Psalms 78
1 An instruction. Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
A Maskil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
4 We will not hide [them] from their sons, shewing forth to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength, and his marvellous works which he hath done.
We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;
For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 That the generation to come might know [them], the children that should be born; that they might rise up and tell [them] to their children,
that the coming generation would know them— even children yet to be born— to arise and tell their own children
7 And that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but observe his commandments;
that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.
8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that prepared not their heart, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.
The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.
10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
They failed to keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.
11 And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap;
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
14 And he led them with a cloud in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire.
He led them with a cloud by day and with a light of fire all night.
15 He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly;
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
16 And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;
But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19 And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?
They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
21 Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:
Therefore the LORD heard and was filled with wrath; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and His anger flared against Israel,
22 Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;
because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation.
23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,
Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.
He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.
Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind;
He stirred the east wind from the heavens and drove the south wind by His might.
27 And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:
He felled them in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
29 And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.
So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
30 They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,
Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
31 When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.
32 For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.
33 And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.
And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue;
But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
37 For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
38 But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury:
And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
39 And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
41 And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,
They did not remember His power — the day He redeemed them from the adversary,
43 How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;
He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
45 He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them;
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;
He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;
He killed their vines with hailstones and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.
He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity— a band of destroying angels.
50 He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.
51 And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
52 And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.
He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;
He brought them to His holy land, to the mountain His right hand had acquired.
55 And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies,
But they tested and disobeyed God Most High, for they did not keep His decrees.
57 And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
58 And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
59 God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
On hearing it, God was furious and rejected Israel completely.
60 And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
61 And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;
He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
62 And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:
He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.
63 The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;
Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
65 Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
66 And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.
He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
67 And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
He rejected the tent of Joseph and refused the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever.
70 And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.
72 And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.
