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. My people, attend to my teaching: bend 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],
as I open my mouth in a poem on the riddling story of the past.
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
What we have heard and known, and what our ancestors 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. We will tell to the next generation the praises and might of the Lord, and the wonders that 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 set up a testimony in Jacob, a law he appointed in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors 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.
that the next generation should know it, that the children yet to be born should arise and tell 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 in God they might put their confidence, and not forget God’s works; but that they might 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 not be like their ancestors, a generation defiant and stubborn, a generation with heart unsteady, and spirit unfaithful towards 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.
Ephraimites, armed bowmen, turned back 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 did not keep God’s covenant, they refused to walk in 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, and the wonders he had shown them.
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
He did wonders before their ancestors in the country of 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].
Through the sea which he split he brought them, making waters stand up like a heap;
14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
he led them by day with a cloud, all the 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.
From the rocks which he split in the wilderness, he gave them to drink as of ocean’s abundance.
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
He brought streams out of the rock, and made water 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 they still went on sinning against him, they defied 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 wilfully challenged God, demanding the food that they longed for.
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
‘Is God able,’ such was their challenge, ‘to spread in the desert a table?
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]
From the rock that he struck there gushed water, and torrents that overflowed; but can he also give bread, or provide 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 the Lord heard this, he was furious, and fire was kindled on Jacob, anger flared up against Israel.
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
For they put no trust in God, no confidence in his help.
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
So he summoned the clouds above; and, opening 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).
he rained manna upon them for food, and grain of heaven he gave them.
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
Everyone ate the bread of angels; he sent them food 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,
He launched the east wind in the heavens, and guided the south by his power.
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
He rained meat upon them like dust, winged bird 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.
In the midst of their camp he dropped it, all around their tents.
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 and were more than filled; he had brought them the thing they desired.
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
But the thing they desired became loathsome: while their food 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.
the wrath of God rose against them. He slew the stoutest among them, and laid low 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].
Yet for all this they sinned yet more, and refused to believe in his wonders.
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 a breath, and their years in sudden dismay.
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, then they sought after him, they turned and sought God with diligence.
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, and the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
Their heart was not steady with him, they were faithless 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].
But he is full of pity: he pardons sin and destroys not. Often he turns his anger away, without stirring his wrath at all.
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.
So he remembered that they were but flesh, breath that passes and does not return.
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
But how often they rebelled in the desert, and caused him grief in the wilderness,
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.
tempting God again and again, provoking 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, nor the day he redeemed from the foe,
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
how he set his signs in Egypt, in the country of Zoan his wonders.
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 canals into blood, their streams undrinkable.
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
He sent forth flies, which devoured them; frogs, too, which destroyed them.
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
Their crops he gave to the caterpillar, and the fruits of their toil to the locust.
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
He slew 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 delivered their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to bolts of fire.
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 let loose his hot anger among them, fury and wrath and distress, 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, did not spare them from death, but gave them over to pestilence.
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
He struck down 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.
He led forth his people like sheep, he was guide to his flock in the desert.
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
Securely he led them, and free from fear, while their foes were drowned 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].
To his holy realm he brought them, to the mountain his right hand had purchased.
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 nations before them, and allotted their land for possession, and their tents for Israel to live in.
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 angered the Most High God, they did not observe 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 drew back, false like their ancestors; they failed like a treacherous bow.
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
Their shrines stirred him to anger, their idols moved him to jealousy.
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
When God heard of this, he was furious, and he spurned Israel utterly.
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
He abandoned his home in Shiloh, the tent he had pitched among people.
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
He gave his strength up to captivity, his glory to the hands of the foe.
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
He gave his people to the sword, he was furious with his own.
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
Fire devoured their young men, and their maidens had no marriage-song.
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 could not weep.
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 warrior flushed with wine;
66 He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
and he beat back his foes, putting them to perpetual scorn.
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 disowned the tent of Joseph, he rejected 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 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.
And he built like the heights his sanctuary, like the earth which he founded forever.
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
And he chose David his servant, taking 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 the mother-ewes he brought him, to be shepherd to Jacob his people, and to Israel his inheritance.
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
With upright heart did he shepherd them, and with skilful hands did he guide them.
