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;

A Psalme to give instruction committed to Asaph. Heare my doctrine, O my people: incline your eares vnto the wordes 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 declare high sentences of olde.

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

Which we haue heard and knowen, and our fathers haue tolde vs.

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;

Wee will not hide them from their children but to the generation to come we wil shewe the praises of the Lord his power also, and his wonderful woorkes that 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;

How he established a testimonie in Iaakob, and ordeined a Law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they shoulde teache 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 posteritie might knowe it, and the children, which should be borne, should stand vp, and declare it to their children:

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

That they might set their hope on God, and not forget the workes of God but keepe his commandements:

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 not to bee as their fathers, a disobedient and rebellious generation: a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirite was not faithfull vnto God.

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

The children of Ephraim being armed and shooting with the bowe, turned backe in the day of battell.

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

They kept not the couenant of God, but refused to walke in his Lawe,

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

And forgate his Actes, and his wonderfull woorkes that he had shewed them.

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

Hee did marueilous thinges in the sight of their fathers in the lande of Egypt: euen in the fielde of Zoan.

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

He deuided the Sea, and led them through: he made also the waters to stand as an heape.

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

In the day time also hee led them with a cloude, and all the night with a light of fire.

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

He claue the rockes in the wildernes, and gaue them drinke as of the great depths.

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

He brought floods also out of the stonie rocke; so that hee made the waters to descend like the riuers.

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

Yet they sinned stil against him, and prouoked the Highest in the wildernesse,

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

And tempted God in their heartes in requiring meate for their lust.

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

They spake against God also, saying, Can God prepare a table in the wildernesse?

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 rocke, that the water gushed out, and the streames ouerflowed: can hee giue bread also? or prepare 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 the Lord heard and was angrie, and the fire was kindled in Iaakob, and also wrath came vpon Israel,

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

Because they beleeued not in God, and trusted not in his helpe.

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

Yet he had comanded the clouds aboue, and had opened the doores of heauen,

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

And had rained downe MAN vpon them for to eate, and had giuen them of the wheate of heauen.

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

Man did eate the bread of Angels: hee sent them meate ynough.

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

He caused the Eastwinde to passe in the heauen, and through his power he brought in the Southwinde.

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

Hee rained flesh also vpon them as dust, and feathered foule as the sand of the sea.

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

And hee made it fall in the middes of their campe euen round about their habitations.

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

So they did eate and were well filled: for he gaue them their desire.

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

They were not turned from their lust, but the meate was yet in their mouthes,

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 wrath of God came euen vpon them, and slew the strongest of them, and smote downe the chosen men in Israel.

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

For all this, they sinned stil, and beleeued not his wonderous woorkes.

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

Therefore their daies did hee consume in vanitie, and their yeeres hastily.

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

And when hee slewe them, they sought him and they returned, and sought God earely.

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

And they remembred that God was their strength, and the most high God 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 dissembled with 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 vpright with him: neither were they faithfull in his couenant.

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.

Yet he being merciful forgaue their iniquitie, and destroied them not, but oft times called backe his anger, and did not stirre vp all his wrath.

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

For he remembered that they were flesh: yea, a winde that passeth and commeth not againe.

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

How oft did they prouoke him in the wildernes? and grieue him in the desert?

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

Yea, they returned, and tempted God, and limited the Holie one of Israel.

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

They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he deliuered them from the enemie,

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

Nor him that set his signes in Egypt, and his wonders in the fielde of Zoan,

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

And turned their riuers into blood, and their floods, that they could not drinke.

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

Hee sent a swarme of flies among them, which deuoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.

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

He gaue also their fruites vnto the caterpiller, and their labour vnto the grassehopper.

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

He destroied their vines with haile, and their wilde figge trees with the hailestone.

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

He gaue their cattell also to the haile, and their flockes to the thunderboltes.

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

Hee cast vpon them the fiercenesse of his anger, indignation and wrath, and vexation by the sending out of euill Angels.

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 to his anger: he spared not their soule from death, but gaue their life to the pestilence,

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

And smote al the firstborne in Egypt, euen the beginning of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham.

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

But hee made his people to goe out like sheepe, and led them in the wildernes like a flocke.

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

Yea, he caried them out safely, and they feared not, and the Sea couered 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 vnto the borders of his Sanctuarie: euen to this Mountaine, 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.

He cast out the heathe also before them, and caused them to fall to the lot of his inheritance, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.

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

Yet they tempted, and prouoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies,

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

But turned backe and delt falsely like their fathers: they turned like a deceitfull bowe.

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

And they prouoked him to anger with their high places, and mooued him to wrath with their grauen images.

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

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

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

So that hee forsooke the habitation of Shilo, euen the Tabernacle where hee dwelt among men,

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

And deliuered his power into captiuitie, and his beautie into the enemies hand.

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

And hee gaue vp his people to the sworde, and was angrie with his inheritance.

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

The fire deuoured their chosen men, and their maides were not praised.

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

Their Priestes fell by the sworde, and their widowes lamented not.

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

But the Lord awaked as one out of sleepe, and as a strong man that after his wine crieth out,

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

And smote his enemies in the hinder parts, and put them to a perpetuall shame.

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

Yet he refused the tabernacle of Ioseph, 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 Iudah, and mount Zion which he loued.

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

And he built his Sanctuarie as an high palace, like the earth, which he stablished for euer.

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

He chose Dauid also his seruant, and tooke him from the shepefolds.

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

Euen from behinde the ewes with yong brought he him to feede his people in Iaakob, and his inheritance in Israel.

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.

So he fed them according to the simplicitie of his heart, and guided them by the discretion of his hands.