Psalms 74:7

"They have set thy sanctuary on fire;

They have profaned the dwelling place of thy Name by casting it to the ground.

They said in their hearts,

Let us make havoc of them altogether:

They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land."

"Thy sanctuary on fire... God's dwelling place cast to the ground" (Psalms 74:7). The total destruction of the temple is indicated in these lines, a disaster that came only once, namely, in 586 B.C. at the end of the reign of Zedekiah.

"They ... burned up all the synagogues" (Psalms 74:8). There is hardly any doubt that this is a mistranslation. It is the only place in the Old Testament that synagogues are mentioned, synagogues usually being associated with the times after Antiochus Epiphanes had profaned the temple and forbade the reading of the Torah, cutting off the Temple worship. This verse is "the big reason" why some scholars refer this psalm to the times of that era.

"The RSV renders the word here translated `synagogues' as `holy places.'"[8] Jamieson suggested that such places as "the schools of the prophets"[9] may be meant. "The key word may also mean `appointed feasts,' but would require another verb for that meaning."[10] One thing is certain, "Synagogues" is not the correct rendition. As Kidner suggested, "Perhaps the Septuagint (LXX) has the key to the problem."[11] That rendition is, "Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth."[12] One thing that definitely favors the Septuagint (LXX) rendition is the fact that the abolition of the Jewish feast days was indeed accomplished by the Babylonians. They were not observed at all during the captivity!