Psalms 74:9 · Bible study
Psalms 74:9 Commentary: Lament Over Lost Signs and Prophets
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine the meaning of 'signs' in Psalm 74:9, the absence of prophets during exile, and the cry of not knowing how long suffering will last.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The psalmist laments the loss of covenantal signs and prophetic guidance, expressing a crisis of divine communication in the midst of suffering.
- Key words: Signs (H226), Prophet (H5030), Know (H3045), How long (H4100 + H5704).
- Main debate: Whether there were actually no prophets during the exile or whether the community perceived an absence of a comforting prophetic word for their particular situation.
- Thological theme: The hiddenness of God and the trial of faith when visible evidence of God’s presence and guidance is withdrawn.
- Best use: In times of communal suffering or personal spiritual dryness, as a prayer of lament that honestly voices confusion.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
WEB World English Bible 2000
We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
KJV King James Version 1769
We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
We see not our signs: There is no more any prophet; Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Our ensigns we have not seen, There is no more a prophet, Nor with us is one knowing how long.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of mixture. And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
No vemos ya nuestras señales: no hay más profeta; ni con nosotros hay quien sepa hasta cuándo.
Já não vemos os nossos sinais; já não há mais profeta; e ninguém entre nós sabe até quando será assim.
Nous ne voyons plus nos signes;
Unsere Zeichen sehen wir nicht, und kein Prophet predigt mehr, und keiner ist bei uns, der weiß, wie lange.
Wij zien onze tekenen niet; er is geen profeet meer, noch iemand bij ons, die weet, hoe lang.
Noi non vediam più i nostri emblemi; non v’è più profeta, né v’è fra noi alcuno che sappia fino a quando.
Znaków naszych nie widzimy:już niemasz proroka, i niemasz między nami, któryby wiedział, póki to ma trwać.
ибо чаша в руке Господа, вино кипит в ней, полное смешения, и Он наливает из нее. Даже дрожжи ее будут выжимать и пить все нечестивые земли.
我們不 見 我們的標幟，不 再 有先知；我們內中 也沒有人 知道 這災禍要到 幾時呢！
We do not see our signs: there is no longer any prophet, or anyone among us to say how long.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 74:9
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators largely agree that “our signs” (אוֹתֹתֵינוּ) refers to the instituted ordinances of worship, the temple, sacrifices, Sabbaths, which served as tangible tokens of God’s covenant presence. Keil & Delitzsch note the direct antithesis to the enemies’ “signs” in Psalm 74:4, underscoring the loss of visible symbols of divine fellowship. The second line, “there is no more any prophet,” invites more discussion. Adam Clarke observes that prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel ministered elsewhere, but the community lacked a local prophetic voice to declare when the exile would end. Barnes and Matthew Henry read the statement as reflecting the people’s perception that no prophet was addressing their immediate crisis. The final clause, “neither is there among us anyone who knows how long,” intensifies the sense of abandonment: even with the possibility of prophecy elsewhere, no one in this devastated community can supply a timeline. The verse thus laments a dual silence, the visible signs of God’s presence and the prophetic word of comfort, leaving the people without a word from heaven in their extremity.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal cessation: Points to Lamentations 2:9, Ezekiel 7:26, and the post-exilic view that prophecy ceased; the verse is taken as a factual statement that no prophet existed at that time.
- Perceived absence: Jeremiah and Ezekiel were active, but they were not available to this specific community or did not address the timing question; the psalmist speaks from the perspective of a group cut off from those prophets.
- Maccabean context: Cambridge Bible and others note that the description fits the Maccabean suppression of Jewish observances and the belief that prophecy had ended (1 Macc. 4:46, 9:27).
What is clear: The psalmist expresses a profound sense of being cut off from God’s guidance and comfort, intensifying the lament over a destroyed sanctuary.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of 'signs' | They refer to covenantal tokens such as the temple, sacrifices, Sabbath, and festivals, visible markers of God’s presence. | Whether the signs are exclusively Maccabean-era prohibitions or also include the loss of temple worship in the Babylonian exile; both are defended by commentators. |
| The claim 'no more any prophet' | The community experiences a prophetic silence in their immediate context. | Whether the psalmist denies the existence of any prophet (e.g., Jeremiah and Ezekiel were active but elsewhere) or means that no prophet was addressing this group’s need for comfort and timing. |
| Knowledge of 'how long' | The community lacks insight into the duration of their suffering. | Whether the psalmist was unaware of Jeremiah’s 70-year prophecy (Jer. 25:11) or considered it not yet applicable/understood. |
| Date of composition | After a destruction of the temple (either 586 BC or 168 BC). | Babylonian destruction vs. Maccabean desecration; the reference to 'synagogues' (v.8) is used by both sides. |
| Nature of the complaint | It is a lament over divine abandonment expressed through the loss of revelation. | Some see an implicit accusation against God for not providing signs/prophets; others read it as pure petition without blame. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 74 belongs to the collection of Asaph (Pss 73, 83), and its vivid descriptions of temple destruction, burning, and profanation (vv. 3, 8) point to a historical crisis, likely the Babylonian destruction of 586 BC or the later Maccabean desecration under Antiochus Epiphanes (168 BC). The mention of “synagogues” in verse 8 (אֱלֹהִים מוֹעֲדֵי, “meeting-places of God”) suggests a period when Jewish places of worship had been systematically burned, a detail that fits both the Chaldean invasion and the Seleucid campaign.
In this setting, “signs” (אוֹתֹתֵינוּ) were the covenant markers that distinguished Israel from surrounding nations: circumcision, Sabbath observance, the temple cult, and festivals. To see these “no longer” meant that the enemy had suppressed the distinctives of the faith. The complaint “no prophet” is striking because Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel lived through the period. Yet the psalmist speaks from a specific location, perhaps among a group cut off from those prophets. Cambridge Bible notes that this verse “would of course be specially appropriate to the time at which Antiochus attempted to suppress all the distinctive ordinances of the Jewish religion” (1 Macc. 1:45, 46). The final desperate question, “Who knows how long?” echoes Lamentations 2:9 (“her prophets find no vision from Yahweh”) and Ezekiel 7:26 (“they will seek a vision of the prophet”). The psalmist’s community is not denying that God has spokespersons elsewhere; they are crying out that their situation yields no divine word of reassurance.
This historical background helps clarify the verse as a raw, honest lament from a people who feel cut off from every channel of divine communication, visible signs, oral prophecy, and even simple knowledge of the future. It is a crisis of revelation as much as a crisis of survival.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Targum) render the verse with little variation.
Reception History
Jewish tradition has often read this verse as describing the period of prophetic silence that followed the last biblical prophets (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi). The Talmud (Bava Batra 14b, 15a) notes that the spirit of prophecy departed after Malachi. This verse also found a home in the liturgy of communal lament, especially during times of persecution such as the Crusades and the Holocaust.
In Christian history, the verse has been applied to the “silent years” between the Old and New Testaments, when no prophet spoke and Israel waited for the Messiah. The church fathers often used it to express the longing that Christ alone fulfills. During the Reformation, commentators like Calvin saw in it a model of how to bring the church’s desolation before God, trusting that the covenant remains even when visible signs fail.
More broadly, the verse appears in hymns and prayers that voice a sense of God’s hiddenness, a theme that resonates across centuries of spiritual experience.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Loss of Visible Signs of God’s Presence. The “signs” are the covenant-ordinances that once assured Israel of God’s favor. Their removal prompts a faith that must trust without the familiar proofs.
- The Silence of the Prophetic Voice. The community laments the absence of a prophet who could interpret the times. This mirrors seasons when God’s guidance feels withheld.
- The Unknown Duration of Suffering. Not knowing “how long” adds weight to the trial. The psalmist invites worshipers to bring that uncertainty to God rather than pretending to have answers.
Five-point outline
- “We see no miraculous signs”, The loss of tangible tokens of God’s covenant.
- “There is no longer any prophet”, The absence of a recognized messenger to address the crisis.
- “Neither is there among us anyone who knows how long”, The painful lack of certainty about the future.
- The context of desecration (vv. 4, 8), The enemy has dismantled every place and symbol of worship.
- The turn to God (v. 10ff.), Despite the silence, the psalmist appeals to God, remembering past deliverances.
Illustration hooks
- Waiting for a medical diagnosis when doctors cannot say when results will come or what they will show, the helplessness of being “in the dark.”
- A church that has lost its building to fire or disaster, and with it the familiar rhythms of worship, members ask, “Where are the signs of God now?”
- A period of spiritual dryness when prayer feels unanswered and Scripture seems distant, the sense that the “prophet” (pastor, teacher, inner voice) has gone silent.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why would God allow the visible markers of His presence to be destroyed? Shouldn’t He protect the things that point to Him?
- When we feel that “there is no prophet” in our church or generation, how do we discern God’s voice?
- How do we keep praying when we have no idea how long our suffering will last?
Leading a Discussion
This verse captures the desperation of a community that feels abandoned by God, stripped of the signs that once assured them of His presence, without a prophet to guide them, and unable to see an end to their pain. As you discuss, consider times when God’s presence seemed hidden and how the Psalms give language for such honest lament.
Discussion questions
- What do you think the psalmist means by “our signs”? List the specific tokens of God’s presence that were lost (temple, sacrifices, festivals, etc.).
- Why does the absence of a prophet compound the community’s distress? In what ways does prophetic guidance (or the lack of it) affect our faith today?
- The verse ends with “none of us knows how long.” How does uncertainty about the duration of a trial change the experience of suffering?
- Read the surrounding context of Psalm 74:1, 11. How does the psalmist move from complaint to petition? What does that movement teach us about prayer?
- The commentaries note that Jeremiah and Ezekiel were active during the exile. Why might the psalmist still claim “there is no more any prophet”? What does this say about the difference between objective fact and perceived experience?
- In what situations have you felt like the “signs” of God’s presence were absent? How did you respond?
- How can this verse give permission for honest lament in our worship and small groups, rather than requiring a “faith that never doubts”?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 12:13 | The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. |
| Exodus 13:9 | It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt. |
| Exodus 13:10 | You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. |
| Judges 6:17 | He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me. |
| I Samuel 3:1 | The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then. |
| Lamentations 2:9 | Her 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 prophets find no vision from Yahweh. |
| Ezekiel 7:26 | Mischief 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 the elders. |
| Ezekiel 20:12 | Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke observes that the people felt they had lost all visible evidence of God's presence, including prophets who moved freely through the land. Yet he notes God still gave occasional, extraordinary signs through Daniel, the three Hebrews, and others, and still raised up prophets like Ezekiel among the captives themselves.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that "our signs" refers to the national emblems and worship markers of Israel, which had been stripped away by invaders. The absence of a prophet means no special messenger from God arrived to bring comfort or direction, even though Jeremiah may still have been alive, and no one knew when the suffering would end.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that the psalm's description of the Church's ruin is too severe for David's time, so it was likely written later by another author. He sees the inscription "maskil" as fitting because the psalm compels self-examination and humility before God over the people's sins.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools reads the verse against the Maccabean persecution when Antiochus outlawed Jewish festivals and sabbaths. The "our signs" are the public religious symbols that had been suppressed. The lament that no prophet remains fits both the exile and that later age of crisis.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The commentator highlights a complete loss of divine guidance: no visible signs remain, no prophet speaks, and no one knows how long the suffering will last. The emphasis falls on the people's total inability to read God's purposes or see an end to their affliction.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill applies this verse to the spiritual blindness of his own era: people fail to see the signs of the times, such as widespread departure from gospel faith and worship. He also notes that there is no prophet to reveal how long the present troubles will last, leaving believers without a clear timetable for deliverance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the lament for no prophet reflects the general experience of the people during the captivity, not an absolute absence. While Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel did prophesy occasionally and locally, their ministries did not provide the public, ongoing prophetic guidance the people grieved losing.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch argue that the complaint about having no prophet fits best during the middle of the exile, not right after Jerusalem's fall, because Jeremiah and Ezekiel were still active then. They interpret "our signs" as the instituted ordinances of worship that the enemies had set aside, not miraculous signs from God.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry's emphasis is that the psalmist looks past the human enemies and fastens on God's displeasure as the true source and sting of every calamity. The complaint is not merely about suffering but about God's apparent rejection, which drives the people to pray directly to Him rather than to fret about their circumstances.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley interprets the signs as the temple, ark, sacrifices, and feasts that once showed God's presence. He notes the lack of a prophet because Ezekiel and Jeremiah were dead and David was occupied with civic duties, not teaching. The verse asks who knows how long the captivity will last.