Sálmarnir 78
1 Þjóð mín, hlustaðu á kenningu mína. Gefðu gaum að því sem ég hef að segja.
A contemplation by Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 Nú ætla ég að rifja upp fyrir þér liðna atburði,
I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 frásagnir sem varðveist hafa frá kynslóð til kynslóðar.
which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 Ég birti ykkur sannleikann, svo að þið getið sagt börnum ykkar frá dásemdarverkum Drottins, öllum þeim undrum sem hann vann.
We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
5 Lögmál sitt gaf hann Ísrael og bauð forfeðrunum að kenna það börnum sínum
For he established a covenant in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;
6 sem síðan skyldu kenna það sínum afkomendum. Þannig skyldi lögmál hans berast frá einni kynslóðinni til annarrar.
that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children,
7 Því hefur sérhver kynslóð getað haldið lög Guðs, treyst honum og heyrt um hans dásemdarverk.
that they might set their hope in God, and not forget God’s deeds, but keep his commandments,
8 Ný kynslóð skyldi ekki þurfa að fara að fordæmi feðra sinna sem voru þrjóskir, óhlýðnir og ótrúir og forhertu sig gegn Guði.
and might not be as their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with God.
9 Þótt íbúar Efraím væru alvopnaðir, þá flúðu þeir þegar að orustunni kom.
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
10 Þannig rufu þeir sáttmálann við Guð og fóru sína eigin leið.
They did not keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law.
11 Þeir gleymdu máttarverkum Drottins,
They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them.
12 sem hann hafði fyrir þá gert og forfeður þeirra í Egyptalandi,
He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 þegar hann klauf hafið og leiddi þá yfir þurrum fótum. Vatnið stóð eins og veggur til beggja handa!
He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.
14 Að degi til leiddi hann þá með skýi, en eldstólpa um nætur.
In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.
15 Hann rauf gat á klettinn í eyðimörkinni. Vatnið streymdi fram og þeir svöluðu þorsta sínum.
He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
16 Já, það flæddi frá klettinum, líkast rennandi á!
He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 Samt héldu þeir fast við þrjósku sína og syndguðu gegn hinum hæsta Guði.
Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 Þeir kvörtuðu og kveinuðu og heimtuðu annað að borða en það sem Guð gaf þeim.
They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire.
19 Þeir ásökuðu jafnvel sjálfan Guð og sögðu:
Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 „Hann gaf okkur vatn, en hvers vegna fáum við ekki brauð eða kjöt?!“
Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 Drottinn hlustaði og honum rann í skap, reiði hans upptendraðist gegn Ísrael.
Therefore the LORD heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel,
22 Enda treystu þeir honum ekki, né trúðu forsjá hans.
because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in his salvation.
23 Jafnvel þótt hann lyki upp himninum – eins og glugga! –
Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven.
24 og léti manna rigna niður.
He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky.
25 Já, þeir átu englabrauð! – og urðu mettir.
Man ate the bread of angels. He sent them food to the full.
26 Þá lét hann austanvind blása og stýrði vestanvindinum með krafti sínum.
He caused the east wind to blow in the sky. By his power he guided the south wind.
27 Og viti menn, fuglum rigndi af himni, – þeir voru eins og sandur á sjávarströnd!
He also rained meat on them as the dust, winged birds as the sand of the seas.
28 Af hans völdum féllu þeir til jarðar um allar tjaldbúðirnar.
He let them fall in the middle of their camp, around their habitations.
29 Og fólkið át nægju sína. Hann mettaði hungur þeirra.
So they ate, and were well filled. He gave them their own desire.
30 En varla höfðu þeir lokið matnum – fæðan var enn í munni þeirra,
They did not turn from their cravings. Their food was yet in their mouths,
31 þá reiddist Drottinn þeim og lagði að velli æskumenn Ísraels.
when the anger of God went up against them, killed some of their strongest, and struck down the young men of Israel.
32 En þeir sáu sig ekki um hönd, en héldu áfram að syndga og vildu ekki trúa kraftaverkum Drottins.
For all this they still sinned, and did not believe in his wondrous works.
33 Þess vegna stytti hann ævi þeirra og sendi þeim miklar hörmungar.
Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
34 En þegar neyðin var stærst, tóku þeir að leita Guðs. Þeir iðruðust og snéru sér til hans.
When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly.
35 Þeir viðurkenndu að Guð er eini grundvöllur lífsins – að hinn hæsti Guð væri frelsari þeirra.
They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their redeemer.
36 En því miður fylgdu þeir honum aðeins í orði kveðnu, en ekki af heilum hug,
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
37 hjarta þeirra var langt frá honum. Þeir stóðu ekki við orð sín.
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant.
38 Samt var hann þeim miskunnsamur, fyrirgaf syndir þeirra og tortímdi þeim ekki. Margoft hélt hann aftur af reiði sinni.
But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 Hann minntist þess að þeir voru dauðlegir menn, eins og andblær sem kemur og fer.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes away, and does not come again.
40 Já, oft risu þeir gegn Guði í eyðimörkinni og ollu honum vonbrigðum.
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!
41 Aftur og aftur sneru þeir við honum baki og freistuðu hans.
They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 Þeir gleymdu krafti hans og kærleika og hvernig hann hafði frelsað þá frá óvinum þeirra.
They did not remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
43 Þeir gleymdu plágunum sem hann sendi Egyptum í Sóan
how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan,
44 þegar hann breytti fljótum þeirra í blóð, svo að enginn gat drukkið.
he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink.
45 Eða þegar hann fyllti landið af flugum og froskum!
He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 Lirfurnar spilltu uppskerunni og engispretturnar átu allt, hvort tveggja var frá honum komið.
He also gave their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.
47 Hann eyddi vínviði þeirra með hagléli og mórberjatrjánum með frosti.
He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore fig trees with frost.
48 Búpeningurinn hrundi niður í haganum, haglið rotaði hann og sauðirnir drápust í eldingum.
He also gave over their livestock to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 Hann úthellti reiði sinni yfir þá, sendi þeim ógn og skelfingu. Hann leysti út sendiboða ógæfunnar – engla sem létu þá kenna á því!
He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of angels of evil.
50 Hann gaf reiðinni lausan tauminn. Og ekki hlífði hann Egyptunum. Þeir fengu vænan skerf af plágum og sjúkdómum.
He made a path for his anger. He did not spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence,
51 Þá deyddi hann frumburði Egypta, efnilegan ungviðinn, sem vonirnar voru bundnar við.
and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Sinn eigin lýð leiddi hann styrkri hendi gegnum eyðimörkina.
But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 Hann var skjól þeirra og vörn. Þeir þurftu ekkert að óttast, en hafið gleypti óvini þeirra.
He led them safely, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 Hann greiddi för þeirra til fyrirheitna landsins, til hæðanna sem hann hafði skapað.
He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
55 Íbúum landsins stökkti hann á flótta en gaf þar ættkvíslum Ísraels erfðahlut og skjól.
He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56 En þótt þeir nytu gæsku Guðs, risu þeir gegn hinum hæsta og fyrirlitu boðorð hans.
Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not keep his testimonies,
57 Þeir sneru af leið og rufu trúnað rétt eins og feður þeirra. Eins og bogin ör misstu þeir marksins sem Guð hafði sett þeim.
but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 Þeir tóku aðra guði, reistu þeim ölturu og egndu Drottin á móti sér.
For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
59 Guð sá verk þeirra og reiddist – fékk viðbjóð á Ísrael.
When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel,
60 Hann yfirgaf helgidóm sinn í Síló, bústað sinn meðal manna.
so that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men,
61 Örk sína lét hann falla í hendur óvinanna og vegsemd hans var óvirt af heiðingjum.
and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary’s hand.
62 Hann reiddist lýð sínum og lét hann falla fyrir sverði óvinanna.
He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance.
63 Æskumenn Ísraels fórust í eldi og ungu stúlkurnar upplifðu ekki sinn brúðkaupsdag.
Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.
64 Prestunum var slátrað og ekkjur þeirra dóu áður en þær gátu harmað þá.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 Þá var sem Drottinn vaknaði af svefni, eins og hetja sem rís upp úr vímu,
Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
66 og hann gaf þeim vænt spark í bakhlutann og sendi þá burt með skömm, sömu leið og þeir komu.
He struck his adversaries backward. He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Hann hafnaði fjölskyldu Jósefs, ætt Efraíms,
Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 en kaus Júdaættkvísl og Síonfjall, sem hann elskar.
But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
69 Þar reisti hann musteri sitt – voldugt og traust rétt eins og himin og jörð.
He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever.
70 Hann kaus Davíð sem þjón sinn, tók hann frá sauðunum,
He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 úr smalamennskunni, til að verða leiðtogi og hirðir þjóðar sinnar.
from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.
72 Og hann gætti hennar af öryggi og með hreinu hjarta.
So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
