. This reflects the biblical theme of God as a righteous judge who avenges the wrongs done to His people (<a href="/deuteronomy/32-35.htm">Deuteronomy 32:35</a>). The concept of divine vengeance is not merely about retribution but also about restoring justice and demonstrating God's holiness and sovereignty to the world. It aligns with prophecies in Isaiah and Jeremiah where God's judgment on nations serves as a testament to His power.<p><b>for the bloodshed of Your servants.</b><br>The reference to "the bloodshed of Your servants" highlights the persecution and martyrdom of God's faithful followers. Historically, this could refer to the suffering of the Israelites at the hands of foreign oppressors, such as during the Babylonian exile. It also foreshadows the New Testament theme of the persecution of Christians, as seen in <a href="/revelation/6-9.htm">Revelation 6:9-10</a>, where the martyrs cry out for justice. This phrase underscores the biblical principle that God is attentive to the suffering of His people and will ultimately vindicate them.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/n/nations.htm">Nations</a></b><br>Refers to the Gentile nations surrounding Israel, often seen as adversaries or oppressors of God's people.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God</a></b><br>The central figure in the Psalm, whose presence and justice are called into question by the nations.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/s/servants.htm">Servants</a></b><br>The faithful followers of God, likely referring to the Israelites who have suffered or been martyred.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/b/bloodshed.htm">Bloodshed</a></b><br>The violence and persecution experienced by God's people, prompting a plea for divine justice.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/v/vengeance.htm">Vengeance</a></b><br>The divine retribution or justice that the Psalmist is asking God to display against the oppressors.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_justice_is_certain.htm">God's Justice is Certain</a></b><br>The Psalmist's plea for vengeance reminds us that God's justice, though sometimes delayed, is inevitable. Believers can trust that God will ultimately right all wrongs.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_god's_reputation.htm">The Importance of God's Reputation</a></b><br>The concern for God's name among the nations highlights the importance of living in a way that honors God and reflects His character to the world.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/p/prayer_as_a_response_to_injustice.htm">Prayer as a Response to Injustice</a></b><br>The Psalmist models turning to God in prayer when faced with injustice, encouraging believers to seek divine intervention rather than taking matters into their own hands.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_presence_amidst_suffering.htm">God's Presence Amidst Suffering</a></b><br>Even when the nations question God's presence, believers are reminded that God is always with His people, working behind the scenes for their good.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_faith_in_trials.htm">The Role of Faith in Trials</a></b><br>The call for God to act is rooted in faith that He hears and responds to the cries of His people, encouraging believers to maintain faith during difficult times.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_psalm_79.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Psalm 79</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_psalm_79_10_align_with_mercy.htm">How do we reconcile the vengeance implied in Psalm 79:10 with the Bible’s overall teaching on mercy and forgiveness? </a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_psalm_109's_vengeance_cultural_or_universal.htm">How can we determine whether the psalm's language of vengeance (Psalm 109) is historically or culturally rooted rather than universally prescriptive?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_blame_invaders,_not_israel,_in_psalm_79.htm">Why does Psalm 79 place sole blame on invading nations without acknowledging Israel’s own possible role in its downfall?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/psalm_149_6-9__swords_vs._god's_love.htm">Psalm 149:6-9 - How does the command to wield swords and execute vengeance align with a loving God or an ethic of nonviolence?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/psalms/79.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(10) <span class= "bld">Wherefore.</span>--Taken from <a href="/joel/2-17.htm" title="Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare your people, O LORD, and give not your heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: why should they say among the people, Where is their God?">Joel 2:17</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Let him be known.</span>--Better, <span class= "ital">Let it be known, i.e., </span>where God is. Let the answer to the question be given in vengeance, and let us see it.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/psalms/79.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God?</span> (so <a href="/joel/2-17.htm">Joel 2:17</a>). A triumph over a foreign nation was always regarded in the ancient world as a triumph over their gods. Their gods were bound to protect them, and, if they did not, must either have been absent or powerless (comp. <a href="/2_kings/18-33.htm">2 Kings 18:33-35</a>; <a href="/2_kings/19-12.htm">2 Kings 19:12</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed;</span> rather, <span class="accented">let there be shown forth among the heathen in our sight vengeance for the blood of thy servants that has been shed; or</span>, in other words, "Let an evident judgment, visible to us, fall upon the heathen who have shed the blood of our brethren, thy true servants." An immediate judgment is prayed for; but it did not please God to send the judgment till after the expiration of a long term of years. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/psalms/79-10.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Why</span><br /><span class="heb">לָ֤מָּה ׀</span> <span class="translit">(lām·māh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Interrogative<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4100.htm">Strong's 4100: </a> </span><span class="str2">What?, what!, indefinitely what</span><br /><br /><span class="word">should the nations</span><br /><span class="heb">הַגּוֹיִם֮</span> <span class="translit">(hag·gō·w·yim)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1471.htm">Strong's 1471: </a> </span><span class="str2">A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts</span><br /><br /><span class="word">ask,</span><br /><span class="heb">יֹאמְר֣וּ</span> <span class="translit">(yō·mə·rū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_559.htm">Strong's 559: </a> </span><span class="str2">To utter, say</span><br /><br /><span class="word">“Where</span><br /><span class="heb">אַיֵּ֪ה</span> <span class="translit">(’ay·yêh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Interrogative<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_346.htm">Strong's 346: </a> </span><span class="str2">Where?</span><br /><br /><span class="word">is their God?”</span><br /><span class="heb">אֱ‍ֽלֹהֵ֫יהֶ֥ם</span> <span class="translit">(’ĕlō·hê·hem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_430.htm">Strong's 430: </a> </span><span class="str2">gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative</span><br /><br /><span class="word">Before our eyes,</span><br /><span class="heb">לְעֵינֵ֑ינוּ</span> <span class="translit">(lə·‘ê·nê·nū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-l | Noun - cdc | first person common plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5869.htm">Strong's 5869: </a> </span><span class="str2">An eye, a fountain</span><br /><br /><span class="word">make known</span><br /><span class="heb">יִוָּדַ֣ע</span> <span class="translit">(yiw·wā·ḏa‘)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3045.htm">Strong's 3045: </a> </span><span class="str2">To know</span><br /><br /><span class="word">among the nations</span><br /><span class="heb">בַּגּוֹיִ֣ם</span> <span class="translit">(bag·gō·w·yim)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1471.htm">Strong's 1471: </a> </span><span class="str2">A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts</span><br /><br /><span class="word">Your vengeance</span><br /><span class="heb">נִ֝קְמַ֗ת</span> <span class="translit">(niq·maṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5360.htm">Strong's 5360: </a> </span><span class="str2">Avengement</span><br /><br /><span class="word">for the bloodshed</span><br /><span class="heb">דַּֽם־</span> <span class="translit">(dam-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1818.htm">Strong's 1818: </a> </span><span class="str2">Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of Your servants.</span><br /><span class="heb">עֲבָדֶ֥יךָ</span> <span class="translit">(‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5650.htm">Strong's 5650: </a> </span><span class="str2">Slave, servant</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/psalms/79-10.htm">Psalm 79:10 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/psalms/79-10.htm">OT Poetry: Psalm 79:10 Why should the nations say Where (Psalm Ps Psa.) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/psalms/79-9.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Psalm 79:9"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Psalm 79:9" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/psalms/79-11.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Psalm 79:11"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Psalm 79:11" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>