Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
English Standard Version (ESV)
This isn't just a cry for vengeance against those who don't know God; it's a plea for God's justice to be poured out on those who actively rejected Him after knowing better, or who operate entirely outside His name, contrasting their ignorance with Israel's covenant relationship. The psalmist argues that these nations deserve God's fury even more than Israel deserves correction, highlighting a distinction between those who sin out of ignorance versus wilful rebellion against God's known presence.
Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm expresses the agony of a nation suffering under brutal invasion and destruction, with their holy Temple defiled and Jerusalem in ruins. Amidst this devastation, the psalmist confesses sin and cries out to God, lamenting the desecration of God's name and the suffering of His people. The prayer then shifts to an imprecation against the foreign oppressors who know nothing of God, asking for divine judgment upon them after God has disciplined His own people.
Why does the psalmist call for God's wrath on nations that don't know Him? Isn't God merciful?
This verse isn't a carte blanche for indiscriminate anger. It's a cry born from deep suffering, where the psalmist observes that God's patience, while immense, eventually reaches a limit with those who persistently reject Him.
Does God really 'pour out wrath'? How is this different from a petty outburst?
When the Bible speaks of God's 'wrath,' it's crucial to understand it as righteous and just, not as uncontrolled anger. It's the divine response to sin and rebellion, a necessary part of a just universe.
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Understand the original words
chemah · Hebrew Noun
Divine judgment or indignation against sin. In the Bible, God's anger is His righteous and necessary response to rebellion and wickedness, maintaining His holiness and justice.
qara' beshem · Hebrew Verb phrase
The act of invoking God's presence, authority, or character in prayer. It implies an acknowledgement of His lordship and a reliance upon His covenant promises.
This psalm cries out in the wake of devastating national catastrophe, likely the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Babylonians. The prayer for God's wrath to fall on the nations reflects a deep-seated belief that God uses even ungodly nations as instruments of judgment, but that these nations will ultimately face His justice for their own cruelty and ignorance of Him.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian Deportations
The Neo-Assyrian Empire, under rulers like Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II, engaged in widespread deportations of conquered populations. This policy aimed to break up resistant groups and resettle them in unfamiliar territories, causing immense suffering and loss of identity.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon began deporting segments of the Judean population, including nobility and skilled workers, to Babylon. This marked the beginning of the Babylonian exile, a period of profound national trauma and spiritual questioning for the people of Judah.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroyed Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, the heart of Israel's worship and national identity. The remaining population was exiled to Babylon, leaving the land desolate and the people in despair.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great's Conquest
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonian Empire. While this event eventually led to the return of the exiles, the trauma of exile and destruction profoundly shaped Jewish identity and theology.
c. 167 BC
Antiochus IV Epiphanes' Persecution
The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV attempted to Hellenize Judea forcefully, desecrating the Temple and persecuting Jews who resisted. This period of intense suffering is another possible context for laments like Psalm 79, though scholarly debate continues.
This passage directly echoes Psalm 79:6, showing a consistent prophetic and poetic voice calling for divine judgment on nations that do not acknowledge God.
Isaiah 10:5-6This passage illustrates the concept that God uses even non-believing nations (like Assyria) as instruments of His judgment, but will also hold them accountable for their own cruelty and pride.
Romans 1:18-23This New Testament passage explains the theological basis for God's wrath, highlighting that humanity's willful suppression of the knowledge of God and turning to idolatry incurs divine judgment.
Revelation 16:1-21This book of prophecy describes the pouring out of God's wrath in the end times on those who have rejected Him and persecuted His people, mirroring the imprecatory tone of Psalm 79:6.
pulpitPsalms 79:6: "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name."
Verse 6. - Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee. It is not the heathen that had never heard of God who are intended, but those who, having heard of him, had refused to "know" him (comp. Exodus 5:2), as was the case with all the nations round about Canaan. And upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy Name. Now that we are punished,…
clarkePsalms 79:6: "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name."
Pour out thy wrath - Bad as we are, we are yet less wicked than they. We, it is true, have been unfaithful; but they never knew thy name, and are totally abandoned to idolatry.
This isn't just a cry for vengeance against those who don't know God; it's a plea for God's justice to be poured out on those who actively rejected Him after knowing better, or who operate entirely outside His name, contrasting their ignorance with Israel's covenant relationship. The psalmist argues that these nations deserve God's fury even more than Israel deserves correction, highlighting a distinction between those who sin out of ignorance versus wilful rebellion against God's known presence.
This psalm expresses the agony of a nation suffering under brutal invasion and destruction, with their holy Temple defiled and Jerusalem in ruins. Amidst this devastation, the psalmist confesses sin and cries out to God, lamenting the desecration of God's name and the suffering of His people. The prayer then shifts to an imprecation against the foreign oppressors who know nothing of God, asking for divine judgment upon them after God has disciplined His own people.
This psalm expresses the agony of a nation suffering under brutal invasion and destruction, with their holy Temple defiled and Jerusalem in ruins. Amidst this devastation, the psalmist confesses sin and cries out to God, lamenting the desecration of God's name and the suffering of His people. The prayer then shifts to an imprecation against the foreign oppressors who know nothing of God, asking for divine judgment upon them after God has disciplined His own people.
"Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!" — This isn't just a cry for vengeance against those who don't know God; it's a plea for God's justice to be poured out on those who actively rejected Him after knowing better, or who operate entirely…
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Last reviewed October 2026