Psalms 78

1 AN INSTRUCTION OF ASAPH. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.

“A Maskil of Assaph.” Give ear, O my people, to my instruction: incline thy ear to the words of my mouth.

2 I open my mouth with an allegory, I bring forth hidden things of old,

I will open with a parable my mouth: I will utter riddles out of ancient times;

3 That we have heard and know, And our fathers have recounted to us.

Which we have heard and know, and which our fathers have related unto 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 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.

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.

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:

6 So that a later generation knows, Sons who are born, rise and recount to their sons,

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;

7 And place their confidence in God, And do not forget the doings of God, But keep His commands.

That they may place in God their hope, and not forget the doings of God, but observe 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 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.

9 Sons of Ephraim—armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.

The children of Ephraim, like well-armed archers, that turn round on the day of battle,

10 They have not kept the covenant of God, And they have refused to walk in His law,

Kept not the covenant of God, and in his law they refused to walk;

11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He showed them.

And they forgot his deeds, as also his wonders, which he had permitted them to see.

12 He has done wonders before their fathers, In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan.

In the presence of their fathers did he do wonders, in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zo'an.

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 stand upright as a wall.

14 And leads them with a cloud by day, And with a light of fire all the night.

And he led them with the cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire.

15 He cleaves rocks in a wilderness, And gives drink—as the great deep.

He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the mighty deep.

16 And brings out streams from a rock, And causes waters to come down as rivers.

And he brought forth running streams out of the rock, and caused water to run down like rivers.

17 And they still add to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.

But they repeated to sin yet more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.

And they tempted God in their heart, by asking food for their desire.

19 And they speak against God—they said: “Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?”

Yea, they spoke against God: they said, Will God be able to set in order 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, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed: shall he also be able to give bread? or 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, when the Lord heard this, he became wroth: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also ascended against Israel,

22 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.

Because they had not believed in God, and had not trusted in his salvation.

23 And He commands clouds from above, Indeed, He has opened doors of the heavens.

Then he ordained the skies from above, and the doors of heaven he opened;

24 And He rains manna on them to eat, Indeed, He has given grain of the heavens to them.

And he let rain down upon them manna to eat, and the corn of heaven gave he unto them.

25 Each has eaten food of the mighty, He sent provision to them to satiety.

Angels' bread did man eat: he sent them provision to satisfaction.

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 pass along the heavens; and he led forth by his strength the south wind.

27 And He rains on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas—winged bird,

And he let rain upon them flesh [as plentiful] as the dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea;

28 And causes [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Around His dwelling places.

And he let them 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.

And they ate, and were greatly satisfied, and what they longed for he brought unto them.

30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Their food [is] yet in their mouth,

They were not estranged from their longing, yet was their food in their mouth:

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.

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.

32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.

With all this they sinned again, and believed not in his wonders.

33 And He consumes their days in vanity, And their years in trouble.

Therefore he caused their days to come to an end in nought, and their years in dread.

34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and earnestly sought God,

When he slew them, then did they seek him, and they returned and inquired earnestly 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 most high God their redeemer.

36 And they deceive Him with their mouth, And lie to Him with their tongue,

Nevertheless they prayed insincerely to him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied unto him.

37 And their heart has not been right with Him, And they have not been steadfast in His covenant.

For their heart was not firm with him, and they were not faithful 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 merciful, forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not awaken all his fury.

39 And He remembers that they [are] flesh, A wind going on—and it does not return.

And he remembered that they are but flesh, a spirit that passeth away, and returneth not again.

40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?

How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness, grieve him in the desert!

41 Indeed, they turn back, and try God, And have limited the Holy One of Israel.

Yea, they once more tempted God, and set limits to 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, the day when he ransomed them from the adversary;

43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,

When he displayed in Egypt his signs, and his wonderful tokens in the fields of Zo'an.

44 And He turns their streams to blood, And they do not drink their floods.

And he changed their rivers into blood; and their running streams, that they could not drink [of them].

45 He sends among them the beetle, and it consumes them, And the frog, and it destroys them,

He sent out among them various wild beasts, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

46 And gives their increase to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.

And he gave unto the cricket their products, and their labor unto the locust.

47 He destroys their vine with hail, And their sycamores with frost,

He slew with hail their vines, and their sycamore-trees with ice-bolts.

48 And delivers their beasts up to the hail, And their livestock to the burning flames.

And he surrendered to the hail their cattle, and their herds to the lightning's flashes.

49 He sends on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress—A discharge of evil messengers.

He let loose against them the fierceness of his anger, wrath and indignation, and distress, a host of angels of misfortune.

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 leveled a path for his anger; he withheld not from death their soul, and their life he surrendered to the pestilence;

51 And He strikes every firstborn in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.

And he smote all the first-born in Egypt; the first of their strength in the tents of Ham;

52 And causes His people to journey as a flock, And guides them as a drove in a wilderness,

But he caused his own people to depart like flocks, and guided them like a drove in the wilderness.

53 And He leads them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And the sea has covered their enemies.

And he led them in safety, so that they felt no dread; but the sea covered over 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 his holy territory, even to this mount, which his right hand had acquired.

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,

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.

56 And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And have not kept His testimonies.

Yet they tempted and rebelled against the most high God, and his testimonies they kept not;

57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,

But swerved aside, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers; they turned about like a deceitful bow.

58 And make Him angry with their high places, And make Him zealous with their carved images,

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

59 God has heard, and shows Himself angry. And kicks exceedingly against Israel.

God heard this, and he became wroth, and felt greatly disgusted with Israel;

60 And He leaves the Dwelling Place of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,

And he cast off the dwelling at Shiloh, the tabernacle where he had dwelt among men;

61 And He gives His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,

And he gave up his strength unto captivity, and his glory into the adversary's hand.

62 And delivers His people up to the sword, And showed Himself angry with His inheritance.

And he surrendered his people unto the sword; and with his inheritance was he wroth.

63 Fire has consumed His young men, And His virgins have not been praised.

His young men the fire devoured; and his virgins were not demanded in marriage.

64 His priests have fallen by the sword, And their widows do not weep.

His priests fell by the sword; and his widows did not weep.

65 And the Lord wakes as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.

Then awoke the Lord as one that sleepeth, 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 backward: a perpetual disgrace on them.

67 And He kicks against the tent of Joseph, And has not fixed on the tribe of Ephraim.

Yet was he disgusted with the tent of Joseph, and of the tribe of Ephraim he made not choice;

68 And He chooses the tribe of Judah, With Mount Zion that He loved,

But he 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 like high [mountains] his sanctuary, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.

70 And He fixes on His servant David, And takes him from the folds of a flock,

And he made choice of David his servant, and took him from the sheep-folds:

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 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!

And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and by the skilfulness of his hands did he lead them.