Psalmorum 78

1 intellectus Asaph adtendite populus meus legem meam inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei

An Instructive Psalm. Asaph’s. Give ear, O my people, to mine instruction, Bend your ear to the sayings of my mouth;

2 aperiam in parabola os meum eloquar propositiones ab initio

I will open, in a parable, my mouth, I will pour forth enigmas out of antiquity; —

3 quanta audivimus et cognovimus ea et patres nostri narraverunt nobis

Which we have heard, and come to know, And, our fathers, have recounted to us;

4 non sunt occultata a filiis eorum in generationem alteram narrantes laudes Domini et virtutes eius et mirabilia eius quae fecit

We will not withhold [them] from their children, To a later generation, recounting the praises of Yahweh, Even his might and his wonders which he wrought;

5 et suscitavit testimonium in Iacob et legem posuit in Israhel quanta mandavit patribus nostris nota facere ea filiis suis

When he set up a testimony in Jacob, And, a law, appointed in Israel, —Which he commanded our fathers, That they might make them known to their children;

6 ut cognoscat generatio altera filii qui nascentur et exsurgent et narrabunt filiis suis

To the end, A later generation, might come to know, Children who should be born, Who should arise, and recount [them] to their children;

7 ut ponant in Deo spem suam et non obliviscantur opera Dei et mandata eius exquirant

That they might set, in Elohim, their confidence, —And not forget the doings of El, But, his commandments, might observe;

8 ne fiant sicut patres eorum generatio prava et exasperans generatio quae non direxit cor suum et non est creditus cum Deo spiritus eius

And not become, like their fathers, a generation stubborn and rebellious, —A generation that fixed not their heart, Neither was their spirit, faithful with GOD.

9 filii Effrem intendentes et mittentes arcus conversi sunt in die belli

The sons of Ephraim—armed bowmen, Turned in the day of battle;

10 non custodierunt testamentum Dei et in lege eius noluerunt ambulare

They kept not the covenant of God, And, in his law, refused to walk;

11 et obliti sunt benefactorum eius et mirabilium eius quae ostendit eis

And forgat His doings, And his wonders which he had showed them:

12 coram patribus eorum quae fecit mirabilia in terra Aegypti in campo Taneos

In presence of their fathers, wrought he, wondrously, —In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan:

13 interrupit mare et perduxit eos statuit aquas quasi utrem

He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through, And reared up the waters like a mound;

14 et deduxit eos in nube diei et tota nocte in inluminatione ignis

And led them, by a cloud, in the daytime, And all the night, by a light of fire;

15 interrupit petram in heremo et adaquavit eos velut in abysso multa

He used to cleave rocks in the desert, And let them drink as out of mighty deeps;

16 et eduxit aquam de petra et deduxit tamquam flumina aquas

And he brought forth streams out of the cliff, And caused waters to flow down, like rivers.

17 et adposuerunt adhuc peccare ei in ira excitaverunt Excelsum in inaquoso

But again, once more sinned they against him, Resisting the Most High in a land of drought:

18 et temptaverunt Deum in cordibus suis ut peterent escas animabus suis

They put GOD to the proof in their heart, By asking food to their mind:

19 et male locuti sunt de Deo dixerunt numquid poterit Deus parare mensam in deserto

Yea they spake against Elohim, —They said, Can GOD prepare a table in the desert?

20 quoniam percussit petram et fluxerunt aquae et torrentes inundaverunt numquid et panem potest dare aut parare mensam populo suo

Lo! he hath smitten a rock, And waters, have gushed out, Yea, torrents, have rushed along, —Food also, can he give? Or provide flesh for his people?

21 ideo audivit Dominus et distulit et ignis accensus est in Iacob et ira ascendit in Israhel

Therefore, Yahweh hearkened, and became wroth, —And, a fire, was kindled against Jacob, Moreover also, anger, mounted against Israel;

22 quia non crediderunt in Deo nec speraverunt in salutare eius

Because, They believed not in God, Nor trusted in his salvation;

23 et mandavit nubibus desuper et ianuas caeli aperuit

Though he had commanded the skies above, And, the doors of the heavens, had opened;

24 et pluit illis manna ad manducandum et panem caeli dedit eis

And had rained on them manna to eat, And, the corn of the heavens, had given to them:

25 panem angelorum manducavit homo cibaria misit eis in abundantiam

The food of the mighty, each one did eat, Nourishment, sent he them to the full;

26 transtulit austrum de caelo et induxit in virtute sua africum

He let loose an east wind in the heavens, Then guided he, in his might, a south wind;

27 et pluit super eos sicut pulverem carnes et sicut harenam maris volatilia pinnata

And rained upon them flesh as the dust, And, like the sand of the seas, birds of wing;

28 et ceciderunt in medio castrorum eorum circa tabernacula eorum

And let them fall in the midst of their camp, —Round about their habitations.

29 et manducaverunt et saturati sunt nimis et desiderium eorum adtulit eis

So they did eat and were abundantly filled, When, what they longed for, he had brought them: —

30 non sunt fraudati a desiderio suo adhuc escae eorum erant in ore ipsorum

They had not turned away from what they had longed for, Yet was their food in their mouth,

31 et ira Dei ascendit in eos et occidit pingues eorum et electos Israhel inpedivit

When, the anger of God, mounted against them, And he slew of their vigorous youths, And, the choice young men of Israel, caused he to bow down in death.

32 in omnibus his peccaverunt adhuc et non crediderunt mirabilibus eius

For all this, sinned they still, And believed not in his wonders;

33 et defecerunt in vanitate dies eorum et anni eorum cum festinatione

So he ended, in a breath, their days, And their years, in a sudden terror!

34 cum occideret eos quaerebant eum et revertebantur et diluculo veniebant ad Deum

If he slew [of] them, then they sought him, Yea they turned, and did earnestly seek GOD;

35 et rememorati sunt quia Deus adiutor est eorum et Deus excelsus redemptor eorum est

And remembered that, Elohim, was their rock, Yea, EL Most High, their Redeemer:

36 et dilexerunt eum in ore suo et lingua sua mentiti sunt ei

So they spake him fair with their mouth, And, with their tongue, did promise him falsely;

37 cor autem ipsorum non erat rectum cum eo nec fideles habiti sunt in testamento eius

But, their heart, was not fixed with him, Nor were they trusty in his covenant:

38 ipse autem est misericors et propitius fiet peccatis eorum et non perdet eos et abundabit ut avertat iram suam et non accendet omnem iram suam

Yet, he, full of compassion, would put a propitiatory-covering over iniquity, and not destroy, —Yea, many a time, turned he back his anger, And would not stir up all his wrath.

39 et recordatus est quia caro sunt spiritus vadens et non rediens

So then he remembered, That, Flesh, they were, A Wind departing, that returneth not.

40 quotiens exacerbaverunt eum in deserto in ira concitaverunt eum in inaquoso

How often they, Resisted him in the desert, Vexed him, in the waste:

41 et conversi sunt et temptaverunt Deum et Sanctum Israhel exacerbaverunt

Yea they again put GOD to the test, And, to the Holy One of Israel, caused they sorrow:

42 non sunt recordati manus eius die qua redemit eos de manu tribulantis

They remembered not his hand—The day, When he ransomed them from the adversary;

43 sicut posuit in Aegypto signa sua et prodigia sua in campo Taneos

When he set, in Egypt, his signs, And his wonders, in the plain of Zoan;

44 et convertit in sanguine flumina eorum et imbres eorum ne biberent

When he turned, into blood, their Nile-streams, And, their own rivers, could they not drink;

45 misit in eos cynomiam et comedit eos et ranam et disperdit eos

He sent among them, The gad-fly, and it devoured them, And the frog, and it despoiled them;

46 et dedit erugini fructus eorum et labores eorum lucustae

When he gave to the corn-locust their produce, And their toil, to the swarming locust;

47 et occidit in grandine vineam eorum et moros eorum in pruina

He killed, with hail, their vine, And their sycomores, with frost:

48 et tradidit grandini iumenta eorum et possessionem eorum igni

When he gave up, to hail-storms, their beasts, And their cattle, to pestilent fevers;

49 misit in eos iram indignationis suae indignationem et iram et tribulationem inmissionem per angelos malos

He sent among them the heat of his anger, Wrath and indignation and distress, —A mission of messengers of misfortune:

50 viam fecit semitae irae suae non pepercit a morte animarum eorum et iumenta eorum in morte conclusit

He leveled a path for his anger, Withheld not, from death, their soul, But, their life—to the pestilence, he delivered:

51 et percussit omne primitivum in terra Aegypti primitias laborum eorum in tabernaculis Cham

So he smote, Every first-born in Egypt, The beginning of their strength, in the tents of Ham;

52 et abstulit sicut oves populum suum et perduxit eos tamquam gregem in deserto

And he set forth, like sheep, his people, And guided them, like a flock in the desert;

53 et deduxit eos in spe et non timuerunt et inimicos eorum operuit mare

Yea he led them securely, and they dreaded not, And, their enemies, the sea did cover.

54 et induxit eos in montem sanctificationis suae montem quem adquisivit dextera eius et eiecit a facie eorum gentes et sorte divisit eis terram in funiculo distributionis

Then brought he them within his own holy bounds, The mountain-range, which his right hand made his own:

55 et habitare fecit in tabernaculis eorum tribus Israhel

So he drave out, before them, [whole] nations, And allotted them, by line, an inheritance, And caused to dwell, in their own homes, the tribes of Israel.

56 et temptaverunt et exacerbaverunt Deum excelsum et testimonia eius non custodierunt

But they tested and resisted God Most High, And, his testimonies, did not observe;

57 et averterunt se et non servaverunt pactum quemadmodum patres eorum conversi sunt in arcum pravum

But drew back and dealt treacherously, like their fathers, They turned aside, like deceitful bowmen;

58 et in ira concitaverunt eum in collibus suis et in sculptilibus suis ad aemulationem eum provocaverunt

And provoked him to anger with their high places, And, with their images, used to move him to jealousy.

59 audivit Deus et sprevit et ad nihilum redegit valde Israhel

God heard and was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;

60 et reppulit tabernaculum Selo tabernaculum suum ubi habitavit in hominibus

So he gave up the habitation of Shiloh, The tent he had set up among Men;

61 et tradidit in captivitatem virtutem eorum et pulchritudinem eorum in manus inimici

Yea he gave up, into captivity, his strength, And his beauty into the hand of an adversary;

62 et conclusit in gladio populum suum et hereditatem suam sprevit

And delivered up, to the sword, his people, And, with his own inheritance, was he wroth;

63 iuvenes eorum comedit ignis et virgines eorum non sunt lamentatae

His young men, were devoured by fire, And, his virgins, were not praised in song;

64 sacerdotes eorum in gladio ceciderunt et viduae eorum non plorabuntur

His priests, by the sword, did fall, And, his widows, were not able to bewail.

65 et excitatus est tamquam dormiens Dominus tamquam potens crapulatus a vino

Then awoke, as one that had slept, Adonay, As a warrior exulting with wine!

66 et percussit inimicos suos in posteriora obprobrium sempiternum dedit illis

So he smote his adversaries in the rear, Reproach age-abiding, laid he upon them.

67 et reppulit tabernaculum Ioseph et tribum Effrem non elegit

Howbeit he rejected the tent of Joseph, And, the tribe of Ephraim, did not choose:

68 et elegit tribum Iuda montem Sion quem dilexit

But made choice of the tribe of Judah, The mountain of Zion, which he loved;

69 et aedificavit sicut unicornium sanctificium suum in terra quam fundavit in saecula

And built, like the heights, his sanctuary, Like the earth, he founded it to times age-abiding.

70 et elegit David servum suum et sustulit eum de gregibus ovium de post fetantes accepit eum

And made choice of David his servant, And took him from among the folds of the sheep:

71 pascere Iacob servum suum et Israhel hereditatem suam

From after the sucking ewes, he brought him in, —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

So he did shepherd them, according to the singleness of his heart, And, with the discernment of his hands, used he to guide them.