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 Asaph. My people, attend to my teaching: bend your ears to the words of my mouth,
2 I open my mouth with an allegory, I bring forth hidden things of old,
as I open my mouth in a poem on the riddling story of the past.
3 That we have heard and know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
What we have heard and known, and what our ancestors 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. We will tell to the next generation the praises and might of the Lord, and the wonders that he has 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.
He set up a testimony in Jacob, a law he appointed in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to make known to their children,
6 So that a later generation knows, Sons who are born, rise and recount to their sons,
that the next generation should know it, that the children yet to be born should arise and tell their children;
7 And place their confidence in God, And do not forget the doings of God, But keep His commands.
that in God they might put their confidence, and not forget God’s works; but that they might 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 not be like their ancestors, a generation defiant and stubborn, a generation with heart unsteady, and spirit unfaithful towards God.
9 Sons of Ephraim—armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
Ephraimites, armed bowmen, 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 did not keep God’s covenant, they refused to walk in his law.
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He showed them.
They forgot what he had done, and the wonders he had shown them.
12 He has done wonders before their fathers, In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan.
He did wonders before their ancestors in the country of Zoan in Egypt.
13 He cleft a sea, and causes them to pass over, Indeed, He causes waters to stand as a heap.
Through the sea which he split he brought them, making waters stand up like a heap;
14 And leads them with a cloud by day, And with a light of fire all the night.
he led them by day with a cloud, all the night with a light of fire.
15 He cleaves rocks in a wilderness, And gives drink—as the great deep.
From the rocks which he split in the wilderness, he gave them to drink as of ocean’s abundance.
16 And brings out streams from a rock, And causes waters to come down as rivers.
He brought streams out of the rock, and made water run down like rivers.
17 And they still add to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
Yet they still went on sinning against him, they defied the Most High in the desert.
18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
They willfully challenged God, demanding the food that they longed for.
19 And they speak against God—they said: “Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?”
“Is God able,” such was their challenge, “to spread in the desert a table?
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?”
From the rock that he struck there gushed water, and torrents that overflowed; but can he also give bread, or provide his people with meat?”
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 the Lord heard this, he was furious, and fire was kindled on Jacob, anger flared up against Israel.
22 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
For they put no trust in God, no confidence in his help.
23 And He commands clouds from above, Indeed, He has opened doors of the heavens.
So he summoned the clouds above; and, opening the doors of heaven,
24 And He rains manna on them to eat, Indeed, He has given grain of the heavens to them.
he rained manna upon them for food, and grain of heaven he gave them.
25 Each has eaten food of the mighty, He sent provision to them to satiety.
Everyone ate the bread of angels; he sent them food to the full.
26 He causes an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leads a south wind by His strength,
He launched the east wind in the heavens, and guided the south by his power.
27 And He rains on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas—winged bird,
He rained meat upon them like dust, winged bird like the sand of the sea.
28 And causes [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Around His dwelling places.
In the midst of their camp he dropped it, all around their tents.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And He brings their desire to them.
They ate and were more than filled; he had brought them the thing they desired.
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Their food [is] yet in their mouth,
But the thing they desired became loathsome: while their food was still 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 rose against them. He slew the stoutest among them, and laid low the young men of Israel.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
Yet for all this they sinned yet more, and refused to believe in his wonders.
33 And He consumes their days in vanity, And their years in trouble.
So he ended their days in a breath, and their years in sudden dismay.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and earnestly sought God,
When he slew them, then they sought after him, they turned and sought God with diligence.
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
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,
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
37 And their heart has not been right with Him, And they have not been steadfast in His covenant.
Their heart was not steady with him, they were faithless to 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 is full of pity: he pardons sin and destroys not. Often he turns his anger away, without stirring his wrath at all.
39 And He remembers that they [are] flesh, A wind going on—and it does not return.
So he remembered that they were but flesh, breath that passes and does not return.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
But how often they rebelled in the desert, and caused him grief in the wilderness,
41 Indeed, they turn back, and try God, And have limited the Holy One of Israel.
tempting God again and again, provoking the Holy One of Israel.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
They did not remember his strength, nor the day he redeemed from the foe,
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
how he set his signs in Egypt, in the country of Zoan his wonders.
44 And He turns their streams to blood, And they do not drink their floods.
He turned their canals into blood, their streams undrinkable.
45 He sends among them the beetle, and it consumes them, And the frog, and it destroys them,
He sent forth flies, which devoured them; frogs, too, which destroyed them.
46 And gives their increase to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
Their crops he gave to the caterpillar, and the fruits of their toil to the locust.
47 He destroys their vine with hail, And their sycamores with frost,
He slew 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 delivered their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to bolts of fire.
49 He sends on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress—A discharge of evil messengers.
He let loose his hot anger among them, fury and wrath and distress, a band of destroying angels.
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 cleared a path for his anger, did not spare them from death, but gave them over to pestilence.
51 And He strikes every firstborn in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
He struck down 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,
He led forth his people like sheep, he was guide to his flock in the desert.
53 And He leads them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And the sea has covered their enemies.
Securely he led them, and free from fear, while their foes were drowned in the sea.
54 And He brings them to the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had acquired,
To his holy realm he brought them, to the mountain 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 drove out the nations before them, and allotted their land for possession, and their tents for Israel to live in.
56 And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And have not kept His testimonies.
Yet they tempted and angered the Most High God, they did not observe his decrees.
57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,
They drew back, false like their ancestors; they failed like a treacherous bow.
58 And make Him angry with their high places, And make Him zealous with their carved images,
Their shrines stirred him to anger, their idols moved him to jealousy.
59 God has heard, and shows Himself angry. And kicks exceedingly against Israel.
When God heard of this, he was furious, and he spurned Israel utterly.
60 And He leaves the Dwelling Place of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
He abandoned his home in Shiloh, the tent he had pitched among people.
61 And He gives His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
He gave his strength up to captivity, his glory to the hands of the foe.
62 And delivers His people up to the sword, And showed Himself angry with His inheritance.
He gave his people to the sword, he was furious with his own.
63 Fire has consumed His young men, And His virgins have not been praised.
Fire devoured their young men, and their maidens had no marriage-song.
64 His priests have fallen by the sword, And their widows do not weep.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 And the Lord wakes as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior flushed with wine;
66 And He strikes His adversaries backward, He has put a continuous reproach on them,
and he beat back his foes, putting them to perpetual scorn.
67 And He kicks against the tent of Joseph, And has not fixed on the tribe of Ephraim.
He disowned the tent of Joseph, he rejected the tribe of Ephraim;
68 And He chooses the tribe of Judah, With Mount Zion that He loved,
but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 And builds His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it for all time.
And he built like the heights his sanctuary, like the earth which he founded forever.
70 And He fixes on His servant David, And takes him from the folds of a flock,
And he chose David his servant, taking 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 the mother-ewes he brought him, to be shepherd to Jacob his people, and to Israel his inheritance.
72 And he rules them according to the integrity of his heart, And leads them by the skillfulness of his hands!
With upright heart did he shepherd them, and with skilful hands did he guide them.
