Psalms 78
1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
A Maskil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I am going to give you some sayings that wise people have said. They will be sayings about things that happened long ago, things that were difficult to understand [MET],
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
4 We will tell these things to our children [LIT], and we will also tell to our grandchildren [about] Yahweh’s power and the glorious/great things that he has done.
We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.
5 He gave laws and commandments to the Israeli people, [those who are the descendants of] Jacob [DOU], and he told our ancestors to teach them to their children
For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
that the coming generation would know them— even children yet to be born— to arise and tell their own children
7 In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.
8 They would not be like their ancestors, who were very stubborn and kept rebelling [against God]; they did not continue firmly trusting in God, and they did not worship only him.
Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 [The soldiers of] the tribe of Ephraim had bows [and arrows] but they ran away [from their enemies] on the day that they fought a battle with their enemies.
The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
They failed to keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.
11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 [Then] he caused the [Red] Sea to divide, causing the water [on each side] to pile up like a wall, with the result that [our ancestors] walked through it [on dry ground].
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
He led them with a cloud by day and with a light of fire all night.
15 He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 By demanding that God give them the food that they desired, they tried to find out if he would always do what they requested him to do.
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 [It is true that] he struck the rock, with the result that water gushed/flowed out, [but] (can he also provide bread and meat for [us], his people?/we doubt that he can also provide bread and meat for us, his people.)” [RHQ]
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
21 So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
Therefore the LORD heard and was filled with wrath; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and His anger flared against Israel,
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation.
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.
26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
He stirred the east wind from the heavens and drove the south wind by His might.
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28 God caused those birds to fall [dead] in the middle of (their camp)/the area where the people had put up their tents. [There were dead birds] all around their tents.
He felled them in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
29 [So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
31 God was [still] very angry with them, and he caused their strongest men to die; he got rid of [many of] the finest [young] Israeli men.
God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all that, the people continued to sin; in spite of all the miracles that God had performed, they still did not trust that he [would take care of them].
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.
33 So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.
34 When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
35 They remembered that God is [like] a huge rock ledge [under which they would be safe] [MET], and that he, who was greater than any other god, is the one who protected/rescued them.
And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
38 But God was merciful to his people. He forgave them for having sinned and did not get rid of them. Many times he refrained from becoming angry [with them] and restrained from furiously/severely [punishing them] [MTY].
And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
39 He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
41 Many times they did evil things, to find out [if they could do those things without God punishing them]. They frequently caused the holy God of Israel to become disgusted/sad.
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
They did not remember His power — the day He redeemed them from the adversary,
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 He caused the [Nile] River (OR, their sources of water) to become [red like] blood, with the result that the people of Egypt had no water to drink.
He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
He killed their vines with hailstones and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 Because God was fiercely angry with the people of Egypt, he caused them to be very distressed. The disasters that struck them were like a group of angels that destroyed [everything].
He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity— a band of destroying angels.
50 He did not lessen his being angry [with them], and he did not (spare their lives/prevent them from dying); he sent a (plague/serious illness) that killed [many of] them.
He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led his people out [of Egypt] like [a shepherd leads] his sheep [SIM], and he guided them [while they walked] through the desert.
He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 [Later] he brought them to [Canaan], his sacred land, to [Zion] Hill (OR, the hilly area) and by his power [MTY] he enabled them to conquer [the people who were living there].
He brought them to His holy land, to the mountain His right hand had acquired.
55 He expelled the people-groups while his people were advancing; he allotted part of the land for [each tribe] to possess, and he gave to the Israeli people the houses of those people who had been expelled.
He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 However, the Israeli people rebelled against God, who is greater than any other god, and they did many evil things to see if they could do those things without God punishing them, and they did not obey his commandments.
But they tested and disobeyed God Most High, for they did not keep His decrees.
57 Instead, like their ancestors did, they rebelled against God and (were not loyal to/did not faithfully [obey]) him; they were as [unreliable as] a crooked arrow [that does not go straight] [SIM].
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
On hearing it, God was furious and rejected Israel completely.
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
64 [Many] priests were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and (the people did not allow the priests’ widows/the priests’ widows were not allowed) to mourn.
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
65 Later, [it was as though] the Lord awoke from sleeping; he was like a strong man who (became stimulated/felt that he was strong) by (OR, became sober after) [drinking] a lot of wine [SIM].
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
66 He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
67 [But] he did not set up his tent where [the people of] the tribe of Ephraim lived; he did not choose their area [to do that].
He rejected the tent of Joseph and refused the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 He [decided to have] his temple built [there], high up, like [his home in] heaven; he caused it to be firm, [and intended that] his temple would last forever, like the earth.
He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever.
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 where he was taking care of his [father’s] sheep, and appointed him to be the leader [MET] of the Israeli people, the people who belong to God.
from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.
