Psalms 78
1 The lernyng of Asaph. Mi puple, perseyue ye my lawe; bowe youre eere in to the wordis of my mouth.
A Maskil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I schal opene my mouth in parablis; Y schal speke perfite resouns fro the bigynnyng.
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
3 Hou grete thingis han we herd, aud we han knowe tho; and oure fadris. telden to vs.
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
4 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.
We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.
5 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;
For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 that another generacioun knowe. Sones, that schulen be born, and schulen rise vp; schulen telle out to her sones.
that the coming generation would know them— even children yet to be born— to arise and tell their own children
7 That thei sette her hope in God, and foryete not the werkis of God; and that thei seke hise comaundementis.
that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.
8 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.
Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The sones of Effraym, bendinge a bouwe and sendynge arowis; weren turned in the dai of batel.
The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.
10 Thei kepten not the testament of God; and thei nolden go in his lawe.
They failed to keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.
11 And thei foryaten hise benefices; and hise merueils, whiche he schewide to hem.
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
12 He dide merueils bifore the fadris of hem in the loond of Egipt; in the feeld of Taphneos.
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He brak the see, and ledde hem thorou; and he ordeynede the watris as in a bouge.
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
14 And he ledde hem forth in a cloude of the dai; and al niyt in the liytnyng of fier.
He led them with a cloud by day and with a light of fire all night.
15 He brak a stoon in deseert; and he yaf watir to hem as in a myche depthe.
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
16 And he ledde watir out of the stoon; and he ledde forth watris as floodis.
He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.
17 And thei `leiden to yit to do synne ayens hym; thei excitiden hiye God in to ire, in a place with out water.
But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 And thei temptiden God in her hertis; that thei axiden meetis to her lyues.
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19 And thei spaken yuel of God; thei seiden, Whether God may make redi a bord in desert?
They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 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?
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
21 Therfor the Lord herde, and delaiede; and fier was kindelid in Jacob, and the ire of God stiede on Israel.
Therefore the LORD heard and was filled with wrath; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and His anger flared against Israel,
22 For thei bileueden not in God; nether hopiden in his heelthe.
because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation.
23 And he comaundide to the cloudis aboue; and he openyde the yatis of heuene.
Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
24 And he reynede to hem manna for to eete; and he yaf to hem breed of heuene.
He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.
25 Man eet the breed of aungels; he sent to hem meetis in aboundance.
Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.
26 He turnede ouere the south wynde fro heuene; and he brouyte in bi his vertu the weste wynde.
He stirred the east wind from the heavens and drove the south wind by His might.
27 And he reynede fleischis as dust on hem; and `he reinede volatils fethered, as the grauel of the see.
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28 And tho felden doun in the myddis of her castels; aboute the tabernaclis of hem.
He felled them in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
29 And thei eeten, and weren fillid greetli, and he brouyte her desire to hem;
So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
30 thei weren not defraudid of her desier. Yit her metis weren in her mouth;
Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
31 and the ire of God stiede on hem. And he killide the fatte men of hem; and he lettide the chosene men of Israel.
God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.
32 In alle these thingis thei synneden yit; and bileuede not in the merueils of God.
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.
33 And the daies of hem failiden in vanytee; and the yeeris of hem faileden with haste.
So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.
34 Whanne he killide hem, thei souyten hym; and turneden ayen, and eerli thei camen to hym.
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
35 And thei bithouyten, that God is the helper of hem; and `the hiy God is the ayenbier of hem.
And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 And thei loueden hym in her mouth; and with her tunge thei lieden to hym.
But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
37 Forsothe the herte of hem was not riytful with hym; nethir thei weren had feithful in his testament.
Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
38 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.
And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
39 And he bithouyte, that thei ben fleische; a spirit goynge, and not turnynge ayen.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 Hou oft maden thei hym wrooth in desert; thei stireden hym in to ire in a place with out watir.
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
41 And thei weren turned, and temptiden God; and thei wraththiden the hooli of Israel.
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 Thei bithouyten not on his hond; in the dai in the which he ayen bouyte hem fro the hond of the trobler.
They did not remember His power — the day He redeemed them from the adversary,
43 As he settide hise signes in Egipt; and hise grete wondris in the feeld of Taphneos.
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 And he turnede the flodis of hem and the reynes of hem in to blood; that thei schulden not drynke.
He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
45 He sente a fleisch flie in to hem, and it eet hem; and he sente a paddok, and it loste hem.
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 And he yaf the fruytis of hem to rust; and he yaf the trauels of hem to locustis.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 And he killide the vynes of hem bi hail; and the moore trees of hem bi a frost.
He killed their vines with hailstones and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 And he bitook the beestis of hem to hail; and the possessioun of hem to fier.
He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He sente in to hem the ire of his indignacioun; indignacioun, and ire, and tribulacioun, sendingis in bi iuel aungels.
He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity— a band of destroying angels.
50 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.
He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.
51 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.
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
52 And he took awei his puple as scheep; and he ledde hem forth as a flok in desert.
He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And he ledde hem forth in hope, and thei dredden not; and the see hilide the enemyes of hem.
He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 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.
He brought them to His holy land, to the mountain His right hand had acquired.
55 And he made the lynagis of Israel to dwelle in the tabernaclis of hem.
He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 And thei temptiden, and wraththiden heiy God; and thei kepten not hise witnessyngis.
But they tested and disobeyed God Most High, for they did not keep His decrees.
57 And thei turneden awei hem silf, and thei kepten not couenaunt; as her fadris weren turned in to a schrewid bouwe.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
58 Thei stiriden him in to ire in her litle hillis; and thei terriden hym to indignacioun of her grauen ymagis.
They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
59 God herde, and forsook; and brouyte to nouyt Israel greetli.
On hearing it, God was furious and rejected Israel completely.
60 And he puttide awei the tabernacle of Sylo; his tabernacle where he dwellide among men.
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
61 And he bitook the vertu of hem in to caitiftee; and the fairnesse of hem in to the hondis of the enemye.
He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
62 And he closide togidere his puple in swerd; and he dispiside his erytage.
He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.
63 Fier eet the yonge men of hem; and the virgyns of hem weren not biweilid.
Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
64 The prestis of hem fellen doun bi swerd; and the widewis of hem weren not biwept.
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
65 And the Lord was reisid, as slepynge; as miyti greetli fillid of wiyn.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
66 And he smoot hise enemyes on the hynderere partis; he yaf to hem euerlastyng schenschipe.
He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
67 And he puttide awei the tabernacle of Joseph; and he chees not the lynage of Effraym.
He rejected the tent of Joseph and refused the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But he chees the lynage of Juda; he chees the hil of Syon, which he louede.
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 And he as an vnicorn bildide his hooli place; in the lond, which he foundide in to worldis.
He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever.
70 And he chees Dauid his seruaunt, and took hym vp fro the flockis of scheep; he took hym fro bihynde scheep with lambren.
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 To feed Jacob his seruaunt; and Israel his eritage.
from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.
72 And he fedde hem in the innocens of his herte; and he ledde hem forth in the vndurstondyngis of his hondis.
So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.
