Psalms 78
1 An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.
A Maskil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
3 That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
4 We do not hide from their sons, To a later generation recounting praises of Jehovah, And His strength, and His wonders that He hath done.
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 raiseth up a testimony in Jacob, And a law hath placed in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.
For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 So that a later generation doth know, Sons who are born, do rise and recount to their sons,
that the coming generation would know them— even children yet to be born— to arise and tell their own children
7 And place in God their confidence, And forget not the doings of God, But keep His commands.
that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.
8 And they are not like their fathers, A generation apostate and rebellious, A generation! it hath not prepared its heart, Nor stedfast with God [is] its spirit.
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 Sons of Ephraim — armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God, And in His law they have refused to walk,
They failed to keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He shewed them.
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
12 Before their fathers He hath done wonders, In the land of Egypt — the field of Zoan.
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He cleft a sea, and causeth them to pass over, Yea, He causeth waters to stand as a heap.
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
14 And leadeth them with a cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire.
He led them with a cloud by day and with a light of fire all night.
15 He cleaveth rocks in a wilderness, And giveth drink — as the great deep.
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
16 And bringeth out streams from a rock, And causeth waters to come down as rivers.
He brought streams from the stone and made water flow down like rivers.
17 And they add still to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19 And they speak against God — they said: 'Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?'
They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Lo, He hath smitten a rock, And waters flow, yea, streams overflow. 'Also — bread [is] He able to give? Doth He prepare flesh for His people?'
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
21 Therefore hath Jehovah heard, And He sheweth Himself wroth, And fire hath been kindled against Jacob, And anger also hath gone up against 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 they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation.
23 And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened.
Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
24 And He raineth on them manna to eat, Yea, corn of heaven He hath given to them.
He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.
25 Food of the mighty hath each eaten, Venison He sent to them to satiety.
Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.
26 He causeth an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leadeth by His strength a south wind,
He stirred the east wind from the heavens and drove the south wind by His might.
27 And He raineth on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas — winged fowl,
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28 And causeth [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Round about His tabernacles.
He felled them in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And their desire He bringeth to them.
So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Yet [is] their food in their mouth,
Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
31 And the anger of God hath gone up against them, And He slayeth among their fat ones, And youths of Israel He caused to bend.
God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.
33 And He consumeth in vanity their days, And their years in trouble.
So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and sought God earnestly,
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 And — they deceive Him with their mouth, And with their tongue do lie to Him,
But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
37 And their heart hath not been right with Him, And they have not been stedfast in His covenant.
Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
38 And He — the Merciful One, Pardoneth iniquity, and destroyeth not, And hath often turned back His anger, And waketh not up all His fury.
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 remembereth that they [are] flesh, A wind going on — and it returneth not.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yea, they turn back, and try God, And the Holy One of Israel have limited.
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
They did not remember His power — the day He redeemed them from the adversary,
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 And He turneth to blood their streams, And their floods they drink not.
He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.
45 He sendeth among them the beetle, and it consumeth them, And the frog, and it destroyeth them,
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 And giveth to the caterpillar their increase, And their labour to the locust.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyeth with hail their vine, And their sycamores with frost,
He killed their vines with hailstones and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames.
He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He sendeth on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress — A discharge of evil messengers.
He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity— a band of destroying angels.
50 He pondereth a path for His anger, He kept not back their soul from death, Yea, their life to the pestilence He delivered up.
He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.
51 And He smiteth every first-born in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
52 And causeth His people to journey as a flock, And guideth them as a drove in a wilderness,
He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And He leadeth them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And their enemies hath the sea covered.
He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 And He bringeth them in unto the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had got,
He brought them to His holy land, to the mountain His right hand had acquired.
55 And casteth out nations from before them, And causeth them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causeth the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,
He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And His testimonies have not kept.
But they tested and disobeyed God Most High, for they did not keep His decrees.
57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
58 And make Him angry with their high places, And with their graven images make Him zealous,
They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
59 God hath heard, and sheweth Himself wroth. And kicketh exceedingly against Israel.
On hearing it, God was furious and rejected Israel completely.
60 And He leaveth the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
61 And He giveth His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
62 And delivereth up to the sword His people, And with His inheritance shewed Himself angry.
He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.
63 His young men hath fire consumed, And His virgins have not been praised.
Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
64 His priests by the sword have fallen, And their widows weep not.
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
65 And the Lord waketh as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
66 And He smiteth His adversaries backward, A reproach age-during He hath put on them,
He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
67 And He kicketh against the tent of Joseph, And on the tribe of Ephraim hath not fixed.
He rejected the tent of Joseph and refused the tribe of Ephraim.
68 And He chooseth the tribe of Judah, With mount Zion that He loved,
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 And buildeth His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it to the age.
He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever.
70 And He fixeth on David His servant, And taketh him from the folds of a flock,
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From behind suckling ones He hath brought him in, To rule over Jacob His people, And over Israel His inheritance.
from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.
72 And he ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!
So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.
