Psalms 78
1 AN INSTRUCTION OF ASAPH. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.
A contemplation by Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people. Turn 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, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds 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.
For he established a covenant in Jacob, and appointed a teaching 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, even the children who should be born; who 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 they might set their hope in God, and not forget God’s 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 as their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast 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 didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law.
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He showed them.
They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them.
12 He has done wonders before their fathers, In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan.
He did marvelous things 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 split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.
14 And leads them with a cloud by day, And with a light of fire all the night.
In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all 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 abundantly as out of the 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.
Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against 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 heart by asking food according to their desire.
19 And they speak against God—they said: “Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?”
Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare 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 struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide meat 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 Yahweh heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel,
22 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
because they didn’t believe in God, and didn’t trust in his salvation.
23 And He commands clouds from above, Indeed, He has opened doors of the heavens.
Yet he commanded the skies 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.
He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky.
25 Each has eaten food of the mighty, He sent provision to them to satiety.
Man 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 caused the east wind to blow in the sky. By his power he guided the south wind.
27 And He rains on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas—winged bird,
He also rained meat on them as the dust, winged birds as the sand of the seas.
28 And causes [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Around His dwelling places.
He let them fall in the middle of their camp, around their habitations.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And He brings their desire to them.
So they ate, and were well filled. He gave them their own desire.
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Their food [is] yet in their mouth,
They didn’t turn from their cravings. Their food 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 anger of God went up against them, killed some of their strongest, and struck down the young men of Israel.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
For all this they still sinned, and didn’t believe 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 terror.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and earnestly sought God,
When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly.
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
They remembered that God was their rock, 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.
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they 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 iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath.
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 wind that passes away, and doesn’t come again.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!
41 Indeed, they turn back, and try God, And have limited the Holy One of Israel.
They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan,
44 And He turns their streams to blood, And they do not drink their floods.
he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so 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 among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 And gives their increase to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
He also gave their increase 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, their sycamore fig trees with frost.
48 And delivers their beasts up to the hail, And their livestock to the burning flames.
He also gave over their livestock 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 threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band 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 path for his anger. He didn’t spare 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 struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief 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 out his own people 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.
He led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid, but 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 the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
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 also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for 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 rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep 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 treacherously like their fathers. They were twisted 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 engraved images.
59 God has heard, and shows Himself angry. And kicks exceedingly against Israel.
When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel,
60 And He leaves the Dwelling Place of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
so that he abandoned the tent 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, his glory into the adversary’s hand.
62 And delivers His people up to the sword, And showed Himself angry with His inheritance.
He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance.
63 Fire has consumed His young men, And His virgins have not been praised.
Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.
64 His priests have fallen by the sword, And their widows do not weep.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep.
65 And the Lord wakes as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
66 And He strikes His adversaries backward, He has put a continuous reproach on them,
He struck his adversaries backward. 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 rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 And He chooses the tribe of Judah, With Mount Zion that He loved,
But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
69 And builds His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it for all time.
He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever.
70 And He fixes on His servant David, And takes him from the folds of a flock,
He also 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 following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of 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 was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
