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 maschil of Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people, 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 sing about hidden things about the past.
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:
These are things that we have heard and learned, things that our ancestors have told 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 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 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 covenant decrees in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors that they were to teach them 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,
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 And that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but observe his commandments;
Then they would place their hope in God and not forget his deeds but keep 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 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, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.
The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they turned back on the day of battle.
10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
They did not keep the covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.
11 And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.
They forgot his deeds, the wonderful things that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.
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 clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap;
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 in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire.
In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all the night with the light of fire.
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 he gave them water abundantly, enough to fill the depths of the sea.
16 And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
He made streams flow out of the rock and made the water flow like rivers.
17 Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;
Yet they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;
They challenged God in their hearts by asking for food to satisfy their appetites.
19 And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?
They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really lay out a table for us 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?
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 Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:
When Yahweh heard this, he was angry; so his fire burned against Jacob, and his anger attacked Israel,
22 Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;
because they did not believe in God and did not trust in his salvation.
23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,
Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the sky.
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, and gave them the grain from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.
People 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 caused the east wind to blow in the sky, and by his power he guided the south wind.
27 And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,
He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sands of the sea.
28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:
They fell in the middle of their camp, all around their tents.
29 And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.
So they ate and were full. He gave them what they craved.
30 They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,
But they had not yet filled up; their food was 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.
Then God's anger attacked them and killed the strongest of them. He brought down the young men of Israel.
32 For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;
Despite this, they continued to sin and did not believe his wonderful deeds.
33 And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
Therefore God cut short their days; their years were filled with terror.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;
Whenever God afflicted them, they would start to seek him, and they would return and look earnestly for him.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.
They would call to mind that God was their rock and that the Most High God was their rescuer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto 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 firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him, and they were not faithful 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:
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 were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.
He called to mind that they were made of flesh, a wind that passes away and does not return.
40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the barren regions!
41 And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.
Again and again they challenged God and offended the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,
They did not think about his power, how he had rescued them from the enemy
43 How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;
when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;
He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood so that they could not drink from their streams.
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 overran their land.
46 And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;
He gave their crops to the grasshopper and their labor to the locust.
47 He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with more hail.
48 And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
He rained hail on their cattle and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.
The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them. He sent wrath, fury, and trouble like agents who bring disaster.
50 He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
He leveled a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
51 And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.
He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of their strength 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 his own people out like sheep and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.
He led them secure and unafraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;
Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountain that his right hand 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 the nations from before them and assigned them 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,
Yet they challenged and defied the Most High God and did not keep his solemn commands.
57 And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.
They were unfaithful and acted treacherously like their fathers; they were as undependable as a faulty bow.
58 And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
For they made him angry with their high places and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols.
59 God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
When God heard this, he was angry and completely rejected Israel.
60 And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,
He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh, the tent where he had lived among people.
61 And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;
He allowed his strength to be captured and gave his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:
He handed his people over to the sword, and he was angry with his heritage.
63 The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;
Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;
Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep, like a warrior who shouts because of wine.
66 And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.
He drove his adversaries back; 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 he did not chose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;
He chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion that 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 heavens, like the earth that 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.
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 according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, and he guided them with the skill of his hands.
