How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

PSALMS 79:5KJV
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Psalms 79:5 (KJV)

What does Psalms 79:5 mean?

Psalms 79:5 is a cry from the psalmist asking God how long His anger and jealousy will continue to burn against His people, wondering if it will last forever. The verse expresses deep distress and a longing for God’s mercy to return after a period of suffering.

The speaker is likely Asaph or someone writing in his tradition, addressing God directly during a time when Jerusalem has suffered devastation and the people feel abandoned. The verse uses the language of fire to describe God’s jealousy, highlighting the intensity of His response to Israel’s unfaithfulness. This question reflects both the pain of the people and their hope that God’s anger will not be permanent.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 79:5

  • LORD (יְהוָה, Yahweh): This is the personal name for God in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing a direct and covenant relationship between God and Israel.
  • angry (אָנַף, anaph): This word often means to be enraged or deeply upset, showing that the psalmist senses a strong, ongoing anger from God.
  • jealousy (קִנְאָה, qin’ah): This word can mean zeal or passionate concern, not just envy. Here, it points to God’s intense commitment to His people and His reaction when they turn away from Him.
  • burn (בָּעַר, ba’ar): This verb means to blaze up or consume, and paired with “fire” (אֵשׁ, esh), it paints a picture of God’s jealousy as something fierce and consuming, not mild or distant.

Why Psalms 79:5 matters

  • The verse clarifies that God’s anger and jealousy are not random but are responses to the relationship between God and His people, rooted in covenant expectations.
  • The language of burning jealousy helps readers understand the depth of God’s emotional investment in Israel, not just as a judge but as someone who cares passionately.
  • This verse connects to the larger psalm, which is a communal lament, showing that the people’s suffering leads them to question and seek God’s mercy rather than giving up on the relationship.

Where else these words appear

“angry” Hebrew H599 · used in 14 verses

  • Deuteronomy 1:37 Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
  • 1 Kings 8:46 If they sin against thee,(for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
  • Ezra 9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

“jealousy” Hebrew H7068 · used in 41 verses

  • Numbers 5:14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
  • Proverbs 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
  • Ezekiel 5:13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

“ever” Hebrew H5331 · used in 42 verses

  • 1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
  • Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
  • Isaiah 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

“burn” Hebrew H1197 · used in 90 verses

  • Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
  • 2 Samuel 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
  • Isaiah 30:33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.