Psalms 78
1 A psalm (maskil) of Asaph. Listen to what I have to teach you, my people; hear what I have to say.
Intellectus Asaph. Attendite popule meus legem meam: inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei.
2 I will tell you wise sayings; I will explain mysteries from the past
Aperiam in parabolis os meum: loquar propositiones ab initio.
3 that we have heard before and reflected on; stories our forefathers passed down to us.
Quanta audivimus et cognovimus ea: et patres nostri narraverunt nobis.
4 We will not keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about God's marvelous actions—about his power and the amazing things he has done.
Non sunt occultata a filiis eorum, in generatione altera. Narrantes laudes Domini, et virtutes eius, et mirabilia eius quæ fecit.
5 He gave his laws to the descendants of Jacob; his instructions to the people of Israel. He commanded our forefathers to teach them to their children,
Et suscitavit testimonium in Iacob: et legem posuit in Israel. Quanta mandavit patribus nostris nota facere ea filiis suis:
6 so that the next generation—children yet to be born—would understand and grow up to teach their children.
ut cognoscat generatio altera. Filii qui nascentur, et exurgent, et narrabunt filiis suis,
7 In this way they should place their trust in God and not forget what God has done, and keep his commandments.
Ut ponant in Deo spem suam, et non obliviscantur operum Dei: et mandata eius exquirant.
8 Then they would not be like their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation that was untrustworthy and unfaithful.
Ne fiant sicut patres eorum: generatio prava et exasperans. Generatio, quæ non direxit cor suum: et non est creditus cum Deo spiritus eius.
9 The soldiers of Ephraim, though armed with bows, ran away on the day of battle.
Filii Ephrem intendentes et mittentes arcum: conversi sunt in die belli.
10 They did not keep God's agreement, and refused to follow his laws.
Non custodierunt testamentum Dei, et in lege eius noluerunt ambulare.
11 They ignored what he had done, and the amazing things he had shown them—
Et obliti sunt benefactorum eius, et mirabilium eius quæ ostendit eis.
12 the miracles he had performed for their forefathers near Zoan in Egypt.
Coram patribus eorum fecit mirabilia in terra Ægypti, in campo Taneos.
13 He split the sea in two and led them through, making the water stand like walls on either side.
Interrupit mare, et perduxit eos: et statuit aquas quasi in utre.
14 He led them with a cloud by day, and by night with a light of fire.
Et deduxit eos in nube diei: et tota nocte in illuminatione ignis.
15 He split open rocks in the desert to give his people plenty to drink, water as deep as the ocean.
Interrupit petram in eremo: et adaquavit eos velut in abysso multa.
16 He made streams flow from the stone; water rushing down like rivers!
Et eduxit aquam de petra: et deduxit tamquam flumina aquas.
17 But they repeatedly sinned against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
Et apposuerunt adhuc peccare ei: in iram excitaverunt Excelsum in inaquoso.
18 They deliberately provoked God by demanding the foods they longed for.
Et tentaverunt Deum in cordibus suis: ut peterent escas animabus suis.
19 They insulted God by saying, “Can God provide food here in the desert?
Et male locuti sunt de Deo: dixerunt: Numquid poterit Deus parare mensam in deserto?
20 Yes, he can strike a rock so that water gushes out like flowing rivers, but can he give us bread? Can he supply his people with meat?”
Quoniam percussit petram, et fluxerunt aquæ, et torrentes inundaverunt. Numquid et panem poterit dare, aut parare mensam populo suo?
21 When he heard this, the Lord became very angry, burning like fire against the descendants of Jacob, furious with the people of Israel,
Ideo audivit Dominus, et distulit: et ignis accensus est in Iacob, et ira ascendit in Israel:
22 for they didn't believe in God and didn't trust him to take care of them.
Quia non crediderunt in Deo, nec speraverunt in salutari eius:
23 Even so he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven to open,
Et mandavit nubibus desuper, et ianuas cæli aperuit.
24 and he made manna rain down on them to eat, giving them bread from heaven.
Et pluit illis manna ad manducandum, et panem cæli dedit eis.
25 Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them more than enough food.
Panem angelorum manducavit homo: cibaria misit eis in abundantia.
26 He sent the east wind blowing across the sky; by his power he drove the south wind.
Transtulit Austrum de cælo: et induxit in virtute sua Africum.
27 He rained down meat on them as plentiful as dust; birds as numerous as sand on a beach.
Et pluit super eos sicut pulverem carnes, et sicut arenam maris volatilia pennata.
28 He made them fall right in the middle of their camp, all around where they were living.
Et ceciderunt in medio castrorum eorum: circa tabernacula eorum.
29 They ate until they were full. He gave them the food they longed for.
Et manducaverunt et saturati sunt nimis, et desiderium eorum attulit eis:
30 But before they satisfied their appetite, while the meat was still in their mouths,
non sunt fraudati a desiderio suo. Adhuc escæ eorum erant in ore ipsorum,
31 God became angry with them and he killed their strongest men, striking them down in the prime of life.
et ira Dei ascendit super eos. Et occidit pingues eorum, et electos Israel impedivit.
32 Despite all this they went right on sinning. Despite the miracles, they refused to trust him.
In omnibus his peccaverunt adhuc: et non crediderunt in mirabilibus eius.
33 So he snuffed out their futile lives, bringing them to an end in terror.
Et defecerunt in vanitate dies eorum: et anni eorum cum festinatione.
34 When he began killing them, the rest came back to God in repentance, praying to him.
Cum occideret eos, quærebant eum: et revertebantur, et diluculo veniebant ad eum.
35 They remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their Savior.
Et rememorati sunt quia Deus adiutor est eorum: et Deus excelsus redemptor eorum est.
36 They flattered him by what they told him, but they were only lying.
Et dilexerunt eum in ore suo, et lingua sua mentiti sunt ei:
37 Deep down they were not sincere, and did not keep the agreement they had with him.
Cor autem eorum non erat rectum cum eo: nec fideles habiti sunt in testamento eius.
38 But being compassionate he pardoned their guilt and did not destroy all of them. He often held back his anger—he did not pour out all his fury.
Ipse autem est misericors, et propitius fiet peccatis eorum: et non disperdet eos. Et abundavit ut averteret iram suam: et non accendit omnem iram suam:
39 He remembered their mortality—that they were like a puff of wind that would not return.
Et recordatus est quia caro sunt: spiritus vadens, et non rediens.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, giving him grief in the desert!
Quoties exacerbaverunt eum in deserto, in iram concitaverunt eum in inaquoso?
41 Again and again they provoked God, causing pain to the Holy One of Israel.
Et conversi sunt, et tentaverunt Deum: et sanctum Israel exacerbaverunt.
42 They did not remember his strength when he rescued them from their oppressors,
Non sunt recordati manus eius, die qua redemit eos de manu tribulantis,
43 performing miracles in Egypt, doing wonderful things on the plain of Zoan.
Sicut posuit in Ægypto signa sua, et prodigia sua in campo Taneos.
44 There he turned their rivers and their streams into blood so that no one could drink from them.
Et convertit in sanguinem flumina eorum, et imbres eorum, ne biberent.
45 He sent flies among them to destroy them, and frogs to ruin everything.
Misit in eos cœnomyiam, et comedit eos: et ranam, et disperdidit eos.
46 He gave their crops to locusts; everything they worked had for was taken by locusts.
Et dedit ærugini fructus eorum: et labores eorum locustæ.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their fig trees with freezing rain.
Et occidit in grandine vineas eorum: et moros eorum in pruina.
48 He handed over their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning bolts.
Et tradidit grandini iumenta eorum: et possessionem eorum igni.
49 He poured out on them his fierce anger—rage and hostility and anguish—sending a band of destroying angels against them.
Misit in eos iram indignationis suæ: indignationem, et iram, et tribulationem: immissiones per angelos malos.
50 He sent his unrestrained anger against them; he did not spare them from death, handing them over to the plague.
Viam fecit semitæ iræ suæ, non pepercit a morte animabus eorum: et iumenta eorum in morte conclusit.
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the first to be conceived in the tents of Ham.
Et percussit omne primogenitum in terra Ægypti: primitias omnis laboris eorum in tabernaculis Cham.
52 But he led out his people like sheep, and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
Et abstulit sicut oves populum suum: et perduxit eos tamquam gregem in deserto.
53 He led them to safety, and they were not afraid. He drowned their enemies in the sea.
Et deduxit eos in spe, et non timuerunt: et inimicos eorum operuit mare.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land that he had conquered for them.
Et induxit eos in montem sanctificationis suæ, montem, quem acquisivit dextera eius. Et eiecit a facie eorum Gentes: et sorte divisit eis terram in funiculo distributionis.
55 He drove out the heathen nations before them. He divided up the land for them to own. He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
Et habitare fecit in tabernaculis eorum tribus Israel.
56 But they provoked God Most High, rebelling against him. They did not follow what he had told them.
Et tentaverunt, et exacerbaverunt Deum excelsum: et testimonia eius non custodierunt.
57 Just like their forefathers they turned away from God and were unfaithful to him, as twisted as a defective bow.
Et averterunt se, et non servaverunt pactum: quemadmodum patres eorum, conversi sunt in arcum pravum.
58 They made him angry with their pagan high places of worship; they made him jealous with their idols.
In iram concitaverunt eum in collibus suis: et in sculptilibus suis ad æmulationem eum provocaverunt.
59 When God heard their worship he became furious and he totally rejected Israel.
Audivit Deus, et sprevit: et ad nihilum redegit valde Israel.
60 He abandoned his place at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he lived among the people.
Et repulit tabernaculum Silo, tabernaculum suum, ubi habitavit in hominibus.
61 He surrendered the Ark of his power, allowing it to be captured; handing it over into enemy hands.
Et tradidit in captivitatem virtutem eorum: et pulchritudinem eorum in manus inimici.
62 He handed over his people to be slaughtered by the sword; he was furious with his chosen people.
Et conclusit in gladio populum suum: et hereditatem suam sprevit.
63 Their young men were destroyed by fire; their young women had no wedding songs.
Iuvenes eorum comedit ignis: et virgines eorum non sunt lamentatæ.
64 Their priests were killed by the sword; their widows were unable to mourn.
Sacerdotes eorum in gladio ceciderunt: et viduæ eorum non plorabantur.
65 Then the Lord woke up as if from sleep, as a warrior sobering up from drinking wine.
Et excitatus est tamquam dormiens Dominus, tamquam potens crapulatus a vino.
66 He defeated his enemies, striking them on the back, causing them everlasting shame.
Et percussit inimicos suos in posteriora: opprobrium sempiternum dedit illis.
67 He rejected the descendants of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
Et repulit tabernaculum Ioseph: et tribum Ephraim non elegit:
68 Instead he chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion which he loves.
Sed elegit tribum Iuda, montem Sion quem dilexit.
69 There he built his sanctuary, high like the heavens, on earth that he made to last forever.
Et ædificavit sicut unicornium sanctificium suum in terra, quam fundavit in sæcula.
70 He chose his servant David, taking him from the sheep pens,
Et elegit David servum suum, et sustulit eum de gregibus ovium: de post fœtantes accepit eum.
71 taking him from caring for the sheep and lambs to be a shepherd to the descendants of Jacob—God's special people, Israel.
Pascere Iacob servum suum, et Israel hereditatem suam:
72 Like a shepherd, he took care of them with sincere devotion, leading them with skillful hands.
Et pavit eos in innocentia cordis sui: et in intellectibus manuum suarum deduxit eos.
