Psalms 78
1 An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.
A maschil of Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people, 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 sing about hidden things about the past.
3 That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
These are things that we have heard and learned, things that our ancestors have told 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 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.
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 covenant decrees in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors that they were to teach them to their children.
6 So that a later generation doth know, Sons who are born, do rise and recount to their sons,
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.
7 And place in God their confidence, And forget not the doings of God, But keep His commands.
Then they would place their hope in God and not forget his deeds but keep 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 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.
9 Sons of Ephraim — armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they 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 did not keep the covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He shewed them.
They forgot his deeds, the wonderful things that he had shown them.
12 Before their fathers He hath done wonders, In the land of Egypt — the field of Zoan.
They forgot the marvelous things he did in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the land of Zoan.
13 He cleft a sea, and causeth them to pass over, Yea, He causeth waters to stand as a heap.
He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the waters to stand like walls.
14 And leadeth them with a cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire.
In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all the night with the light of fire.
15 He cleaveth rocks in a wilderness, And giveth drink — as the great deep.
He split the rocks in the wilderness, and he gave them water abundantly, enough to fill the depths of the sea.
16 And bringeth out streams from a rock, And causeth waters to come down as rivers.
He made streams flow out of the rock and made the water flow like rivers.
17 And they add still to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
Yet they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
They challenged God in their hearts by asking for food to satisfy their appetites.
19 And they speak against God — they said: 'Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?'
They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really lay out a table for us 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?'
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?”
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,
When Yahweh heard this, he was angry; so his fire burned against Jacob, and his anger attacked Israel,
22 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
because they did not believe in God and did not trust in his salvation.
23 And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened.
Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of the sky.
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, and gave them the grain from heaven.
25 Food of the mighty hath each eaten, Venison He sent to them to satiety.
People 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 caused the east wind to blow in the sky, and by his power he guided the south wind.
27 And He raineth on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas — winged fowl,
He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sands of the sea.
28 And causeth [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Round about His tabernacles.
They fell in the middle of their camp, all around their tents.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And their desire He bringeth to them.
So they ate and were full. He gave them what they craved.
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Yet [is] their food in their mouth,
But they had not yet filled up; their food was 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.
Then God's anger attacked them and killed the strongest of them. He brought down the young men of Israel.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
Despite this, they continued to sin and did not believe his wonderful deeds.
33 And He consumeth in vanity their days, And their years in trouble.
Therefore God cut short their days; their years were filled with terror.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and sought God earnestly,
Whenever God afflicted them, they would start to seek him, and they would return and look earnestly for him.
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
They would call to mind that God was their rock and that the Most High God was their rescuer.
36 And — they deceive Him with their mouth, And with their tongue do lie to Him,
But they would flatter him with their mouth and lie to him with their words.
37 And their heart hath not been right with Him, And they have not been stedfast in His covenant.
For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him, and they were not faithful 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.
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.
39 And He remembereth that they [are] flesh, A wind going on — and it returneth not.
He called to mind that they were made of flesh, a wind that passes away and does not return.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the barren regions!
41 Yea, they turn back, and try God, And the Holy One of Israel have limited.
Again and again they challenged God and offended the Holy One of Israel.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
They did not think about his power, how he had rescued them from the enemy
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 And He turneth to blood their streams, And their floods they drink not.
He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood so that they could not drink from their streams.
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 overran their land.
46 And giveth to the caterpillar their increase, And their labour to the locust.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper and their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyeth with hail their vine, And their sycamores with frost,
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with more hail.
48 And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames.
He rained hail on their cattle and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.
49 He sendeth on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress — A discharge of evil messengers.
The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them. He sent wrath, fury, and trouble like agents who bring disaster.
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 leveled a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
51 And He smiteth every first-born in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of their strength 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 his own people out like sheep and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 And He leadeth them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And their enemies hath the sea covered.
He led them secure and unafraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He bringeth them in unto the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had got,
Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountain that his right hand 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 the nations from before them and assigned them 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.
Yet they challenged and defied the Most High God and did not keep his solemn commands.
57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,
They were unfaithful and acted treacherously like their fathers; they were as undependable as a faulty bow.
58 And make Him angry with their high places, And with their graven images make Him zealous,
For they made him angry with their high places and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols.
59 God hath heard, and sheweth Himself wroth. And kicketh exceedingly against Israel.
When God heard this, he was angry and completely rejected Israel.
60 And He leaveth the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh, the tent where he had lived among people.
61 And He giveth His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
He allowed his strength to be captured and gave his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 And delivereth up to the sword His people, And with His inheritance shewed Himself angry.
He handed his people over to the sword, and he was angry with his heritage.
63 His young men hath fire consumed, And His virgins have not been praised.
Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs.
64 His priests by the sword have fallen, And their widows weep not.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 And the Lord waketh as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep, like a warrior who shouts because of wine.
66 And He smiteth His adversaries backward, A reproach age-during He hath put on them,
He drove his adversaries back; 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 he did not chose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 And He chooseth the tribe of Judah, With mount Zion that He loved,
He chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion that 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 heavens, like the earth that 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.
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.
72 And he ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!
David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, and he guided them with the skill of his hands.
