Psalms 78

1 An Instructive Psalm. Asaph’s. Give ear, O my people, to mine instruction, Bend your ear to the sayings of my mouth;

An instruction. Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open, in a parable, my mouth, I will pour forth enigmas out of antiquity; —

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,

3 Which we have heard, and come to know, And, our fathers, have recounted to us;

Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:

4 We will not withhold [them] from their children, To a later generation, recounting the praises of Yahweh, Even his might and his wonders which he wrought;

We will not hide [them] from their sons, shewing forth to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength, and his marvellous works which he hath done.

5 When he set up a testimony in Jacob, And, a law, appointed in Israel, —Which he commanded our fathers, That they might make them known to their children;

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 To the end, A later generation, might come to know, Children who should be born, Who should arise, and recount [them] to their children;

That the generation to come might know [them], the children that should be born; that they might rise up and tell [them] to their children,

7 That they might set, in Elohim, their confidence, —And not forget the doings of El, But, his commandments, might observe;

And that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but observe his commandments;

8 And not become, like their fathers, a generation stubborn and rebellious, —A generation that fixed not their heart, Neither was their spirit, faithful with GOD.

And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that prepared not their heart, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

9 The sons of Ephraim—armed bowmen, Turned in the day of battle;

The sons of Ephraim, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.

10 They kept not the covenant of God, And, in his law, refused to walk;

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;

11 And forgat His doings, And his wonders which he had showed them:

And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.

12 In presence of their fathers, wrought he, wondrously, —In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan:

In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.

13 He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through, And reared up the waters like a mound;

He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap;

14 And led them, by a cloud, in the daytime, And all the night, by a light of fire;

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

15 He used to cleave rocks in the desert, And let them drink as out of mighty deeps;

He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly;

16 And he brought forth streams out of the cliff, And caused waters to flow down, like rivers.

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

17 But again, once more sinned they against him, Resisting the Most High in a land of drought:

Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;

18 They put GOD to the proof in their heart, By asking food to their mind:

And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;

19 Yea they spake against Elohim, —They said, Can GOD prepare a table in the desert?

And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?

20 Lo! he hath smitten a rock, And waters, have gushed out, Yea, torrents, have rushed along, —Food also, can he give? Or provide flesh for his people?

Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?

21 Therefore, Yahweh hearkened, and became wroth, —And, a fire, was kindled against Jacob, Moreover also, anger, mounted against Israel;

Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:

22 Because, They believed not in God, Nor trusted in his salvation;

Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;

23 Though he had commanded the skies above, And, the doors of the heavens, had opened;

Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,

24 And had rained on them manna to eat, And, the corn of the heavens, had given to them:

And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.

25 The food of the mighty, each one did eat, Nourishment, sent he them to the full;

Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.

26 He let loose an east wind in the heavens, Then guided he, in his might, a south wind;

He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind;

27 And rained upon them flesh as the dust, And, like the sand of the seas, birds of wing;

And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,

28 And let them fall in the midst of their camp, —Round about their habitations.

And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:

29 So they did eat and were abundantly filled, When, what they longed for, he had brought them: —

And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.

30 They had not turned away from what they had longed for, Yet was their food in their mouth,

They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,

31 When, the anger of God, mounted against them, And he slew of their vigorous youths, And, the choice young men of Israel, caused he to bow down in death.

When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

32 For all this, sinned they still, And believed not in his wonders;

For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;

33 So he ended, in a breath, their days, And their years, in a sudden terror!

And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.

34 If he slew [of] them, then they sought him, Yea they turned, and did earnestly seek GOD;

When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;

35 And remembered that, Elohim, was their rock, Yea, EL Most High, their Redeemer:

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

36 So they spake him fair with their mouth, And, with their tongue, did promise him falsely;

But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue;

37 But, their heart, was not fixed with him, Nor were they trusty in his covenant:

For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

38 Yet, he, full of compassion, would put a propitiatory-covering over iniquity, and not destroy, —Yea, many a time, turned he back his anger, And would not stir up all his wrath.

But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury:

39 So then he remembered, That, Flesh, they were, A Wind departing, that returneth not.

And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.

40 How often they, Resisted him in the desert, Vexed him, in the waste:

How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

41 Yea they again put GOD to the test, And, to the Holy One of Israel, caused they sorrow:

And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.

42 They remembered not his hand—The day, When he ransomed them from the adversary;

They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,

43 When he set, in Egypt, his signs, And his wonders, in the plain of Zoan;

How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;

44 When he turned, into blood, their Nile-streams, And, their own rivers, could they not drink;

And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;

45 He sent among them, The gad-fly, and it devoured them, And the frog, and it despoiled them;

He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them;

46 When he gave to the corn-locust their produce, And their toil, to the swarming locust;

And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;

47 He killed, with hail, their vine, And their sycomores, with frost:

He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;

48 When he gave up, to hail-storms, their beasts, And their cattle, to pestilent fevers;

And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.

49 He sent among them the heat of his anger, Wrath and indignation and distress, —A mission of messengers of misfortune:

He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.

50 He leveled a path for his anger, Withheld not, from death, their soul, But, their life—to the pestilence, he delivered:

He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

51 So he smote, Every first-born in Egypt, The beginning of their strength, in the tents of Ham;

And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.

52 And he set forth, like sheep, his people, And guided them, like a flock in the desert;

And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

53 Yea he led them securely, and they dreaded not, And, their enemies, the sea did cover.

And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.

54 Then brought he them within his own holy bounds, The mountain-range, which his right hand made his own:

And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;

55 So he drave out, before them, [whole] nations, And allotted them, by line, an inheritance, And caused to dwell, in their own homes, the tribes of Israel.

And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

56 But they tested and resisted God Most High, And, his testimonies, did not observe;

But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies,

57 But drew back and dealt treacherously, like their fathers, They turned aside, like deceitful bowmen;

And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.

58 And provoked him to anger with their high places, And, with their images, used to move him to jealousy.

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

59 God heard and was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;

God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

60 So he gave up the habitation of Shiloh, The tent he had set up among Men;

And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,

61 Yea he gave up, into captivity, his strength, And his beauty into the hand of an adversary;

And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;

62 And delivered up, to the sword, his people, And, with his own inheritance, was he wroth;

And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:

63 His young men, were devoured by fire, And, his virgins, were not praised in song;

The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;

64 His priests, by the sword, did fall, And, his widows, were not able to bewail.

Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

65 Then awoke, as one that had slept, Adonay, As a warrior exulting with wine!

Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;

66 So he smote his adversaries in the rear, Reproach age-abiding, laid he upon them.

And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.

67 Howbeit he rejected the tent of Joseph, And, the tribe of Ephraim, did not choose:

And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,

68 But made choice of the tribe of Judah, The mountain of Zion, which he loved;

But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;

69 And built, like the heights, his sanctuary, Like the earth, he founded it to times age-abiding.

And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.

70 And made choice of David his servant, And took him from among the folds of the sheep:

And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

71 From after the sucking ewes, he brought him in, —To be shepherd to Jacob his people, And to Israel, his inheritance.

From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

72 So he did shepherd them, according to the singleness of his heart, And, with the discernment of his hands, used he to guide them.

And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.