Psalms 78

1 An instruction. Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

The lernyng of Asaph. Mi puple, perseyue ye my lawe; bowe youre eere in to the wordis of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,

I schal opene my mouth in parablis; Y schal speke perfite resouns fro the bigynnyng.

3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:

Hou grete thingis han we herd, aud we han knowe tho; and oure fadris. telden to vs.

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.

Tho ben not hid fro the sones of hem; in anothir generacioun. And thei telden the heriyngis of the Lord, and the vertues of hym; and hise merueilis, whyche he dide.

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;

And he reiside witnessyng in Jacob; and he settide lawe in Israel. Hou grete thingis comaundide he to oure fadris, to make tho knowun to her sones;

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 another generacioun knowe. Sones, that schulen be born, and schulen rise vp; schulen telle out to her sones.

7 And that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but observe his commandments;

That thei sette her hope in God, and foryete not the werkis of God; and that thei seke hise comaundementis.

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.

Lest thei be maad a schrewid generacioun; and terrynge to wraththe, as the fadris of hem. A generacioun that dresside not his herte; and his spirit was not bileued with God.

9 The sons of Ephraim, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.

The sones of Effraym, bendinge a bouwe and sendynge arowis; weren turned in the dai of batel.

10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;

Thei kepten not the testament of God; and thei nolden go in his lawe.

11 And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.

And thei foryaten hise benefices; and hise merueils, whiche he schewide to hem.

12 In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.

He dide merueils bifore the fadris of hem in the loond of Egipt; in the feeld of Taphneos.

13 He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap;

He brak the see, and ledde hem thorou; and he ordeynede the watris as in a bouge.

14 And he led them with a cloud in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire.

And he ledde hem forth in a cloude of the dai; and al niyt in the liytnyng of fier.

15 He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly;

He brak a stoon in deseert; and he yaf watir to hem as in a myche depthe.

16 And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

And he ledde watir out of the stoon; and he ledde forth watris as floodis.

17 Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;

And thei `leiden to yit to do synne ayens hym; thei excitiden hiye God in to ire, in a place with out water.

18 And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;

And thei temptiden God in her hertis; that thei axiden meetis to her lyues.

19 And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?

And thei spaken yuel of God; thei seiden, Whether God may make redi a bord in desert?

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?

For he smoot a stoon, and watris flowiden; and streemys yeden out in aboundaunce. Whether also he may yyue breed; ether make redi a bord to his puple?

21 Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:

Therfor the Lord herde, and delaiede; and fier was kindelid in Jacob, and the ire of God stiede on Israel.

22 Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;

For thei bileueden not in God; nether hopiden in his heelthe.

23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,

And he comaundide to the cloudis aboue; and he openyde the yatis of heuene.

24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.

And he reynede to hem manna for to eete; and he yaf to hem breed of heuene.

25 Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.

Man eet the breed of aungels; he sent to hem meetis in aboundance.

26 He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind;

He turnede ouere the south wynde fro heuene; and he brouyte in bi his vertu the weste wynde.

27 And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,

And he reynede fleischis as dust on hem; and `he reinede volatils fethered, as the grauel of the see.

28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:

And tho felden doun in the myddis of her castels; aboute the tabernaclis of hem.

29 And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.

And thei eeten, and weren fillid greetli, and he brouyte her desire to hem;

30 They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,

thei weren not defraudid of her desier. Yit her metis weren in her mouth;

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.

and the ire of God stiede on hem. And he killide the fatte men of hem; and he lettide the chosene men of Israel.

32 For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;

In alle these thingis thei synneden yit; and bileuede not in the merueils of God.

33 And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.

And the daies of hem failiden in vanytee; and the yeeris of hem faileden with haste.

34 When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;

Whanne he killide hem, thei souyten hym; and turneden ayen, and eerli thei camen to hym.

35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.

And thei bithouyten, that God is the helper of hem; and `the hiy God is the ayenbier of hem.

36 But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue;

And thei loueden hym in her mouth; and with her tunge thei lieden to hym.

37 For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

Forsothe the herte of hem was not riytful with hym; nethir thei weren had feithful in his testament.

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:

But he is merciful, and he schal be maad merciful to the synnes of hem; and he schal not destrie hem. And he dide greetli, to turne awei his yre; and he kyndelide not al his ire.

39 And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.

And he bithouyte, that thei ben fleische; a spirit goynge, and not turnynge ayen.

40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

Hou oft maden thei hym wrooth in desert; thei stireden hym in to ire in a place with out watir.

41 And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.

And thei weren turned, and temptiden God; and thei wraththiden the hooli of Israel.

42 They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,

Thei bithouyten not on his hond; in the dai in the which he ayen bouyte hem fro the hond of the trobler.

43 How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;

As he settide hise signes in Egipt; and hise grete wondris in the feeld of Taphneos.

44 And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;

And he turnede the flodis of hem and the reynes of hem in to blood; that thei schulden not drynke.

45 He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them;

He sente a fleisch flie in to hem, and it eet hem; and he sente a paddok, and it loste hem.

46 And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;

And he yaf the fruytis of hem to rust; and he yaf the trauels of hem to locustis.

47 He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;

And he killide the vynes of hem bi hail; and the moore trees of hem bi a frost.

48 And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.

And he bitook the beestis of hem to hail; and the possessioun of hem to fier.

49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.

He sente in to hem the ire of his indignacioun; indignacioun, and ire, and tribulacioun, sendingis in bi iuel aungels.

50 He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

He made weie to the path of his ire, and he sparide not fro the deth of her lyues; and he closide togidere in deth the beestis of hem.

51 And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.

And he smoot al the first gendrid thing in the lond of Egipt; the first fruytis of alle the trauel of hem in the tabernaclis of Cham.

52 And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

And he took awei his puple as scheep; and he ledde hem forth as a flok in desert.

53 And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.

And he ledde hem forth in hope, and thei dredden not; and the see hilide the enemyes of hem.

54 And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;

And he brouyte hem in to the hil of his halewyng; in to the hil which his riythond gat. And he castide out hethene men fro the face of hem; and bi lot he departide to hem the lond in a cord of delyng.

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.

And he made the lynagis of Israel to dwelle in the tabernaclis of hem.

56 But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies,

And thei temptiden, and wraththiden heiy God; and thei kepten not hise witnessyngis.

57 And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.

And thei turneden awei hem silf, and thei kepten not couenaunt; as her fadris weren turned in to a schrewid bouwe.

58 And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

Thei stiriden him in to ire in her litle hillis; and thei terriden hym to indignacioun of her grauen ymagis.

59 God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

God herde, and forsook; and brouyte to nouyt Israel greetli.

60 And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,

And he puttide awei the tabernacle of Sylo; his tabernacle where he dwellide among men.

61 And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;

And he bitook the vertu of hem in to caitiftee; and the fairnesse of hem in to the hondis of the enemye.

62 And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:

And he closide togidere his puple in swerd; and he dispiside his erytage.

63 The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;

Fier eet the yonge men of hem; and the virgyns of hem weren not biweilid.

64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

The prestis of hem fellen doun bi swerd; and the widewis of hem weren not biwept.

65 Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;

And the Lord was reisid, as slepynge; as miyti greetli fillid of wiyn.

66 And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.

And he smoot hise enemyes on the hynderere partis; he yaf to hem euerlastyng schenschipe.

67 And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,

And he puttide awei the tabernacle of Joseph; and he chees not the lynage of Effraym.

68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;

But he chees the lynage of Juda; he chees the hil of Syon, which he louede.

69 And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.

And he as an vnicorn bildide his hooli place; in the lond, which he foundide in to worldis.

70 And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

And he chees Dauid his seruaunt, and took hym vp fro the flockis of scheep; he took hym fro bihynde scheep with lambren.

71 From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

To feed Jacob his seruaunt; and Israel his eritage.

72 And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.

And he fedde hem in the innocens of his herte; and he ledde hem forth in the vndurstondyngis of his hondis.