Psalms 78
1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
The lernyng of Asaph. Mi puple, perseyue ye my lawe; bowe youre eere in to the wordis 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 schal opene my mouth in parablis; Y schal speke perfite resouns fro the bigynnyng.
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
Hou grete thingis han we herd, aud we han knowe tho; and oure fadris. telden to vs.
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.
Tho ben not hid fro the sones of hem; in anothir generacioun. And thei telden the heriyngis of the Lord, and the vertues of hym; and hise merueilis, whyche he dide.
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
And he reiside witnessyng in Jacob; and he settide lawe in Israel. Hou grete thingis comaundide he to oure fadris, to make tho knowun to her sones;
6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
that another generacioun knowe. Sones, that schulen be born, and schulen rise vp; schulen telle out to her sones.
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 thei sette her hope in God, and foryete not the werkis of God; and that thei seke hise comaundementis.
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.
Lest thei be maad a schrewid generacioun; and terrynge to wraththe, as the fadris of hem. A generacioun that dresside not his herte; and his spirit was not bileued 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 sones of Effraym, bendinge a bouwe and sendynge arowis; weren turned in the dai of batel.
10 They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
Thei kepten not the testament of God; and thei nolden go in his lawe.
11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
And thei foryaten hise benefices; and hise merueils, whiche he schewide to hem.
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
He dide merueils bifore the fadris of hem in the loond of Egipt; in the feeld of Taphneos.
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 brak the see, and ledde hem thorou; and he ordeynede the watris as in a bouge.
14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
And he ledde hem forth in a cloude of the dai; and al niyt in the liytnyng of fier.
15 He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
He brak a stoon in deseert; and he yaf watir to hem as in a myche depthe.
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
And he ledde watir out of the stoon; and he ledde forth watris as floodis.
17 But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
And thei `leiden to yit to do synne ayens hym; thei excitiden hiye God in to ire, in a place with out water.
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.
And thei temptiden God in her hertis; that thei axiden meetis to her lyues.
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
And thei spaken yuel of God; thei seiden, Whether God may make redi a bord in 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]
For he smoot a stoon, and watris flowiden; and streemys yeden out in aboundaunce. Whether also he may yyue breed; ether make redi a bord to his puple?
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]
Therfor the Lord herde, and delaiede; and fier was kindelid in Jacob, and the ire of God stiede on Israel.
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
For thei bileueden not in God; nether hopiden in his heelthe.
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
And he comaundide to the cloudis aboue; and he openyde the yatis of heuene.
24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
And he reynede to hem manna for to eete; and he yaf to hem breed of heuene.
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
Man eet the breed of aungels; he sent to hem meetis in aboundance.
26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
He turnede ouere the south wynde fro heuene; and he brouyte in bi his vertu the weste wynde.
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
And he reynede fleischis as dust on hem; and `he reinede volatils fethered, as the grauel of the see.
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 tho felden doun in the myddis of her castels; aboute the tabernaclis of hem.
29 [So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
And thei eeten, and weren fillid greetli, and he brouyte her desire to hem;
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
thei weren not defraudid of her desier. Yit her metis weren in her 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.
and the ire of God stiede on hem. And he killide the fatte men of hem; and he lettide the chosene 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 alle these thingis thei synneden yit; and bileuede not in the merueils of God.
33 So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
And the daies of hem failiden in vanytee; and the yeeris of hem faileden with haste.
34 When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
Whanne he killide hem, thei souyten hym; and turneden ayen, and eerli thei camen to hym.
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 thei bithouyten, that God is the helper of hem; and `the hiy God is the ayenbier of hem.
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
And thei loueden hym in her mouth; and with her tunge thei lieden to hym.
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
Forsothe the herte of hem was not riytful with hym; nethir thei weren had feithful in his testament.
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 merciful, and he schal be maad merciful to the synnes of hem; and he schal not destrie hem. And he dide greetli, to turne awei his yre; and he kyndelide not al his ire.
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.
And he bithouyte, that thei ben fleische; a spirit goynge, and not turnynge ayen.
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
Hou oft maden thei hym wrooth in desert; thei stireden hym in to ire in a place with out watir.
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.
And thei weren turned, and temptiden God; and thei wraththiden the hooli 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.
Thei bithouyten not on his hond; in the dai in the which he ayen bouyte hem fro the hond of the trobler.
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
As he settide hise signes in Egipt; and hise grete wondris in the feeld of Taphneos.
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.
And he turnede the flodis of hem and the reynes of hem in to blood; that thei schulden not drynke.
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
He sente a fleisch flie in to hem, and it eet hem; and he sente a paddok, and it loste hem.
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
And he yaf the fruytis of hem to rust; and he yaf the trauels of hem to locustis.
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
And he killide the vynes of hem bi hail; and the moore trees of hem bi a frost.
48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
And he bitook the beestis of hem to hail; and the possessioun of hem to fier.
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 sente in to hem the ire of his indignacioun; indignacioun, and ire, and tribulacioun, sendingis in bi iuel aungels.
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 weie to the path of his ire, and he sparide not fro the deth of her lyues; and he closide togidere in deth the beestis of hem.
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
And he smoot al the first gendrid thing in the lond of Egipt; the first fruytis of alle the trauel of hem in the tabernaclis of Cham.
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 took awei his puple as scheep; and he ledde hem forth as a flok in desert.
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
And he ledde hem forth in hope, and thei dredden not; and the see hilide the enemyes of hem.
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].
And he brouyte hem in to the hil of his halewyng; in to the hil which his riythond gat. And he castide out hethene men fro the face of hem; and bi lot he departide to hem the lond in a cord of delyng.
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.
And he made the lynagis of Israel to dwelle in the tabernaclis of hem.
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.
And thei temptiden, and wraththiden heiy God; and thei kepten not hise witnessyngis.
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].
And thei turneden awei hem silf, and thei kepten not couenaunt; as her fadris weren turned in to a schrewid bouwe.
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
Thei stiriden him in to ire in her litle hillis; and thei terriden hym to indignacioun of her grauen ymagis.
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
God herde, and forsook; and brouyte to nouyt Israel greetli.
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
And he puttide awei the tabernacle of Sylo; his tabernacle where he dwellide among men.
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
And he bitook the vertu of hem in to caitiftee; and the fairnesse of hem in to the hondis of the enemye.
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
And he closide togidere his puple in swerd; and he dispiside his erytage.
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
Fier eet the yonge men of hem; and the virgyns of hem weren not biweilid.
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.
The prestis of hem fellen doun bi swerd; and the widewis of hem weren not biwept.
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].
And the Lord was reisid, as slepynge; as miyti greetli fillid of wiyn.
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 smoot hise enemyes on the hynderere partis; he yaf to hem euerlastyng schenschipe.
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].
And he puttide awei the tabernacle of Joseph; and he chees not the lynage of Effraym.
68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
But he chees the lynage of Juda; he chees the hil of Syon, which he louede.
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 as an vnicorn bildide his hooli place; in the lond, which he foundide in to worldis.
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
And he chees Dauid his seruaunt, and took hym vp fro the flockis of scheep; he took hym fro bihynde scheep with lambren.
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.
To feed Jacob his seruaunt; and Israel his eritage.
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
And he fedde hem in the innocens of his herte; and he ledde hem forth in the vndurstondyngis of his hondis.
