Psalms 78
1 The understanding of Asaph. O my people, attend to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
A maschil of Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people, listen 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 parables; I will sing about hidden things about the past.
3 We have heard and known such great things, as our fathers have described to us.
These are things that we have heard and learned, things that our ancestors 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 keep them from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh, his strength, and the wonders that he has done.
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 established covenant decrees in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors that they were to teach them 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.
He commanded this so that the generation to come might know his decrees, the children not yet born, who should tell them in turn to their own 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.
Then they would place their hope 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.
Then they would not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose hearts were not right, and whose spirits were not committed and faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, have been turned back in the day of battle.
The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they turned back on the day of battle.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God. And they were not willing to walk in his law.
They did not keep the covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.
11 And they have been forgetful of his benefits, and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.
They forgot his deeds, the wonderful things that he had shown them.
12 He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.
They forgot the marvelous things he did in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the land 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 led them across it; he made the waters to stand like walls.
14 And he led them with a cloud by day, and with illumination by fire throughout the night.
In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all the night with the 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 split the rocks in the wilderness, and he gave them water abundantly, enough to fill the depths of the sea.
16 He brought forth water from the rock, and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.
He made streams flow out of the rock and made the water flow like rivers.
17 And yet, they continued to sin against him. In a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.
Yet they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking for food according to their desires.
They challenged God in their hearts by asking for food to satisfy their appetites.
19 And they spoke badly about God. They said, “Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?
They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really lay out a table for us 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?”
See, when he struck the rock, waters gushed out and streams overflowed. But can he give bread also? Will he provide meat 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 Yahweh heard this, he was angry; so his fire burned against Jacob, and his anger attacked Israel,
22 For they neither put their trust in God, nor did they hope in his salvation.
because they did not believe in God and did not trust in his salvation.
23 And he commanded the clouds from above, and he opened the doors of heaven.
Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the sky.
24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, and he gave them the bread of heaven.
He rained down manna for them to eat, and gave them the grain from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of Angels. He sent them provisions in abundance.
People ate the bread of angels. He sent them food in abundance.
26 He transferred the south wind from heaven, and, in his virtue, he brought in the Southwest wind.
He caused the east wind to blow in the sky, and by his power he guided the 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 meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sands of the sea.
28 And they fell down in the midst of their camp, encircling their tabernacles.
They fell in the middle of their camp, all around their tents.
29 And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires.
So they ate and were full. He gave them what they craved.
30 They were not cheated out of what they wanted. Their food was still in their mouth,
But they had not yet filled up; their food was still 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.
Then God's anger attacked them and killed the strongest of them. He brought down the young men of Israel.
32 In all these things, they continued to sin, and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.
Despite this, they continued to sin and did not believe his wonderful deeds.
33 And their days faded away into vanity, and their years with haste.
Therefore God cut short their days; their years were filled with terror.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him. And they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.
Whenever God afflicted them, they would start to seek him, and they would return and look earnestly for him.
35 And they were mindful that God is their helper and that the Most High God is their redeemer.
They would call to mind that God was their rock and that the Most High God was their rescuer.
36 And they chose him with their mouth, and then they lied to him with their tongue.
But they would flatter him with their mouth and lie to him with their words.
37 For their heart was not upright with him, nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.
For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him, and they were not faithful to 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 he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. Yes, many times he held back his anger and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 And he remembered that they are flesh: with a spirit that goes forth and does not return.
He called to mind that they were made of flesh, a wind that passes away and does not return.
40 How often did they provoke him in the desert and stir him to wrath in a waterless place?
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the barren regions!
41 And they turned back and tempted God, and they exasperated the Holy One of Israel.
Again and again they challenged 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 did not think about his power, how he had rescued them from the enemy
43 Thus, he positioned his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Tanis.
when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 And he turned their rivers into blood, along with their rain showers, so that they could not drink.
He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood so that they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent among them the common fly, and it devoured them, and the frog, and it scattered them.
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them and frogs that overran their land.
46 And he gave up their fruits to mold and their labors to the locust.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper 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 more hail.
48 And he delivered their cattle to the hail and their possessions to fire.
He rained hail on their cattle and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.
49 And he sent the wrath of his indignation among them: indignation and wrath and tribulation, sent forth by evil angels.
The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them. He sent wrath, fury, and trouble like agents who bring disaster.
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 leveled a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
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 killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn 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.
He led his own people out like sheep and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 And he led them out in hope, and they did not fear. And the sea covered their enemies.
He led them secure and unafraid, but 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.
Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountain that his right hand acquired.
55 And he caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.
He drove out the nations from before them and assigned them their inheritance. He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they tempted and aggravated God Most High, and they did not keep his testaments.
Yet they challenged and defied the Most High God and did not keep his solemn commands.
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.
They were unfaithful and acted treacherously like their fathers; they were as undependable as a faulty bow.
58 They impelled him to anger on their hills, and they provoked him to rivalry with their graven images.
For they made him angry with their high places and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols.
59 God listened, and he spurned them, and he reduced Israel greatly, almost to nothing.
When God heard this, he was angry and completely rejected Israel.
60 And he rejected the tabernacle of Shiloh, his tabernacle where he had dwelt among men.
He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh, the tent where he had lived among people.
61 And he delivered their virtue into captivity, and their beauty into the hands of the enemy.
He allowed his strength to be captured and gave his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 And he enclosed his people with the sword, and he spurned his inheritance.
He handed his people over to the sword, and he was angry with his heritage.
63 Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins were not lamented.
Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 And the Lord was awakened, as if out of sleep, and like a powerful man impaired by wine.
Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep, like a warrior who shouts because of wine.
66 And he struck his enemies on the back. He gave them over to everlasting disgrace.
He drove his adversaries back; he put them to everlasting shame.
67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
He rejected the tent of Joseph, and he did not chose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But he chose the tribe of Judah: mount Zion, which he loved.
He chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion that he loved.
69 And he built up his sanctuary, like a single-horned beast, in the land that he founded for all ages.
He built his sanctuary like the heavens, like the earth that he has established forever.
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,
He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 in order to pasture Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance.
He took him from following the ewes with their young, and he brought him to be shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his heritage.
72 And he fed them with the innocence of his heart. And he led them with the understanding of his hands.
David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, and he guided them with the skill of his hands.
