Psalms 78
1 “A Maskil of Assaph.” Give ear, O my people, to my instruction: incline thy ear to the words of my mouth.
My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
2 I will open with a parable my mouth: I will utter riddles out of ancient times;
I am going to give you some sayings that wise people have said. They will be sayings about things that happened long ago, things that were difficult to understand [MET],
3 Which we have heard and know, and which our fathers have related unto us.
things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
4 We will not conceal them from their children, relating to the latest generation the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful deeds which he hath done.
We will tell these things to our children [LIT], and we will also tell to our grandchildren [about] Yahweh’s power and the glorious/great things that he has done.
5 Yea, he established a testimony in Jacob, and instituted a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
He gave laws and commandments to the Israeli people, [those who are the descendants of] Jacob [DOU], and he told our ancestors to teach them to their children
6 In order that the latest generation might know them, even the children that are to be born; that they may arise and relate them to their children;
in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
7 That they may place in God their hope, and not forget the doings of God, but observe his commandments;
In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
8 And that they may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that had not directed their heart firmly, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
They would not be like their ancestors, who were very stubborn and kept rebelling [against God]; they did not continue firmly trusting in God, and they did not worship only him.
9 The children of Ephraim, like well-armed archers, that turn round on the day of battle,
[The soldiers of] the tribe of Ephraim had bows [and arrows] but they ran away [from their enemies] on the day that they fought a battle with their enemies.
10 Kept not the covenant of God, and in his law they refused to walk;
They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
11 And they forgot his deeds, as also his wonders, which he had permitted them to see.
They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
12 In the presence of their fathers did he do wonders, in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zo'an.
While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters stand upright as a wall.
[Then] he caused the [Red] Sea to divide, causing the water [on each side] to pile up like a wall, with the result that [our ancestors] walked through it [on dry ground].
14 And he led them with the cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire.
He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the mighty deep.
He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
16 And he brought forth running streams out of the rock, and caused water to run down like rivers.
He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
17 But they repeated to sin yet more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
18 And they tempted God in their heart, by asking food for their desire.
By demanding that God give them the food that they desired, they tried to find out if he would always do what they requested him to do.
19 Yea, they spoke against God: they said, Will God be able to set in order a table in the wilderness?
They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
20 Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed: shall he also be able to give bread? or can he provide flesh for his people?
[It is true that] he struck the rock, with the result that water gushed/flowed out, [but] (can he also provide bread and meat for [us], his people?/we doubt that he can also provide bread and meat for us, his people.)” [RHQ]
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard this, he became wroth: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also ascended against Israel,
So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
22 Because they had not believed in God, and had not trusted in his salvation.
[He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
23 Then he ordained the skies from above, and the doors of heaven he opened;
But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
24 And he let rain down upon them manna to eat, and the corn of heaven gave he unto them.
and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
25 Angels' bread did man eat: he sent them provision to satisfaction.
[So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
26 He caused an east wind to pass along the heavens; and he led forth by his strength the south wind.
[Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
27 And he let rain upon them flesh [as plentiful] as the dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea;
and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
28 And he let them fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
God caused those birds to fall [dead] in the middle of (their camp)/the area where the people had put up their tents. [There were dead birds] all around their tents.
29 And they ate, and were greatly satisfied, and what they longed for he brought unto them.
[So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
30 They were not estranged from their longing, yet was their food in their mouth:
But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
31 When the wrath of God ascended against them, and he slew some of the fattest of them, and the young men of Israel did he strike down.
God was [still] very angry with them, and he caused their strongest men to die; he got rid of [many of] the finest [young] Israeli men.
32 With all this they sinned again, and believed not in his wonders.
In spite of all that, the people continued to sin; in spite of all the miracles that God had performed, they still did not trust that he [would take care of them].
33 Therefore he caused their days to come to an end in nought, and their years in dread.
So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
34 When he slew them, then did they seek him, and they returned and inquired earnestly after God.
When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the most high God their redeemer.
They remembered that God is [like] a huge rock ledge [under which they would be safe] [MET], and that he, who was greater than any other god, is the one who protected/rescued them.
36 Nevertheless they prayed insincerely to him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied unto him.
But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
37 For their heart was not firm with him, and they were not faithful in his covenant.
They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
38 But he, being merciful, forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not awaken all his fury.
But God was merciful to his people. He forgave them for having sinned and did not get rid of them. Many times he refrained from becoming angry [with them] and restrained from furiously/severely [punishing them] [MTY].
39 And he remembered that they are but flesh, a spirit that passeth away, and returneth not again.
He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
40 How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness, grieve him in the desert!
Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
41 Yea, they once more tempted God, and set limits to the Holy One of Israel.
Many times they did evil things, to find out [if they could do those things without God punishing them]. They frequently caused the holy God of Israel to become disgusted/sad.
42 They remembered not his hand, the day when he ransomed them from the adversary;
They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
43 When he displayed in Egypt his signs, and his wonderful tokens in the fields of Zo'an.
They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
44 And he changed their rivers into blood; and their running streams, that they could not drink [of them].
He caused the [Nile] River (OR, their sources of water) to become [red like] blood, with the result that the people of Egypt had no water to drink.
45 He sent out among them various wild beasts, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
46 And he gave unto the cricket their products, and their labor unto the locust.
He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
47 He slew with hail their vines, and their sycamore-trees with ice-bolts.
He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
48 And he surrendered to the hail their cattle, and their herds to the lightning's flashes.
He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
49 He let loose against them the fierceness of his anger, wrath and indignation, and distress, a host of angels of misfortune.
Because God was fiercely angry with the people of Egypt, he caused them to be very distressed. The disasters that struck them were like a group of angels that destroyed [everything].
50 He leveled a path for his anger; he withheld not from death their soul, and their life he surrendered to the pestilence;
He did not lessen his being angry [with them], and he did not (spare their lives/prevent them from dying); he sent a (plague/serious illness) that killed [many of] them.
51 And he smote all the first-born in Egypt; the first of their strength in the tents of Ham;
He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
52 But he caused his own people to depart like flocks, and guided them like a drove in the wilderness.
Then he led his people out [of Egypt] like [a shepherd leads] his sheep [SIM], and he guided them [while they walked] through the desert.
53 And he led them in safety, so that they felt no dread; but the sea covered over their enemies.
He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
54 And he brought them to his holy territory, even to this mount, which his right hand had acquired.
[Later] he brought them to [Canaan], his sacred land, to [Zion] Hill (OR, the hilly area) and by his power [MTY] he enabled them to conquer [the people who were living there].
55 And he drove out from before them nations, and divided them by the measuring-line as an inheritance, and he caused to dwell in their tents the tribes of Israel.
He expelled the people-groups while his people were advancing; he allotted part of the land for [each tribe] to possess, and he gave to the Israeli people the houses of those people who had been expelled.
56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the most high God, and his testimonies they kept not;
However, the Israeli people rebelled against God, who is greater than any other god, and they did many evil things to see if they could do those things without God punishing them, and they did not obey his commandments.
57 But swerved aside, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers; they turned about like a deceitful bow.
Instead, like their ancestors did, they rebelled against God and (were not loyal to/did not faithfully [obey]) him; they were as [unreliable as] a crooked arrow [that does not go straight] [SIM].
58 And they provoked him to anger with their high-places, and with their graven images they moved him to jealousy.
Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
59 God heard this, and he became wroth, and felt greatly disgusted with Israel;
He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
60 And he cast off the dwelling at Shiloh, the tabernacle where he had dwelt among men;
He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
61 And he gave up his strength unto captivity, and his glory into the adversary's hand.
He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
62 And he surrendered his people unto the sword; and with his inheritance was he wroth.
Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
63 His young men the fire devoured; and his virgins were not demanded in marriage.
Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
64 His priests fell by the sword; and his widows did not weep.
[Many] priests were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and (the people did not allow the priests’ widows/the priests’ widows were not allowed) to mourn.
65 Then awoke the Lord as one that sleepeth, like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
Later, [it was as though] the Lord awoke from sleeping; he was like a strong man who (became stimulated/felt that he was strong) by (OR, became sober after) [drinking] a lot of wine [SIM].
66 And he smote his enemies backward: a perpetual disgrace on them.
He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
67 Yet was he disgusted with the tent of Joseph, and of the tribe of Ephraim he made not choice;
[But] he did not set up his tent where [the people of] the tribe of Ephraim lived; he did not choose their area [to do that].
68 But he chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
69 And he built like high [mountains] his sanctuary, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
He [decided to have] his temple built [there], high up, like [his home in] heaven; he caused it to be firm, [and intended that] his temple would last forever, like the earth.
70 And he made choice of David his servant, and took him from the sheep-folds:
He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
71 From following the ewes with young he brought him, to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
where he was taking care of his [father’s] sheep, and appointed him to be the leader [MET] of the Israeli people, the people who belong to God.
72 And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and by the skilfulness of his hands did he lead them.
David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
