Psalms 78
1 A maschil of Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people, listen to the words of my mouth.
My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
2 I will open my mouth in parables; I will sing about hidden things about the past.
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],
3 These are things that we have heard and learned, things that our ancestors have told us.
things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
4 We will not keep them from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh, his strength, and the wonders that he has done.
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.
5 For he established covenant decrees in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors that they were to teach them to their children.
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
6 He commanded this so that the generation to come might know his decrees, the children not yet born, who should tell them in turn to their own children.
in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
7 Then they would place their hope in God and not forget his deeds but keep his commandments.
In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
8 Then they would not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose hearts were not right, and whose spirits were not committed and faithful to God.
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.
9 The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they turned back on the day of battle.
[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.
10 They did not keep the covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.
They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
11 They forgot his deeds, the wonderful things that he had shown them.
They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
12 They forgot the marvelous things he did in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the land of Zoan.
While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
13 He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the waters to stand like walls.
[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].
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all the night with the light of fire.
He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, and he gave them water abundantly, enough to fill the depths of the sea.
He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
16 He made streams flow out of the rock and made the water flow like rivers.
He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
17 Yet they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
18 They challenged God in their hearts by asking for food to satisfy their appetites.
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.
19 They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really lay out a table for us in the wilderness?
They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
20 See, when he struck the rock, waters gushed out and streams overflowed. But can he give bread also? Will he provide meat for his people?”
[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]
21 When Yahweh heard this, he was angry; so his fire burned against Jacob, and his anger attacked Israel,
So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
22 because they did not believe in God and did not trust in his salvation.
[He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the sky.
But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
24 He rained down manna for them to eat, and gave them the grain from heaven.
and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
25 People ate the bread of angels. He sent them food in abundance.
[So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the sky, and by his power he guided the south wind.
[Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
27 He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sands of the sea.
and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
28 They fell in the middle of their camp, all around their tents.
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.
29 So they ate and were full. He gave them what they craved.
[So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
30 But they had not yet filled up; their food was still in their mouths.
But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
31 Then God's anger attacked them and killed the strongest of them. He brought down the young men of Israel.
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.
32 Despite this, they continued to sin and did not believe his wonderful deeds.
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].
33 Therefore God cut short their days; their years were filled with terror.
So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
34 Whenever God afflicted them, they would start to seek him, and they would return and look earnestly for him.
When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
35 They would call to mind that God was their rock and that the Most High God was their rescuer.
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.
36 But they would flatter him with their mouth and lie to him with their words.
But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
37 For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him, and they were not faithful to his covenant.
They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
38 Yet he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. Yes, many times he held back his anger and did not stir up all his wrath.
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].
39 He called to mind that they were made of flesh, a wind that passes away and does not return.
He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the barren regions!
Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
41 Again and again they challenged God and offended the Holy One of Israel.
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.
42 They did not think about his power, how he had rescued them from the enemy
They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
43 when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan.
They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
44 He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood so that they could not drink from their streams.
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.
45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them and frogs that overran their land.
He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper and their labor to the locust.
He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with more hail.
He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
48 He rained hail on their cattle and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.
He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
49 The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them. He sent wrath, fury, and trouble like agents who bring disaster.
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].
50 He leveled a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
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.
51 He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of their strength in the tents of Ham.
He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
52 He led his own people out like sheep and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.
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.
53 He led them secure and unafraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
54 Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountain that his right hand acquired.
[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].
55 He drove out the nations from before them and assigned them their inheritance. He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
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.
56 Yet they challenged and defied the Most High God and did not keep his solemn commands.
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.
57 They were unfaithful and acted treacherously like their fathers; they were as undependable as a faulty bow.
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].
58 For they made him angry with their high places and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols.
Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
59 When God heard this, he was angry and completely rejected Israel.
He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
60 He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh, the tent where he had lived among people.
He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
61 He allowed his strength to be captured and gave his glory into the enemy's hand.
He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
62 He handed his people over to the sword, and he was angry with his heritage.
Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
63 Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs.
Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
[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.
65 Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep, like a warrior who shouts because of wine.
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].
66 He drove his adversaries back; he put them to everlasting shame.
He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph, and he did not chose the tribe of Ephraim.
[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].
68 He chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion that he loved.
Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the heavens, like the earth that he has established forever.
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.
70 He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
71 He took him from following the ewes with their young, and he brought him to be shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his heritage.
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.
72 David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, and he guided them with the skill of his hands.
David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
