Psalms 78

1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.

“A psalm of Asaph.” Give ear, O my people, to my instruction! Incline your ears 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 a psalm; I will utter sayings of ancient times.

3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.

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

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 appointed statutes in Jacob, And established a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers To make known 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 generation to come might know them; The children, which should be born, and rise up, Who should declare them to 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.

That they might put their trust in God, And not forget his deeds, But 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.

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 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 children of Ephraim were like armed bowmen, Who turn their backs in 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 kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law;

11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.

And forgot his mighty deeds, And the wonders he had shown them.

12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.

Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field 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 divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; Yea, he made the waters to stand as a heap.

14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.

By day he led them by a cloud, And all the night by 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 clave the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink, as from the great deep.

16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].

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

Yet still they sinned against him, And provoked 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 tempted God in their hearts, By asking food for their delight.

19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!

Yea, they spake against God, and said, “Can God spread 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]

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 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, therefore, the LORD heard this, he was wroth: So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger arose 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 believed not in God, And trusted not in his aid.

23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,

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

24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).

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

25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.

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

26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,

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

27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.

He rained down flesh upon them as dust, And feathered fowls as 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 caused them to fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations.

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

30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,

Their desire was not yet satisfied, And their meat was yet 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.

When the wrath of God came upon them, And slew their strong men, And smote down the chosen 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].

For all this they sinned still, And put no trust in his wondrous works.

33 So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.

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

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 sought him; They returned, and sought earnestly 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 remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High their redeemer.

36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.

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

37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.

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

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 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 breath, that passeth and cometh not back.

40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.

How often did they provoke him in the wilderness! How often did they anger 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 tempted God, And offended 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 remembered not his hand, Nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy;

43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.

What signs he had wrought in Egypt, And what 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 into blood, So that they could not drink of their streams.

45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.

He sent amongst them flies, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.

46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.

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

47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.

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

48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.

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

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

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 made a way for his anger, He spared them not from death, But gave up their lives to the pestilence.

51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.

He smote all the firstborn in Egypt; The first-fruits of their strength 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 forth his own 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 on safely, so that they feared not, While the sea overwhelmed 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 own sacred border, Even to this mountain which his right hand had gained.

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 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 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.

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

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].

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

58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].

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

59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.

God saw this, and was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;

60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.

So that he forsook the habitation at Shiloh, The tabernacle where he dwelt among men,

61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.

And delivered his strength into captivity, And his glory into the hand of the enemy.

62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].

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

63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.

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

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 fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.

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].

But at length the Lord awaked as from sleep, As a hero who had been overpowered 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 smote his enemies, and drove them back, And covered them with everlasting disgrace.

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].

Yet he rejected the tents of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim;

68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.

But chose the tribe of Judah, The 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.

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

70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures

And 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 suckling ewes he brought him To feed Jacob his people, And Israel his inheritance.

72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.

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