Psalms 78

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

“A psalm of Asaph.” Give ear, O my people, to my instruction! 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 psalm; I will utter sayings of ancient times.

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

What we have heard and learned, 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 from their children; Showing to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, His might, and the wonders he hath wrought.

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 appointed statutes in Jacob, And established a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers To make known to their children;

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

So that the generation to come might know them; The children, which should be born, and rise up, Who should 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 put their trust in God, And not forget his deeds, 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, like their forefathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, —A generation whose heart was not fixed upon God, And whose spirit was not steadfast toward the Almighty.

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

The children of Ephraim were like armed bowmen, Who turn their backs 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 forgot his mighty deeds, And the wonders he had shown 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; Yea, he made the waters to stand as a heap.

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

By day he led them by a cloud, And all the night by 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 from the great deep.

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

From the rock he brought flowing streams, And made water to run down like rivers.

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

Yet still they sinned against him, And provoked the Most High in the desert.

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

They tempted God in their hearts, By asking food for their delight.

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

Yea, they spake against God, and said, “Can God spread 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, and the water flowed, And streams gushed forth: Is he also able to give bread? 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,

When, therefore, the LORD heard this, he was wroth: So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger arose 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 aid.

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

Yet he had commanded the clouds above, And had 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 upon them manna for food, And had given them the corn of heaven.

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

Every one ate the food of princes; He sent them bread to the full.

26 He causes an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leads a south wind by His strength,

Then he caused a strong wind to blow in the heavens, And by his power he brought a south wind;

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

He rained down flesh upon them as dust, And feathered fowls as the sand of the sea.

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

He caused them to 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 filled; For he gave them their own desire.

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

Their desire was not yet satisfied, And 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.

When the wrath of God came upon them, And slew their strong men, 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 put no trust in his wondrous works.

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

Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, And their years in sudden destruction.

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

When he slew them, they sought him; They returned, and sought earnestly for God;

35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.

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

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

But they only flattered him with their mouths, And spake falsely to 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 hearts were not true to him, Nor were they steadfast 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.

Yet, being full of compassion, he forgave their iniquity, And would not utterly destroy them; Often he restrained his indignation, And stirred not up all his anger.

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

He remembered that they were but flesh, —A breath, that passeth and cometh not back.

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

How often did they provoke him in the wilderness! How often did they anger him in the desert!

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

Again and again they tempted God, And offended 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,

What signs he had wrought in Egypt, And what wonders in the fields of Zoan.

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

He turned their rivers into blood, So that they could not drink of their streams.

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

He sent amongst them flies, 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 fruits to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.

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

He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore-trees with frost.

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

He also gave up their cattle to 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 sent against them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, indignation, and woe, —A host of angels of evil.

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 for his anger, He spared them not from death, But gave up their lives to the pestilence.

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

He smote all the firstborn in Egypt; The first-fruits 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 led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them like a flock in the wilderness.

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

He led them on safely, so that they feared not, While the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

54 And He brings them to the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had acquired,

He brought them to his own sacred border, Even to this mountain which his right hand had gained.

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 nations before them, And divided their land by a measuring-line, as an inheritance, And caused 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 God, the Most High, And kept not his statutes;

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

Like their fathers they were faithless, and turned back; They turned aside, like a deceitful bow.

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

They provoked his anger by their high places, And stirred up his jealousy by their graven images.

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

God saw this, and 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 habitation at Shiloh, The tabernacle where he dwelt 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 hand of the enemy.

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

His own people he gave up to the sword, And was wroth with his own inheritance.

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

Fire consumed their young men, And their maidens did not bewail them.

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.

But at length the Lord awaked as from sleep, As a hero who had been overpowered by wine;

66 And He strikes His adversaries backward, He has put a continuous reproach on them,

He smote his enemies, and drove them back, And covered them with everlasting disgrace.

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

Yet he rejected the tents 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.

Where he built, like the heavens, his sanctuary; 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,

And he chose David, 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 tending the suckling ewes 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!

He fed them with an upright heart, And guided them with skilful hands.