Psalms 78
1 The understanding of Asaph. O my people, attend to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
“A psalm of Asaph.” Give ear, O my people, to my instruction! Incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in parables. I will speak about concepts that are from the beginning.
I will open my mouth in a psalm; I will utter sayings of ancient times.
3 We have heard and known such great things, as our fathers have described to us.
What we have heard and learned, And our fathers have told us,
4 These things have not been hidden from their sons in any generation: declaring the praises of the Lord, and his virtues, and the wonders that he has done.
We will not hide from their children; Showing to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, His might, and the wonders he hath wrought.
5 And he has received testimony with Jacob, and he has set a law within Israel. Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons,
For he appointed statutes in Jacob, And established a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers To make known to their children;
6 so that another generation might know them, and so that the sons, who will be born and who will grow up, shall describe them to their sons.
So that the generation to come might know them; The children, which should be born, and rise up, Who should declare them to their children;
7 So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God, and may they seek his commandments.
That they might put their trust in God, And not forget his deeds, But keep his commandments;
8 May they not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation: a generation that does not straighten their heart and whose spirit is not trustworthy with God.
And might not be, like their forefathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, —A generation whose heart was not fixed upon God, And whose spirit was not steadfast toward the Almighty.
9 The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, have been turned back in the day of battle.
The children of Ephraim were like armed bowmen, Who turn their backs in the day of battle.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God. And they were not willing to walk in his law.
They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law;
11 And they have been forgetful of his benefits, and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.
And forgot his mighty deeds, And the wonders he had shown them.
12 He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He broke the sea and he led them through. And he stationed the waters, as if in a vessel.
He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; Yea, he made the waters to stand as a heap.
14 And he led them with a cloud by day, and with illumination by fire throughout the night.
By day he led them by a cloud, And all the night by a light of fire.
15 He broke through the rock in the wasteland, and he gave them to drink, as if from the great abyss.
He clave the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink, as from the great deep.
16 He brought forth water from the rock, and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.
From the rock he brought flowing streams, And made water to run down like rivers.
17 And yet, they continued to sin against him. In a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.
Yet still they sinned against him, And provoked the Most High in the desert.
18 And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking for food according to their desires.
They tempted God in their hearts, By asking food for their delight.
19 And they spoke badly about God. They said, “Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?
Yea, they spake against God, and said, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock, and so waters flowed and the torrents flooded, but would even he be able to provide bread, or provide a table, for his people?”
Behold! he smote the rock, and the water flowed, And streams gushed forth: Is he also able to give bread? Can he provide flesh for his people?”
21 Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was dismayed, and a fire was kindled within Jacob, and an anger ascended into Israel.
When, therefore, the LORD heard this, he was wroth: So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger arose against Israel.
22 For they neither put their trust in God, nor did they hope in his salvation.
Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his aid.
23 And he commanded the clouds from above, and he opened the doors of heaven.
Yet he had commanded the clouds above, And had opened the doors of heaven;
24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, and he gave them the bread of heaven.
And had rained down upon them manna for food, And had given them the corn of heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of Angels. He sent them provisions in abundance.
Every one ate the food of princes; He sent them bread to the full.
26 He transferred the south wind from heaven, and, in his virtue, he brought in the Southwest wind.
Then he caused a strong wind to blow in the heavens, And by his power he brought a south wind;
27 And he rained down flesh upon them, as if it were dust, and feathered birds, as if they were the sand of the sea.
He rained down flesh upon them as dust, And feathered fowls as the sand of the sea.
28 And they fell down in the midst of their camp, encircling their tabernacles.
He caused them to fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations.
29 And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires.
So they did eat, and were filled; For he gave them their own desire.
30 They were not cheated out of what they wanted. Their food was still in their mouth,
Their desire was not yet satisfied, And their meat was yet in their mouths,
31 and then the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones among them, and he impeded the elect of Israel.
When the wrath of God came upon them, And slew their strong men, And smote down the chosen men of Israel.
32 In all these things, they continued to sin, and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.
For all this they sinned still, And put no trust in his wondrous works.
33 And their days faded away into vanity, and their years with haste.
Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, And their years in sudden destruction.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him. And they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.
When he slew them, they sought him; They returned, and sought earnestly for God;
35 And they were mindful that God is their helper and that the Most High God is their redeemer.
And remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High their redeemer.
36 And they chose him with their mouth, and then they lied to him with their tongue.
But they only flattered him with their mouths, And spake falsely to him with their tongues.
37 For their heart was not upright with him, nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.
For their hearts were not true to him, Nor were they steadfast in his covenant.
38 Yet he is merciful, and he will pardon their sins. And he will not destroy them. And he has abundantly turned aside his own wrath. And he did not enflame his wrath entirely.
Yet, being full of compassion, he forgave their iniquity, And would not utterly destroy them; Often he restrained his indignation, And stirred not up all his anger.
39 And he remembered that they are flesh: with a spirit that goes forth and does not return.
He remembered that they were but flesh, —A breath, that passeth and cometh not back.
40 How often did they provoke him in the desert and stir him to wrath in a waterless place?
How often did they provoke him in the wilderness! How often did they anger him in the desert!
41 And they turned back and tempted God, and they exasperated the Holy One of Israel.
Again and again they tempted God, And offended the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his hand, in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of the one troubling them.
They remembered not his hand, Nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy;
43 Thus, he positioned his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Tanis.
What signs he had wrought in Egypt, And what wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 And he turned their rivers into blood, along with their rain showers, so that they could not drink.
He turned their rivers into blood, So that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them the common fly, and it devoured them, and the frog, and it scattered them.
He sent amongst them flies, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.
46 And he gave up their fruits to mold and their labors to the locust.
He gave also their fruits to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
47 And he slew their vineyards with hail and their mulberry trees with severe frost.
He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore-trees with frost.
48 And he delivered their cattle to the hail and their possessions to fire.
He also gave up their cattle to hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 And he sent the wrath of his indignation among them: indignation and wrath and tribulation, sent forth by evil angels.
He sent against them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, indignation, and woe, —A host of angels of evil.
50 He made way for the path of his anger. He did not spare their souls from death. And he enclosed their beasts of burden in death.
He made a way for his anger, He spared them not from death, But gave up their lives to the pestilence.
51 And he struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt: the first-fruits of all their labor in the tabernacles of Ham.
He smote all the firstborn in Egypt; The first-fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 And he took away his own people like sheep, and he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
But he led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And he led them out in hope, and they did not fear. And the sea covered their enemies.
He led them on safely, so that they feared not, While the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he led them to the mountain of his sanctification: the mountain that his right hand had acquired. And he cast out the Gentiles before their face. And he divided their land by lot to them, with a line of distribution.
He brought them to his own sacred border, Even to this mountain which his right hand had gained.
55 And he caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.
He cast out the nations before them, And divided their land by a measuring-line, as an inheritance, And caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they tempted and aggravated God Most High, and they did not keep his testaments.
Yet they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, And kept not his statutes;
57 And they turned themselves aside, and they did not serve the covenant. In the same manner as their fathers, they were turned backwards, like a crooked bow.
Like their fathers they were faithless, and turned back; They turned aside, like a deceitful bow.
58 They impelled him to anger on their hills, and they provoked him to rivalry with their graven images.
They provoked his anger by their high places, And stirred up his jealousy by their graven images.
59 God listened, and he spurned them, and he reduced Israel greatly, almost to nothing.
God saw this, and was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;
60 And he rejected the tabernacle of Shiloh, his tabernacle where he had dwelt among men.
So that he forsook the habitation at Shiloh, The tabernacle where he dwelt among men,
61 And he delivered their virtue into captivity, and their beauty into the hands of the enemy.
And delivered his strength into captivity, And his glory into the hand of the enemy.
62 And he enclosed his people with the sword, and he spurned his inheritance.
His own people he gave up to the sword, And was wroth with his own inheritance.
63 Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins were not lamented.
Fire consumed their young men, And their maidens did not bewail them.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.
Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.
65 And the Lord was awakened, as if out of sleep, and like a powerful man impaired by wine.
But at length the Lord awaked as from sleep, As a hero who had been overpowered by wine;
66 And he struck his enemies on the back. He gave them over to everlasting disgrace.
He smote his enemies, and drove them back, And covered them with everlasting disgrace.
67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
Yet he rejected the tents of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim;
68 But he chose the tribe of Judah: mount Zion, which he loved.
But chose the tribe of Judah, The Mount Zion which he loved;
69 And he built up his sanctuary, like a single-horned beast, in the land that he founded for all ages.
Where he built, like the heavens, his sanctuary; Like the earth, which he hath established for ever.
70 And he chose his servant David, and he took him from the flocks of the sheep: he received him from following the ewes with their young,
And he chose David, his servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 in order to pasture Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance.
From tending the suckling ewes he brought him To feed Jacob his people, And Israel his inheritance.
72 And he fed them with the innocence of his heart. And he led them with the understanding of his hands.
He fed them with an upright heart, And guided them with skilful hands.
