Psalms 78
1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
Þjóð mín, hlustaðu á kenningu mína. Gefðu gaum að því sem ég hef að segja.
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],
Nú ætla ég að rifja upp fyrir þér liðna atburði,
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
frásagnir sem varðveist hafa frá kynslóð til kynslóðar.
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.
Ég birti ykkur sannleikann, svo að þið getið sagt börnum ykkar frá dásemdarverkum Drottins, öllum þeim undrum sem hann vann.
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
Lögmál sitt gaf hann Ísrael og bauð forfeðrunum að kenna það börnum sínum
6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
sem síðan skyldu kenna það sínum afkomendum. Þannig skyldi lögmál hans berast frá einni kynslóðinni til annarrar.
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.
Því hefur sérhver kynslóð getað haldið lög Guðs, treyst honum og heyrt um hans dásemdarverk.
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.
Ný kynslóð skyldi ekki þurfa að fara að fordæmi feðra sinna sem voru þrjóskir, óhlýðnir og ótrúir og forhertu sig gegn Guði.
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.
Þótt íbúar Efraím væru alvopnaðir, þá flúðu þeir þegar að orustunni kom.
10 They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
Þannig rufu þeir sáttmálann við Guð og fóru sína eigin leið.
11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
Þeir gleymdu máttarverkum Drottins,
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
sem hann hafði fyrir þá gert og forfeður þeirra í Egyptalandi,
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].
þegar hann klauf hafið og leiddi þá yfir þurrum fótum. Vatnið stóð eins og veggur til beggja handa!
14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
Að degi til leiddi hann þá með skýi, en eldstólpa um nætur.
15 He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
Hann rauf gat á klettinn í eyðimörkinni. Vatnið streymdi fram og þeir svöluðu þorsta sínum.
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
Já, það flæddi frá klettinum, líkast rennandi á!
17 But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
Samt héldu þeir fast við þrjósku sína og syndguðu gegn hinum hæsta Guði.
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.
Þeir kvörtuðu og kveinuðu og heimtuðu annað að borða en það sem Guð gaf þeim.
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
Þeir ásökuðu jafnvel sjálfan Guð og sögðu:
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]
„Hann gaf okkur vatn, en hvers vegna fáum við ekki brauð eða kjöt?!“
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]
Drottinn hlustaði og honum rann í skap, reiði hans upptendraðist gegn Ísrael.
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
Enda treystu þeir honum ekki, né trúðu forsjá hans.
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
Jafnvel þótt hann lyki upp himninum – eins og glugga! –
24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
og léti manna rigna niður.
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
Já, þeir átu englabrauð! – og urðu mettir.
26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
Þá lét hann austanvind blása og stýrði vestanvindinum með krafti sínum.
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Og viti menn, fuglum rigndi af himni, – þeir voru eins og sandur á sjávarströnd!
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.
Af hans völdum féllu þeir til jarðar um allar tjaldbúðirnar.
29 [So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
Og fólkið át nægju sína. Hann mettaði hungur þeirra.
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
En varla höfðu þeir lokið matnum – fæðan var enn í munni þeirra,
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.
þá reiddist Drottinn þeim og lagði að velli æskumenn Ísraels.
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].
En þeir sáu sig ekki um hönd, en héldu áfram að syndga og vildu ekki trúa kraftaverkum Drottins.
33 So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
Þess vegna stytti hann ævi þeirra og sendi þeim miklar hörmungar.
34 When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
En þegar neyðin var stærst, tóku þeir að leita Guðs. Þeir iðruðust og snéru sér til hans.
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.
Þeir viðurkenndu að Guð er eini grundvöllur lífsins – að hinn hæsti Guð væri frelsari þeirra.
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
En því miður fylgdu þeir honum aðeins í orði kveðnu, en ekki af heilum hug,
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
hjarta þeirra var langt frá honum. Þeir stóðu ekki við orð sín.
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].
Samt var hann þeim miskunnsamur, fyrirgaf syndir þeirra og tortímdi þeim ekki. Margoft hélt hann aftur af reiði sinni.
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.
Hann minntist þess að þeir voru dauðlegir menn, eins og andblær sem kemur og fer.
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
Já, oft risu þeir gegn Guði í eyðimörkinni og ollu honum vonbrigðum.
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.
Aftur og aftur sneru þeir við honum baki og freistuðu hans.
42 They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
Þeir gleymdu krafti hans og kærleika og hvernig hann hafði frelsað þá frá óvinum þeirra.
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
Þeir gleymdu plágunum sem hann sendi Egyptum í Sóan
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.
þegar hann breytti fljótum þeirra í blóð, svo að enginn gat drukkið.
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
Eða þegar hann fyllti landið af flugum og froskum!
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
Lirfurnar spilltu uppskerunni og engispretturnar átu allt, hvort tveggja var frá honum komið.
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
Hann eyddi vínviði þeirra með hagléli og mórberjatrjánum með frosti.
48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
Búpeningurinn hrundi niður í haganum, haglið rotaði hann og sauðirnir drápust í eldingum.
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].
Hann úthellti reiði sinni yfir þá, sendi þeim ógn og skelfingu. Hann leysti út sendiboða ógæfunnar – engla sem létu þá kenna á því!
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.
Hann gaf reiðinni lausan tauminn. Og ekki hlífði hann Egyptunum. Þeir fengu vænan skerf af plágum og sjúkdómum.
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
Þá deyddi hann frumburði Egypta, efnilegan ungviðinn, sem vonirnar voru bundnar við.
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.
Sinn eigin lýð leiddi hann styrkri hendi gegnum eyðimörkina.
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
Hann var skjól þeirra og vörn. Þeir þurftu ekkert að óttast, en hafið gleypti óvini þeirra.
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].
Hann greiddi för þeirra til fyrirheitna landsins, til hæðanna sem hann hafði skapað.
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.
Íbúum landsins stökkti hann á flótta en gaf þar ættkvíslum Ísraels erfðahlut og skjól.
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.
En þótt þeir nytu gæsku Guðs, risu þeir gegn hinum hæsta og fyrirlitu boðorð hans.
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].
Þeir sneru af leið og rufu trúnað rétt eins og feður þeirra. Eins og bogin ör misstu þeir marksins sem Guð hafði sett þeim.
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
Þeir tóku aðra guði, reistu þeim ölturu og egndu Drottin á móti sér.
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
Guð sá verk þeirra og reiddist – fékk viðbjóð á Ísrael.
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
Hann yfirgaf helgidóm sinn í Síló, bústað sinn meðal manna.
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
Örk sína lét hann falla í hendur óvinanna og vegsemd hans var óvirt af heiðingjum.
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
Hann reiddist lýð sínum og lét hann falla fyrir sverði óvinanna.
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
Æskumenn Ísraels fórust í eldi og ungu stúlkurnar upplifðu ekki sinn brúðkaupsdag.
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.
Prestunum var slátrað og ekkjur þeirra dóu áður en þær gátu harmað þá.
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].
Þá var sem Drottinn vaknaði af svefni, eins og hetja sem rís upp úr vímu,
66 He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
og hann gaf þeim vænt spark í bakhlutann og sendi þá burt með skömm, sömu leið og þeir komu.
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].
Hann hafnaði fjölskyldu Jósefs, ætt Efraíms,
68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
en kaus Júdaættkvísl og Síonfjall, sem hann elskar.
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.
Þar reisti hann musteri sitt – voldugt og traust rétt eins og himin og jörð.
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
Hann kaus Davíð sem þjón sinn, tók hann frá sauðunum,
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.
úr smalamennskunni, til að verða leiðtogi og hirðir þjóðar sinnar.
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
Og hann gætti hennar af öryggi og með hreinu hjarta.
