Sálmarnir 78
1 Þjóð mín, hlustaðu á kenningu mína. Gefðu gaum að því sem ég hef að segja.
A maskil of Asaph. My people, attend to my teaching: bend your ears to the words of my mouth,
2 Nú ætla ég að rifja upp fyrir þér liðna atburði,
as I open my mouth in a poem on the riddling story of the past.
3 frásagnir sem varðveist hafa frá kynslóð til kynslóðar.
What we have heard and known, and what our ancestors 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 from their children. We will tell to the next generation the praises and might of the Lord, and the wonders that he has done.
5 Lögmál sitt gaf hann Ísrael og bauð forfeðrunum að kenna það börnum sínum
He set up a testimony in Jacob, a law he appointed in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to make known to their children,
6 sem síðan skyldu kenna það sínum afkomendum. Þannig skyldi lögmál hans berast frá einni kynslóðinni til annarrar.
that the next generation should know it, that the children yet to be born should arise and tell their children;
7 Því hefur sérhver kynslóð getað haldið lög Guðs, treyst honum og heyrt um hans dásemdarverk.
that in God they might put their confidence, and not forget God’s works; but that they might 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 not be like their ancestors, a generation defiant and stubborn, a generation with heart unsteady, and spirit unfaithful towards God.
9 Þótt íbúar Efraím væru alvopnaðir, þá flúðu þeir þegar að orustunni kom.
Ephraimites, armed bowmen, 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, they refused to walk in his law.
11 Þeir gleymdu máttarverkum Drottins,
They forgot what he had done, and the wonders he had shown them.
12 sem hann hafði fyrir þá gert og forfeður þeirra í Egyptalandi,
He did wonders before their ancestors in the country of Zoan in Egypt.
13 þegar hann klauf hafið og leiddi þá yfir þurrum fótum. Vatnið stóð eins og veggur til beggja handa!
Through the sea which he split he brought them, making waters stand up like a heap;
14 Að degi til leiddi hann þá með skýi, en eldstólpa um nætur.
he led them by day with a cloud, all the night with a light of fire.
15 Hann rauf gat á klettinn í eyðimörkinni. Vatnið streymdi fram og þeir svöluðu þorsta sínum.
From the rocks which he split in the wilderness, he gave them to drink as of ocean’s abundance.
16 Já, það flæddi frá klettinum, líkast rennandi á!
He brought streams out of the rock, and made water run down like rivers.
17 Samt héldu þeir fast við þrjósku sína og syndguðu gegn hinum hæsta Guði.
Yet they still went on sinning against him, they defied the Most High in the desert.
18 Þeir kvörtuðu og kveinuðu og heimtuðu annað að borða en það sem Guð gaf þeim.
They wilfully challenged God, demanding the food that they longed for.
19 Þeir ásökuðu jafnvel sjálfan Guð og sögðu:
‘Is God able,’ such was their challenge, ‘to spread in the desert a table?
20 „Hann gaf okkur vatn, en hvers vegna fáum við ekki brauð eða kjöt?!“
From the rock that he struck there gushed water, and torrents that overflowed; but can he also give bread, or provide his people with meat?’
21 Drottinn hlustaði og honum rann í skap, reiði hans upptendraðist gegn Ísrael.
When the Lord heard this, he was furious, and fire was kindled on Jacob, anger flared up against Israel.
22 Enda treystu þeir honum ekki, né trúðu forsjá hans.
For they put no trust in God, no confidence in his help.
23 Jafnvel þótt hann lyki upp himninum – eins og glugga! –
So he summoned the clouds above; and, opening the doors of heaven,
24 og léti manna rigna niður.
he rained manna upon them for food, and grain of heaven he gave them.
25 Já, þeir átu englabrauð! – og urðu mettir.
Everyone 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 launched the east wind in the heavens, and guided the south by his power.
27 Og viti menn, fuglum rigndi af himni, – þeir voru eins og sandur á sjávarströnd!
He rained meat upon them like dust, winged bird like the sand of the sea.
28 Af hans völdum féllu þeir til jarðar um allar tjaldbúðirnar.
In the midst of their camp he dropped it, all around their tents.
29 Og fólkið át nægju sína. Hann mettaði hungur þeirra.
They ate and were more than filled; he had brought them the thing they desired.
30 En varla höfðu þeir lokið matnum – fæðan var enn í munni þeirra,
But the thing they desired became loathsome: while their food was still in their mouths,
31 þá reiddist Drottinn þeim og lagði að velli æskumenn Ísraels.
the wrath of God rose against them. He slew the stoutest among them, and laid low the young men of Israel.
32 En þeir sáu sig ekki um hönd, en héldu áfram að syndga og vildu ekki trúa kraftaverkum Drottins.
Yet for all this they sinned yet more, and refused to believe in his wonders.
33 Þess vegna stytti hann ævi þeirra og sendi þeim miklar hörmungar.
So he ended their days in a breath, and their years in sudden dismay.
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 after him, they turned and sought God with diligence.
35 Þeir viðurkenndu að Guð er eini grundvöllur lífsins – að hinn hæsti Guð væri frelsari þeirra.
They remembered that God was their rock, and 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.
Their heart was not steady with him, they were faithless to his covenant.
38 Samt var hann þeim miskunnsamur, fyrirgaf syndir þeirra og tortímdi þeim ekki. Margoft hélt hann aftur af reiði sinni.
But he is full of pity: he pardons sin and destroys not. Often he turns his anger away, without stirring his wrath at all.
39 Hann minntist þess að þeir voru dauðlegir menn, eins og andblær sem kemur og fer.
So he remembered that they were but flesh, breath that passes and does not return.
40 Já, oft risu þeir gegn Guði í eyðimörkinni og ollu honum vonbrigðum.
But how often they rebelled in the desert, and caused him grief in the wilderness,
41 Aftur og aftur sneru þeir við honum baki og freistuðu hans.
tempting God again and again, provoking 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 strength, nor the day he redeemed from the foe,
43 Þeir gleymdu plágunum sem hann sendi Egyptum í Sóan
how he set his signs in Egypt, in the country of Zoan his wonders.
44 þegar hann breytti fljótum þeirra í blóð, svo að enginn gat drukkið.
He turned their canals into blood, their streams undrinkable.
45 Eða þegar hann fyllti landið af flugum og froskum!
He sent forth flies, which devoured them; frogs, too, which destroyed them.
46 Lirfurnar spilltu uppskerunni og engispretturnar átu allt, hvort tveggja var frá honum komið.
Their crops he gave to the caterpillar, and the fruits of their toil to the locust.
47 Hann eyddi vínviði þeirra með hagléli og mórberjatrjánum með frosti.
He slew their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
48 Búpeningurinn hrundi niður í haganum, haglið rotaði hann og sauðirnir drápust í eldingum.
He delivered their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to bolts of fire.
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 let loose his hot anger among them, fury and wrath and distress, a band of destroying angels.
50 Hann gaf reiðinni lausan tauminn. Og ekki hlífði hann Egyptunum. Þeir fengu vænan skerf af plágum og sjúkdómum.
He cleared a path for his anger, did not spare them from death, but gave them over to pestilence.
51 Þá deyddi hann frumburði Egypta, efnilegan ungviðinn, sem vonirnar voru bundnar við.
He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the first fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Sinn eigin lýð leiddi hann styrkri hendi gegnum eyðimörkina.
He led forth his people like sheep, he was guide to his flock in the desert.
53 Hann var skjól þeirra og vörn. Þeir þurftu ekkert að óttast, en hafið gleypti óvini þeirra.
Securely he led them, and free from fear, while their foes were drowned in the sea.
54 Hann greiddi för þeirra til fyrirheitna landsins, til hæðanna sem hann hafði skapað.
To his holy realm he brought them, to the mountain his right hand had purchased.
55 Íbúum landsins stökkti hann á flótta en gaf þar ættkvíslum Ísraels erfðahlut og skjól.
He drove out the nations before them, and allotted their land for possession, and their tents for Israel to live in.
56 En þótt þeir nytu gæsku Guðs, risu þeir gegn hinum hæsta og fyrirlitu boðorð hans.
Yet they tempted and angered the Most High God, they did not observe his decrees.
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.
They drew back, false like their ancestors; they failed like a treacherous bow.
58 Þeir tóku aðra guði, reistu þeim ölturu og egndu Drottin á móti sér.
Their shrines stirred him to anger, their idols moved him to jealousy.
59 Guð sá verk þeirra og reiddist – fékk viðbjóð á Ísrael.
When God heard of this, he was furious, and he spurned Israel utterly.
60 Hann yfirgaf helgidóm sinn í Síló, bústað sinn meðal manna.
He abandoned his home in Shiloh, the tent he had pitched among people.
61 Örk sína lét hann falla í hendur óvinanna og vegsemd hans var óvirt af heiðingjum.
He gave his strength up to captivity, his glory to the hands of the foe.
62 Hann reiddist lýð sínum og lét hann falla fyrir sverði óvinanna.
He gave his people to the sword, he was furious with his own.
63 Æskumenn Ísraels fórust í eldi og ungu stúlkurnar upplifðu ekki sinn brúðkaupsdag.
Fire devoured their young men, and their maidens had no marriage-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 awoke as from sleep, like a warrior flushed with wine;
66 og hann gaf þeim vænt spark í bakhlutann og sendi þá burt með skömm, sömu leið og þeir komu.
and he beat back his foes, putting them to perpetual scorn.
67 Hann hafnaði fjölskyldu Jósefs, ætt Efraíms,
He disowned the tent of Joseph, he rejected the tribe of Ephraim;
68 en kaus Júdaættkvísl og Síonfjall, sem hann elskar.
but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 Þar reisti hann musteri sitt – voldugt og traust rétt eins og himin og jörð.
And he built like the heights his sanctuary, like the earth which he founded forever.
70 Hann kaus Davíð sem þjón sinn, tók hann frá sauðunum,
And he chose David his servant, taking him from the sheepfolds.
71 úr smalamennskunni, til að verða leiðtogi og hirðir þjóðar sinnar.
From the mother-ewes he brought him, to be shepherd to Jacob his people, and to Israel his inheritance.
72 Og hann gætti hennar af öryggi og með hreinu hjarta.
With upright heart did he shepherd them, and with skilful hands did he guide them.
