Psalmorum 78
1 Intellectus Asaph. Attendite popule meus legem meam: inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei.
An instruction. Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 Aperiam in parabolis os meum: loquar propositiones ab initio.
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,
3 Quanta audivimus et cognovimus ea: et patres nostri narraverunt nobis.
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:
4 Non sunt occultata a filiis eorum, in generatione altera. Narrantes laudes Domini, et virtutes eius, et mirabilia eius quæ fecit.
We will not hide [them] from their sons, shewing forth to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength, and his marvellous works which he hath done.
5 Et suscitavit testimonium in Iacob: et legem posuit in Israel. Quanta mandavit patribus nostris nota facere ea filiis suis:
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 ut cognoscat generatio altera. Filii qui nascentur, et exurgent, et narrabunt filiis suis,
That the generation to come might know [them], the children that should be born; that they might rise up and tell [them] to their children,
7 Ut ponant in Deo spem suam, et non obliviscantur operum Dei: et mandata eius exquirant.
And that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but observe his commandments;
8 Ne fiant sicut patres eorum: generatio prava et exasperans. Generatio, quæ non direxit cor suum: et non est creditus cum Deo spiritus eius.
And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that prepared not their heart, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
9 Filii Ephrem intendentes et mittentes arcum: conversi sunt in die belli.
The sons of Ephraim, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.
10 Non custodierunt testamentum Dei, et in lege eius noluerunt ambulare.
They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
11 Et obliti sunt benefactorum eius, et mirabilium eius quæ ostendit eis.
And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.
12 Coram patribus eorum fecit mirabilia in terra Ægypti, in campo Taneos.
In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.
13 Interrupit mare, et perduxit eos: et statuit aquas quasi in utre.
He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap;
14 Et deduxit eos in nube diei: et tota nocte in illuminatione ignis.
And he led them with a cloud in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire.
15 Interrupit petram in eremo: et adaquavit eos velut in abysso multa.
He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly;
16 Et eduxit aquam de petra: et deduxit tamquam flumina aquas.
And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 Et apposuerunt adhuc peccare ei: in iram excitaverunt Excelsum in inaquoso.
Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;
18 Et tentaverunt Deum in cordibus suis: ut peterent escas animabus suis.
And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;
19 Et male locuti sunt de Deo: dixerunt: Numquid poterit Deus parare mensam in deserto?
And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Quoniam percussit petram, et fluxerunt aquæ, et torrentes inundaverunt. Numquid et panem poterit dare, aut parare mensam populo suo?
Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?
21 Ideo audivit Dominus, et distulit: et ignis accensus est in Iacob, et ira ascendit in Israel:
Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:
22 Quia non crediderunt in Deo, nec speraverunt in salutari eius:
Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;
23 Et mandavit nubibus desuper, et ianuas cæli aperuit.
Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,
24 Et pluit illis manna ad manducandum, et panem cæli dedit eis.
And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.
25 Panem angelorum manducavit homo: cibaria misit eis in abundantia.
Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.
26 Transtulit Austrum de cælo: et induxit in virtute sua Africum.
He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind;
27 Et pluit super eos sicut pulverem carnes, et sicut arenam maris volatilia pennata.
And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,
28 Et ceciderunt in medio castrorum eorum: circa tabernacula eorum.
And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:
29 Et manducaverunt et saturati sunt nimis, et desiderium eorum attulit eis:
And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.
30 non sunt fraudati a desiderio suo. Adhuc escæ eorum erant in ore ipsorum,
They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,
31 et ira Dei ascendit super eos. Et occidit pingues eorum, et electos Israel impedivit.
When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
32 In omnibus his peccaverunt adhuc: et non crediderunt in mirabilibus eius.
For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;
33 Et defecerunt in vanitate dies eorum: et anni eorum cum festinatione.
And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
34 Cum occideret eos, quærebant eum: et revertebantur, et diluculo veniebant ad eum.
When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;
35 Et rememorati sunt quia Deus adiutor est eorum: et Deus excelsus redemptor eorum est.
And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.
36 Et dilexerunt eum in ore suo, et lingua sua mentiti sunt ei:
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue;
37 Cor autem eorum non erat rectum cum eo: nec fideles habiti sunt in testamento eius.
For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
38 Ipse autem est misericors, et propitius fiet peccatis eorum: et non disperdet eos. Et abundavit ut averteret iram suam: et non accendit omnem iram suam:
But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury:
39 Et recordatus est quia caro sunt: spiritus vadens, et non rediens.
And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.
40 Quoties exacerbaverunt eum in deserto, in iram concitaverunt eum in inaquoso?
How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Et conversi sunt, et tentaverunt Deum: et Sanctum Israel exacerbaverunt.
And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.
42 Non sunt recordati manus eius, die qua redemit eos de manu tribulantis,
They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,
43 Sicut posuit in Ægypto signa sua, et prodigia sua in campo Taneos.
How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;
44 Et convertit in sanguinem flumina eorum, et imbres eorum, ne biberent.
And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;
45 Misit in eos cœnomyiam, et comedit eos: et ranam, et disperdidit eos.
He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them;
46 Et dedit ærugini fructus eorum: et labores eorum locustæ.
And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;
47 Et occidit in grandine vineas eorum: et moros eorum in pruina.
He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;
48 Et tradidit grandini iumenta eorum: et possessionem eorum igni.
And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 Misit in eos iram indignationis suæ: indignationem, et iram, et tribulationem: immissiones per angelos malos.
He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.
50 Viam fecit semitæ iræ suæ, non pepercit a morte animabus eorum: et iumenta eorum in morte conclusit.
He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
51 Et percussit omne primogenitum in terra Ægypti: primitias omnis laboris eorum in tabernaculis Cham.
And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.
52 Et abstulit sicut oves populum suum: et perduxit eos tamquam gregem in deserto.
And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 Et deduxit eos in spe, et non timuerunt: et inimicos eorum operuit mare.
And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.
54 Et induxit eos in montem sanctificationis suæ, montem, quem acquisivit dextera eius. Et eiecit a facie eorum Gentes: et sorte divisit eis terram in funiculo distributionis.
And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;
55 Et habitare fecit in tabernaculis eorum tribus Israel.
And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56 Et tentaverunt, et exacerbaverunt Deum excelsum: et testimonia eius non custodierunt.
But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies,
57 Et averterunt se, et non servaverunt pactum: quemadmodum patres eorum, conversi sunt in arcum pravum.
And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.
58 In iram concitaverunt eum in collibus suis: et in sculptilibus suis ad æmulationem eum provocaverunt.
And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 Audivit Deus, et sprevit: et ad nihilum redegit valde Israel.
God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
60 Et repulit tabernaculum Silo, tabernaculum suum, ubi habitavit in hominibus.
And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,
61 Et tradidit in captivitatem virtutem eorum: et pulchritudinem eorum in manus inimici.
And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;
62 Et conclusit in gladio populum suum: et hereditatem suam sprevit.
And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:
63 Iuvenes eorum comedit ignis: et virgines eorum non sunt lamentatæ.
The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;
64 Sacerdotes eorum in gladio ceciderunt: et viduæ eorum non plorabantur.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Et excitatus est tamquam dormiens Dominus, tamquam potens crapulatus a vino.
Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;
66 Et percussit inimicos suos in posteriora: opprobrium sempiternum dedit illis.
And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.
67 Et repulit tabernaculum Ioseph: et tribum Ephraim non elegit:
And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
68 Sed elegit tribum Iuda, montem Sion quem dilexit.
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;
69 Et ædificavit sicut unicornium sanctificium suum in terra, quam fundavit in sæcula.
And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
70 Et elegit David servum suum, et sustulit eum de gregibus ovium: de post fœtantes accepit eum.
And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 Pascere Iacob servum suum, et Israel hereditatem suam:
From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72 Et pavit eos in innocentia cordis sui: et in intellectibus manuum suarum deduxit eos.
And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
