Psalms 78
1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
A psalm (maskil) of Asaph. Listen to what I have to teach you, my people; hear what I have to say.
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 tell you wise sayings; I will explain mysteries from the past
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
that we have heard before and reflected on; stories our forefathers passed down 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 keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about God's marvelous actions—about his power and the amazing things he has done.
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
He gave his laws to the descendants of Jacob; his instructions to the people of Israel. He commanded our forefathers to teach them to their children,
6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
so that the next generation—children yet to be born—would understand and grow up to teach their 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.
In this way they should place their trust in God and not forget what God has done, and keep 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 would not be like their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation that was untrustworthy and unfaithful.
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 soldiers of Ephraim, though armed with bows, ran away 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 did not keep God's agreement, and refused to follow his laws.
11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
They ignored what he had done, and the amazing things he had shown them—
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
the miracles he had performed for their forefathers near Zoan in Egypt.
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 in two and led them through, making the water stand like walls on either side.
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 by night with a light of fire.
15 He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
He split open rocks in the desert to give his people plenty to drink, water as deep as the ocean.
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
He made streams flow from the stone; water rushing 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 repeatedly sinned against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
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 deliberately provoked God by demanding the foods they longed for.
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
They insulted God by saying, “Can God provide food here in the desert?
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]
Yes, he can strike a rock so that water gushes out like flowing rivers, but can he give us bread? Can he 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]
When he heard this, the Lord became very angry, burning like fire against the descendants of Jacob, furious with the people of Israel,
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
for they didn't believe in God and didn't trust him to take care of them.
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
Even so he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven to open,
24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
and he made manna rain down on them to eat, giving them bread from heaven.
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them more than enough food.
26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
He sent the east wind blowing across the sky; by his power he drove the south wind.
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
He rained down meat on them as plentiful as dust; birds as numerous as sand on a beach.
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 made them fall right in the middle of their camp, all around where they were living.
29 [So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
They ate until they were full. He gave them the food they longed for.
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
But before they satisfied their appetite, while the meat was 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 became angry with them and he killed their strongest men, striking them down in the prime of life.
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].
Despite all this they went right on sinning. Despite the miracles, they refused to trust him.
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 snuffed out their futile lives, bringing them to an end in 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 began killing them, the rest came back to God in repentance, praying to him.
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.
They remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their Savior.
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
They flattered him by what they told him, but they were only lying.
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
Deep down they were not sincere, and did not keep the agreement they had with him.
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].
But being compassionate he pardoned their guilt and did not destroy all of them. He often held back his anger—he did not pour out all his fury.
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 their mortality—that they were like a puff of wind that would not return.
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, giving him grief 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 provoked God, causing pain to 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 strength when he rescued them from their oppressors,
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
performing miracles in Egypt, doing wonderful things on the plain 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.
There he turned their rivers and their streams into blood so that no one could drink from them.
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
He sent flies among them to destroy them, and frogs to ruin everything.
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
He gave their crops to locusts; everything they worked had for was taken by locusts.
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their fig trees with freezing rain.
48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
He handed over their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning bolts.
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 poured out on them his fierce anger—rage and hostility and anguish—sending a band of destroying angels against them.
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 sent his unrestrained anger against them; he did not spare them from death, handing them over to the plague.
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the first to be conceived 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.
But 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 to safety, and they were not afraid. He drowned their enemies in the sea.
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 the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land that he had conquered for them.
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 the heathen nations before them. He divided up the land for them to own. 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 provoked God Most High, rebelling against him. They did not follow what he had told them.
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].
Just like their forefathers they turned away from God and were unfaithful to him, as twisted as a defective bow.
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
They made him angry with their pagan high places of worship; they made him jealous with their idols.
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
When God heard their worship he became furious and he totally rejected Israel.
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
He abandoned his place at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he lived among the people.
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
He surrendered the Ark of his power, allowing it to be captured; handing it over into enemy hands.
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
He handed over his people to be slaughtered by the sword; he was furious with his chosen people.
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
Their young men were destroyed by fire; their young women had no 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.
Their priests were killed by the sword; their widows were unable to mourn.
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 woke up as if from sleep, as a warrior sobering up from drinking 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 defeated his enemies, striking them on the back, causing them 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 descendants of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
Instead he chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion which he loves.
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.
There he built his sanctuary, high like the heavens, on earth that he made to last forever.
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
He chose his servant David, taking him from the sheep pens,
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.
taking him from caring for the sheep and lambs to be a shepherd to the descendants of Jacob—God's special people, Israel.
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
Like a shepherd, he took care of them with sincere devotion, leading them with skillful hands.
