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

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

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

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

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

That they might put their trust in God, And not forget his deeds, But keep 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, 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 The sons of Ephraim—armed bowmen, Turned in the day of battle;

The children of Ephraim were like armed bowmen, Who turn their backs 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 mighty deeds, And the wonders he had shown them.

12 In presence of their fathers, wrought he, wondrously, —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 clave the sea, and caused them to pass through, And reared up the waters like a mound;

He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; Yea, he 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;

By day he led them by a cloud, And all the night by a light of fire.

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

He clave the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink, as from the great deep.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his aid.

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

Yet he had commanded the clouds above, And had opened the doors of heaven;

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

And had rained down upon them manna for food, And had given them the corn of heaven.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He caused them to 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: —

So they did eat, and were filled; For he gave them their own desire.

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

Their desire was not yet satisfied, And 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 wrath of God came upon them, And slew their strong men, 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 put no trust in his wondrous works.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But they only flattered him with their mouths, And spake falsely to him with their tongues.

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

For their hearts were not true to him, Nor were they steadfast 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Again and again they tempted God, And offended 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, Nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy;

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

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

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

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

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

He sent amongst them flies, 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;

He gave also their fruits to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.

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

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

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

He also gave up their cattle to hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

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

He sent against them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, indignation, and woe, —A host of angels of evil.

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 them not from death, But gave up their lives to the pestilence.

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

He smote all the firstborn in Egypt; The first-fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

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

But he led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them like a flock in the wilderness.

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

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

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

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

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

Yet they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, And kept not his statutes;

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

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

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

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

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

God saw 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 he forsook the habitation at Shiloh, The tabernacle where he dwelt among men,

61 Yea he gave up, into captivity, his strength, 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 delivered up, to the sword, his people, And, with his own inheritance, was he wroth;

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

Yet he rejected the tents 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.

Where he built, like the heavens, his sanctuary; Like the earth, which he hath established 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 tending 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.

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