Psalms 78
1 AN INSTRUCTION OF ASAPH. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.
Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, [to] my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I open my mouth with an allegory, I bring forth hidden things of old,
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 That we have heard and know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We do not hide from their sons, Recounting praises of YHWH to a later generation, And His strength, and His wonders that He has done.
We will not hide [them] from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 And He raises up a testimony in Jacob, And has placed a law in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.
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:
6 So that a later generation knows, Sons who are born, rise and recount to their sons,
That the generation to come might know [them, even] the children [which] should be born; [who] should arise and declare [them] to their children:
7 And place their confidence in God, And do not forget the doings of God, But keep His commands.
That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
8 And they are not like their fathers, A generation apostatizing and being rebellious, A generation—it has not prepared its heart, Nor [is] its spirit steadfast with God.
And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation [that] set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
9 Sons of Ephraim—armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
The children of Ephraim, [being] armed, [and] carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God, And they have refused to walk in His law,
They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He showed them.
And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.
12 He has done wonders before their fathers, In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan.
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, [in] the field of Zoan.
13 He cleft a sea, and causes them to pass over, Indeed, He causes waters to stand as a heap.
He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
14 And leads them with a cloud by day, And with a light of fire all the night.
In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
15 He cleaves rocks in a wilderness, And gives drink—as the great deep.
He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as [out of] the great depths.
16 And brings out streams from a rock, And causes waters to come down as rivers.
He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 And they still add to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
19 And they speak against God—they said: “Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?”
Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He has struck a rock, And waters flow, indeed, streams overflow. “Also, [is] He able to give bread? Does He prepare flesh for His people?”
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
21 Therefore YHWH has heard, And He shows Himself angry, And fire has been kindled against Jacob, And anger has also gone up against Israel,
Therefore the LORD heard [this], and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
22 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
23 And He commands clouds from above, Indeed, He has opened doors of the heavens.
Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
24 And He rains manna on them to eat, Indeed, He has given grain of the heavens to them.
And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
25 Each has eaten food of the mighty, He sent provision to them to satiety.
Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.
26 He causes an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leads a south wind by His strength,
He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
27 And He rains on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas—winged bird,
He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
28 And causes [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Around His dwelling places.
And he let [it] fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And He brings their desire to them.
So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Their food [is] yet in their mouth,
They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat [was] yet in their mouths,
31 And the anger of God has gone up against them, And He slays among their fat ones, And He caused youths of Israel to bend.
The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen [men] of Israel.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
33 And He consumes their days in vanity, And their years in trouble.
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and earnestly sought God,
When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
And they remembered that God [was] their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
36 And they deceive Him with their mouth, And lie to Him with their tongue,
Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
37 And their heart has not been right with Him, And they have not been steadfast in His covenant.
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
38 And He, the Merciful One, pardons iniquity, and does not destroy, And has often turned back His anger, And does not awaken all His fury.
But he, [being] full of compassion, forgave [their] iniquity, and destroyed [them] not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 And He remembers that they [are] flesh, A wind going on—and it does not return.
For he remembered that they [were but] flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, [and] grieve him in the desert!
41 Indeed, they turn back, and try God, And have limited the Holy One of Israel.
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
They remembered not his hand, [nor] the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
44 And He turns their streams to blood, And they do not drink their floods.
And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
45 He sends among them the beetle, and it consumes them, And the frog, and it destroys them,
He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 And gives their increase to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
47 He destroys their vine with hail, And their sycamores with frost,
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
48 And delivers their beasts up to the hail, And their livestock to the burning flames.
He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 He sends on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress—A discharge of evil messengers.
He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels [among them].
50 He ponders a path for His anger, He did not keep back their soul from death, Indeed, He delivered up their life to the pestilence.
He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
51 And He strikes every firstborn in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of [their] strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
52 And causes His people to journey as a flock, And guides them as a drove in a wilderness,
But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 And He leads them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And the sea has covered their enemies.
And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brings them to the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had acquired,
And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, [even to] this mountain, [which] his right hand had purchased.
55 And casts out nations from before them, And causes them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causes the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,
He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56 And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And have not kept His testimonies.
Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,
But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 And make Him angry with their high places, And make Him zealous with their carved images,
For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 God has heard, and shows Himself angry. And kicks exceedingly against Israel.
When God heard [this], he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
60 And He leaves the Dwelling Place of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent [which] he placed among men;
61 And He gives His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 And delivers His people up to the sword, And showed Himself angry with His inheritance.
He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
63 Fire has consumed His young men, And His virgins have not been praised.
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
64 His priests have fallen by the sword, And their widows do not weep.
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
65 And the Lord wakes as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, [and] like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
66 And He strikes His adversaries backward, He has put a continuous reproach on them,
And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 And He kicks against the tent of Joseph, And has not fixed on the tribe of Ephraim.
Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
68 And He chooses the tribe of Judah, With Mount Zion that He loved,
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
69 And builds His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it for all time.
And he built his sanctuary like high [palaces], like the earth which he hath established for ever.
70 And He fixes on His servant David, And takes him from the folds of a flock,
He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 He has brought him in from behind suckling ones, To rule over Jacob His people, And over Israel His inheritance.
From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72 And he rules them according to the integrity of his heart, And leads them by the skillfulness of his hands!
So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
