Psalms 78

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

An Instructive Psalm. Asaph’s. Give ear, O my people, to mine instruction, Bend your ear to the sayings 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, in a parable, my mouth, I will pour forth enigmas out of antiquity; —

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

Which we have heard, and come to know, And, our fathers, have recounted 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 withhold [them] from their children, To a later generation, recounting the praises of Yahweh, Even his might and his wonders which he 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

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;

6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.

To the end, A later generation, might come to know, Children who should be born, Who should arise, and recount [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 set, in Elohim, their confidence, —And not forget the doings of El, But, his commandments, might observe;

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 become, like their fathers, a generation stubborn and rebellious, —A generation that fixed not their heart, Neither was their spirit, faithful with 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 sons of Ephraim—armed bowmen, Turned 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, in his law, refused to walk;

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

And forgat His doings, And his wonders which he had showed them:

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

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

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

And led them, by a cloud, in the daytime, 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 used to cleave rocks in the desert, And let them drink as out of mighty deeps;

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

And he brought forth streams out of the cliff, And caused waters to 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 again, once more sinned they against him, Resisting the Most High in a land of drought:

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

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

Yea they spake against Elohim, —They said, Can GOD prepare a table 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]

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?

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, Yahweh hearkened, and became wroth, —And, a fire, was kindled against Jacob, Moreover also, anger, mounted 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, Nor trusted in his salvation;

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

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

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

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

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

The food of the mighty, each one did eat, Nourishment, sent he them 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 let loose an east wind in the heavens, Then guided he, in his might, a south wind;

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

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

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.

And let them 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 abundantly filled, When, what they longed for, he had brought them: —

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

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

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 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.

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, sinned they still, And believed not 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, in a breath, their days, And their years, in a 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].

If he slew [of] them, then they sought him, Yea they turned, and did earnestly seek 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, Elohim, was their rock, Yea, EL Most High, their Redeemer:

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

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

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

But, their heart, was not fixed with him, Nor were they trusty 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, 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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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—The day, When he ransomed them from the adversary;

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

When he set, in Egypt, his signs, And his wonders, in 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.

When he turned, into blood, their Nile-streams, And, their own rivers, could they 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 among them, The gad-fly, and it devoured them, And the frog, and it despoiled them;

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

When he gave to the corn-locust their produce, And their toil, to the swarming locust;

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

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

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

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

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

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 leveled a path for his anger, Withheld not, from death, their soul, But, their life—to the pestilence, he delivered:

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

So he smote, Every first-born in Egypt, The beginning 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.

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

53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.

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

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].

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

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.

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.

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 resisted God Most High, And, his testimonies, did not observe;

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].

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

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

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

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

God heard 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 he gave up the habitation of Shiloh, The tent he had set up among Men;

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

Yea he gave up, into captivity, his strength, And his beauty into the hand of an adversary;

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

And delivered up, to the sword, his people, And, with his own inheritance, was he wroth;

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

His young men, were devoured by fire, And, his virgins, were not praised in 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.

His priests, by the sword, did fall, And, his widows, were not able to bewail.

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 awoke, as one that had slept, Adonay, As a warrior exulting 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].

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

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].

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

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

But made choice of the tribe of Judah, The mountain of 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.

And built, like the heights, his sanctuary, Like the earth, he founded it to times age-abiding.

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

And made choice of David his servant, And took him from among the folds of the sheep:

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 after the sucking ewes, he brought him in, —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.

So he did shepherd them, according to the singleness of his heart, And, with the discernment of his hands, used he to guide them.