Sálmarnir 78
1 Þjóð mín, hlustaðu á kenningu mína. Gefðu gaum að því sem ég hef að segja.
Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline 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, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he has done.
5 Lögmál sitt gaf hann Ísrael og bauð forfeðrunum að kenna það börnum sínum
For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law 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 them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to 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 the works of God, 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 set not their heart aright, and 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 kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
11 Þeir gleymdu máttarverkum Drottins,
And forgot his works, and his wonders that he had showed them.
12 sem hann hafði fyrir þá gert og forfeður þeirra í Egyptalandi,
Marvelous things did he 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 divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
14 Að degi til leiddi hann þá með skýi, en eldstólpa um nætur.
In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
15 Hann rauf gat á klettinn í eyðimörkinni. Vatnið streymdi fram og þeir svöluðu þorsta sínum.
He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great 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.
And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
18 Þeir kvörtuðu og kveinuðu og heimtuðu annað að borða en það sem Guð gaf þeim.
And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
19 Þeir ásökuðu jafnvel sjálfan Guð og sögðu:
Yes, they spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
20 „Hann gaf okkur vatn, en hvers vegna fáum við ekki brauð eða kjöt?!“
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
21 Drottinn hlustaði og honum rann í skap, reiði hans upptendraðist gegn Ísrael.
Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
22 Enda treystu þeir honum ekki, né trúðu forsjá hans.
Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
23 Jafnvel þótt hann lyki upp himninum – eins og glugga! –
Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
24 og léti manna rigna niður.
And had rained down manna on them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
25 Já, þeir átu englabrauð! – og urðu mettir.
Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.
26 Þá lét hann austanvind blása og stýrði vestanvindinum með krafti sínum.
He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
27 Og viti menn, fuglum rigndi af himni, – þeir voru eins og sandur á sjávarströnd!
He rained flesh also on them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
28 Af hans völdum féllu þeir til jarðar um allar tjaldbúðirnar.
And he let it fall in the middle of their camp, round about their habitations.
29 Og fólkið át nægju sína. Hann mettaði hungur þeirra.
So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
30 En varla höfðu þeir lokið matnum – fæðan var enn í munni þeirra,
They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
31 þá reiddist Drottinn þeim og lagði að velli æskumenn Ísraels.
The wrath of God came on them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen 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 sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
33 Þess vegna stytti hann ævi þeirra og sendi þeim miklar hörmungar.
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
34 En þegar neyðin var stærst, tóku þeir að leita Guðs. Þeir iðruðust og snéru sér til hans.
When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God.
35 Þeir viðurkenndu að Guð er eini grundvöllur lífsins – að hinn hæsti Guð væri frelsari þeirra.
And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
36 En því miður fylgdu þeir honum aðeins í orði kveðnu, en ekki af heilum hug,
Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongues.
37 hjarta þeirra var langt frá honum. Þeir stóðu ekki við orð sín.
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast 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 full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yes, many a time turned he 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.
For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passes away, and comes not again.
40 Já, oft risu þeir gegn Guði í eyðimörkinni og ollu honum vonbrigðum.
How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Aftur og aftur sneru þeir við honum baki og freistuðu hans.
Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 Þeir gleymdu krafti hans og kærleika og hvernig hann hafði frelsað þá frá óvinum þeirra.
They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
43 Þeir gleymdu plágunum sem hann sendi Egyptum í Sóan
How he had worked his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan.
44 þegar hann breytti fljótum þeirra í blóð, svo að enginn gat drukkið.
And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
45 Eða þegar hann fyllti landið af flugum og froskum!
He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 Lirfurnar spilltu uppskerunni og engispretturnar átu allt, hvort tveggja var frá honum komið.
He gave also 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, and their sycomore trees with frost.
48 Búpeningurinn hrundi niður í haganum, haglið rotaði hann og sauðirnir drápust í eldingum.
He gave up their cattle also 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 cast on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
50 Hann gaf reiðinni lausan tauminn. Og ekki hlífði hann Egyptunum. Þeir fengu vænan skerf af plágum og sjúkdómum.
He made a way to his anger; he spared not 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 smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
52 Sinn eigin lýð leiddi hann styrkri hendi gegnum eyðimörkina.
But made his own people to go forth 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.
And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 Hann greiddi för þeirra til fyrirheitna landsins, til hæðanna sem hann hafði skapað.
And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.
55 Íbúum landsins stökkti hann á flótta en gaf þar ættkvíslum Ísraels erfðahlut og skjól.
He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them 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 provoked the most high God, and kept not 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 unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside 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 graven images.
59 Guð sá verk þeirra og reiddist – fékk viðbjóð á Ísrael.
When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
60 Hann yfirgaf helgidóm sinn í Síló, bústað sinn meðal manna.
So that he forsook the tabernacle 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, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 Hann reiddist lýð sínum og lét hann falla fyrir sverði óvinanna.
He gave his people over also to the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
63 Æskumenn Ísraels fórust í eldi og ungu stúlkurnar upplifðu ekki sinn brúðkaupsdag.
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
64 Prestunum var slátrað og ekkjur þeirra dóu áður en þær gátu harmað þá.
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Þá var sem Drottinn vaknaði af svefni, eins og hetja sem rís upp úr vímu,
Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that 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.
And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Hann hafnaði fjölskyldu Jósefs, ætt Efraíms,
Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
68 en kaus Júdaættkvísl og Síonfjall, sem hann elskar.
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
69 Þar reisti hann musteri sitt – voldugt og traust rétt eins og himin og jörð.
And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he has established for ever.
70 Hann kaus Davíð sem þjón sinn, tók hann frá sauðunum,
He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 úr smalamennskunni, til að verða leiðtogi og hirðir þjóðar sinnar.
From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72 Og hann gætti hennar af öryggi og með hreinu hjarta.
So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
