Psalmorum 78
1 Intellectus Asaph. Attendite popule meus legem meam: inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei.
A maskil of Asaph. My people, attend to my teaching: bend your ears to the words of my mouth,
2 Aperiam in parabolis os meum: loquar propositiones ab initio.
as I open my mouth in a poem on the riddling story of the past.
3 Quanta audivimus et cognovimus ea: et patres nostri narraverunt nobis.
What we have heard and known, and what our ancestors 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 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 Et suscitavit testimonium in Iacob: et legem posuit in Israel. Quanta mandavit patribus nostris nota facere ea filiis suis:
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 ut cognoscat generatio altera. Filii qui nascentur, et exurgent, et narrabunt filiis suis,
that the next generation should know it, that the children yet to be born should arise and tell their children;
7 Ut ponant in Deo spem suam, et non obliviscantur operum Dei: et mandata eius exquirant.
that in God they might put their confidence, and not forget God’s works; but that they might keep 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 not be like their ancestors, a generation defiant and stubborn, a generation with heart unsteady, and spirit unfaithful towards God.
9 Filii Ephrem intendentes et mittentes arcum: conversi sunt in die belli.
Ephraimites, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.
10 Non custodierunt testamentum Dei, et in lege eius noluerunt ambulare.
They did not keep God’s covenant, they refused to walk in his law.
11 Et obliti sunt benefactorum eius, et mirabilium eius quæ ostendit eis.
They forgot what he had done, and the wonders he had shown them.
12 Coram patribus eorum fecit mirabilia in terra Ægypti, in campo Taneos.
He did wonders before their ancestors in the country of Zoan in Egypt.
13 Interrupit mare, et perduxit eos: et statuit aquas quasi in utre.
Through the sea which he split he brought them, making waters stand up like a heap;
14 Et deduxit eos in nube diei: et tota nocte in illuminatione ignis.
he led them by day with a cloud, all the night with a light of fire.
15 Interrupit petram in eremo: et adaquavit eos velut in abysso multa.
From the rocks which he split in the wilderness, he gave them to drink as of ocean’s abundance.
16 Et eduxit aquam de petra: et deduxit tamquam flumina aquas.
He brought streams out of the rock, and made water run down like rivers.
17 Et apposuerunt adhuc peccare ei: in iram excitaverunt Excelsum in inaquoso.
Yet they still went on sinning against him, they defied the Most High in the desert.
18 Et tentaverunt Deum in cordibus suis: ut peterent escas animabus suis.
They wilfully challenged God, demanding the food that they longed for.
19 Et male locuti sunt de Deo: dixerunt: Numquid poterit Deus parare mensam in deserto?
‘Is God able,’ such was their challenge, ‘to spread in the desert a table?
20 Quoniam percussit petram, et fluxerunt aquæ, et torrentes inundaverunt. Numquid et panem poterit dare, aut parare mensam populo suo?
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 Ideo audivit Dominus, et distulit: et ignis accensus est in Iacob, et ira ascendit in Israel:
When the Lord heard this, he was furious, and fire was kindled on Jacob, anger flared up against Israel.
22 Quia non crediderunt in Deo, nec speraverunt in salutari eius:
For they put no trust in God, no confidence in his help.
23 Et mandavit nubibus desuper, et ianuas cæli aperuit.
So he summoned the clouds above; and, opening the doors of heaven,
24 Et pluit illis manna ad manducandum, et panem cæli dedit eis.
he rained manna upon them for food, and grain of heaven he gave them.
25 Panem angelorum manducavit homo: cibaria misit eis in abundantia.
Everyone ate the bread of angels; he sent them food to the full.
26 Transtulit Austrum de cælo: et induxit in virtute sua Africum.
He launched the east wind in the heavens, and guided the south by his power.
27 Et pluit super eos sicut pulverem carnes, et sicut arenam maris volatilia pennata.
He rained meat upon them like dust, winged bird like the sand of the sea.
28 Et ceciderunt in medio castrorum eorum: circa tabernacula eorum.
In the midst of their camp he dropped it, all around their tents.
29 Et manducaverunt et saturati sunt nimis, et desiderium eorum attulit eis:
They ate and were more than filled; he had brought them the thing they desired.
30 non sunt fraudati a desiderio suo. Adhuc escæ eorum erant in ore ipsorum,
But the thing they desired became loathsome: while their food was still in their mouths,
31 et ira Dei ascendit super eos. Et occidit pingues eorum, et electos Israel impedivit.
the wrath of God rose against them. He slew the stoutest among them, and laid low the young men of Israel.
32 In omnibus his peccaverunt adhuc: et non crediderunt in mirabilibus eius.
Yet for all this they sinned yet more, and refused to believe in his wonders.
33 Et defecerunt in vanitate dies eorum: et anni eorum cum festinatione.
So he ended their days in a breath, and their years in sudden dismay.
34 Cum occideret eos, quærebant eum: et revertebantur, et diluculo veniebant ad eum.
When he slew them, then they sought after him, they turned and sought God with diligence.
35 Et rememorati sunt quia Deus adiutor est eorum: et Deus excelsus redemptor eorum est.
They remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their redeemer.
36 Et dilexerunt eum in ore suo, et lingua sua mentiti sunt ei:
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
37 Cor autem eorum non erat rectum cum eo: nec fideles habiti sunt in testamento eius.
Their heart was not steady with him, they were faithless to 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 is full of pity: he pardons sin and destroys not. Often he turns his anger away, without stirring his wrath at all.
39 Et recordatus est quia caro sunt: spiritus vadens, et non rediens.
So he remembered that they were but flesh, breath that passes and does not return.
40 Quoties exacerbaverunt eum in deserto, in iram concitaverunt eum in inaquoso?
But how often they rebelled in the desert, and caused him grief in the wilderness,
41 Et conversi sunt, et tentaverunt Deum: et Sanctum Israel exacerbaverunt.
tempting God again and again, provoking the Holy One of Israel.
42 Non sunt recordati manus eius, die qua redemit eos de manu tribulantis,
They did not remember his strength, nor the day he redeemed from the foe,
43 Sicut posuit in Ægypto signa sua, et prodigia sua in campo Taneos.
how he set his signs in Egypt, in the country of Zoan his wonders.
44 Et convertit in sanguinem flumina eorum, et imbres eorum, ne biberent.
He turned their canals into blood, their streams undrinkable.
45 Misit in eos cœnomyiam, et comedit eos: et ranam, et disperdidit eos.
He sent forth flies, which devoured them; frogs, too, which destroyed them.
46 Et dedit ærugini fructus eorum: et labores eorum locustæ.
Their crops he gave to the caterpillar, and the fruits of their toil to the locust.
47 Et occidit in grandine vineas eorum: et moros eorum in pruina.
He slew their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
48 Et tradidit grandini iumenta eorum: et possessionem eorum igni.
He delivered their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to bolts of fire.
49 Misit in eos iram indignationis suæ: indignationem, et iram, et tribulationem: immissiones per angelos malos.
He let loose his hot anger among them, fury and wrath and distress, a band of destroying angels.
50 Viam fecit semitæ iræ suæ, non pepercit a morte animabus eorum: et iumenta eorum in morte conclusit.
He cleared a path for his anger, did not spare them from death, but gave them over to pestilence.
51 Et percussit omne primogenitum in terra Ægypti: primitias omnis laboris eorum in tabernaculis Cham.
He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the first fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Et abstulit sicut oves populum suum: et perduxit eos tamquam gregem in deserto.
He led forth his people like sheep, he was guide to his flock in the desert.
53 Et deduxit eos in spe, et non timuerunt: et inimicos eorum operuit mare.
Securely he led them, and free from fear, while their foes were drowned in the sea.
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.
To his holy realm he brought them, to the mountain his right hand had purchased.
55 Et habitare fecit in tabernaculis eorum tribus Israel.
He drove out the nations before them, and allotted their land for possession, and their tents for Israel to live in.
56 Et tentaverunt, et exacerbaverunt Deum excelsum: et testimonia eius non custodierunt.
Yet they tempted and angered the Most High God, they did not observe his decrees.
57 Et averterunt se, et non servaverunt pactum: quemadmodum patres eorum, conversi sunt in arcum pravum.
They drew back, false like their ancestors; they failed like a treacherous bow.
58 In iram concitaverunt eum in collibus suis: et in sculptilibus suis ad æmulationem eum provocaverunt.
Their shrines stirred him to anger, their idols moved him to jealousy.
59 Audivit Deus, et sprevit: et ad nihilum redegit valde Israel.
When God heard of this, he was furious, and he spurned Israel utterly.
60 Et repulit tabernaculum Silo, tabernaculum suum, ubi habitavit in hominibus.
He abandoned his home in Shiloh, the tent he had pitched among people.
61 Et tradidit in captivitatem virtutem eorum: et pulchritudinem eorum in manus inimici.
He gave his strength up to captivity, his glory to the hands of the foe.
62 Et conclusit in gladio populum suum: et hereditatem suam sprevit.
He gave his people to the sword, he was furious with his own.
63 Iuvenes eorum comedit ignis: et virgines eorum non sunt lamentatæ.
Fire devoured their young men, and their maidens had no marriage-song.
64 Sacerdotes eorum in gladio ceciderunt: et viduæ eorum non plorabantur.
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 Et excitatus est tamquam dormiens Dominus, tamquam potens crapulatus a vino.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior flushed with wine;
66 Et percussit inimicos suos in posteriora: opprobrium sempiternum dedit illis.
and he beat back his foes, putting them to perpetual scorn.
67 Et repulit tabernaculum Ioseph: et tribum Ephraim non elegit:
He disowned the tent of Joseph, he rejected the tribe of Ephraim;
68 Sed elegit tribum Iuda, montem Sion quem dilexit.
but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 Et ædificavit sicut unicornium sanctificium suum in terra, quam fundavit in sæcula.
And he built like the heights his sanctuary, like the earth which he founded forever.
70 Et elegit David servum suum, et sustulit eum de gregibus ovium: de post fœtantes accepit eum.
And he chose David his servant, taking him from the sheepfolds.
71 Pascere Iacob servum suum, et Israel hereditatem suam:
From the mother-ewes he brought him, to be shepherd to Jacob his people, and to Israel his inheritance.
72 Et pavit eos in innocentia cordis sui: et in intellectibus manuum suarum deduxit eos.
With upright heart did he shepherd them, and with skilful hands did he guide them.
