Psalms 78

1 The understanding of Asaph. O my people, attend to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.

2 I will open my mouth in parables. I will speak about concepts that are from the beginning.

I am going to give you some sayings that wise people have said. They will be sayings about things that happened long ago, things that were difficult to understand [MET],

3 We have heard and known such great things, as our fathers have described to us.

things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.

4 These things have not been hidden from their sons in any generation: declaring the praises of the Lord, and his virtues, and the wonders that he has done.

We will tell these things to our children [LIT], and we will also tell to our grandchildren [about] Yahweh’s power and the glorious/great things that he has done.

5 And he has received testimony with Jacob, and he has set a law within Israel. Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons,

He gave laws and commandments to the Israeli people, [those who are the descendants of] Jacob [DOU], and he told our ancestors to teach them to their children

6 so that another generation might know them, and so that the sons, who will be born and who will grow up, shall describe them to their sons.

in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.

7 So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God, and may they seek his commandments.

In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.

8 May they not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation: a generation that does not straighten their heart and whose spirit is not trustworthy with God.

They would not be like their ancestors, who were very stubborn and kept rebelling [against God]; they did not continue firmly trusting in God, and they did not worship only him.

9 The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, have been turned back in the day of battle.

[The soldiers of] the tribe of Ephraim had bows [and arrows] but they ran away [from their enemies] on the day that they fought a battle with their enemies.

10 They have not kept the covenant of God. And they were not willing to walk in his law.

They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.

11 And they have been forgetful of his benefits, and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.

They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.

12 He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.

While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.

13 He broke the sea and he led them through. And he stationed the waters, as if in a vessel.

[Then] he caused the [Red] Sea to divide, causing the water [on each side] to pile up like a wall, with the result that [our ancestors] walked through it [on dry ground].

14 And he led them with a cloud by day, and with illumination by fire throughout the night.

He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.

15 He broke through the rock in the wasteland, and he gave them to drink, as if from the great abyss.

He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.

16 He brought forth water from the rock, and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.

He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].

17 And yet, they continued to sin against him. In a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.

But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.

18 And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking for food according to their desires.

By demanding that God give them the food that they desired, they tried to find out if he would always do what they requested him to do.

19 And they spoke badly about God. They said, “Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?

They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!

20 He struck the rock, and so waters flowed and the torrents flooded, but would even he be able to provide bread, or provide a table, for his people?”

[It is true that] he struck the rock, with the result that water gushed/flowed out, [but] (can he also provide bread and meat for [us], his people?/we doubt that he can also provide bread and meat for us, his people.)” [RHQ]

21 Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was dismayed, and a fire was kindled within Jacob, and an anger ascended into Israel.

So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]

22 For they neither put their trust in God, nor did they hope in his salvation.

[He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.

23 And he commanded the clouds from above, and he opened the doors of heaven.

But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,

24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, and he gave them the bread of heaven.

and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).

25 Man ate the bread of Angels. He sent them provisions in abundance.

[So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.

26 He transferred the south wind from heaven, and, in his virtue, he brought in the Southwest wind.

[Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,

27 And he rained down flesh upon them, as if it were dust, and feathered birds, as if they were the sand of the sea.

and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.

28 And they fell down in the midst of their camp, encircling their tabernacles.

God caused those birds to fall [dead] in the middle of (their camp)/the area where the people had put up their tents. [There were dead birds] all around their tents.

29 And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires.

[So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.

30 They were not cheated out of what they wanted. Their food was still in their mouth,

But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,

31 and then the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones among them, and he impeded the elect of Israel.

God was [still] very angry with them, and he caused their strongest men to die; he got rid of [many of] the finest [young] Israeli men.

32 In all these things, they continued to sin, and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.

In spite of all that, the people continued to sin; in spite of all the miracles that God had performed, they still did not trust that he [would take care of them].

33 And their days faded away into vanity, and their years with haste.

So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.

34 When he slew them, then they sought him. And they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.

When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].

35 And they were mindful that God is their helper and that the Most High God is their redeemer.

They remembered that God is [like] a huge rock ledge [under which they would be safe] [MET], and that he, who was greater than any other god, is the one who protected/rescued them.

36 And they chose him with their mouth, and then they lied to him with their tongue.

But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.

37 For their heart was not upright with him, nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.

They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.

38 Yet he is merciful, and he will pardon their sins. And he will not destroy them. And he has abundantly turned aside his own wrath. And he did not enflame his wrath entirely.

But God was merciful to his people. He forgave them for having sinned and did not get rid of them. Many times he refrained from becoming angry [with them] and restrained from furiously/severely [punishing them] [MTY].

39 And he remembered that they are flesh: with a spirit that goes forth and does not return.

He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.

40 How often did they provoke him in the desert and stir him to wrath in a waterless place?

Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.

41 And they turned back and tempted God, and they exasperated the Holy One of Israel.

Many times they did evil things, to find out [if they could do those things without God punishing them]. They frequently caused the holy God of Israel to become disgusted/sad.

42 They did not remember his hand, in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of the one troubling them.

They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.

43 Thus, he positioned his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Tanis.

They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.

44 And he turned their rivers into blood, along with their rain showers, so that they could not drink.

He caused the [Nile] River (OR, their sources of water) to become [red like] blood, with the result that the people of Egypt had no water to drink.

45 He sent among them the common fly, and it devoured them, and the frog, and it scattered them.

He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.

46 And he gave up their fruits to mold and their labors to the locust.

He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.

47 And he slew their vineyards with hail and their mulberry trees with severe frost.

He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.

48 And he delivered their cattle to the hail and their possessions to fire.

He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.

49 And he sent the wrath of his indignation among them: indignation and wrath and tribulation, sent forth by evil angels.

Because God was fiercely angry with the people of Egypt, he caused them to be very distressed. The disasters that struck them were like a group of angels that destroyed [everything].

50 He made way for the path of his anger. He did not spare their souls from death. And he enclosed their beasts of burden in death.

He did not lessen his being angry [with them], and he did not (spare their lives/prevent them from dying); he sent a (plague/serious illness) that killed [many of] them.

51 And he struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt: the first-fruits of all their labor in the tabernacles of Ham.

He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.

52 And he took away his own people like sheep, and he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

Then he led his people out [of Egypt] like [a shepherd leads] his sheep [SIM], and he guided them [while they walked] through the desert.

53 And he led them out in hope, and they did not fear. And the sea covered their enemies.

He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.

54 And he led them to the mountain of his sanctification: the mountain that his right hand had acquired. And he cast out the Gentiles before their face. And he divided their land by lot to them, with a line of distribution.

[Later] he brought them to [Canaan], his sacred land, to [Zion] Hill (OR, the hilly area) and by his power [MTY] he enabled them to conquer [the people who were living there].

55 And he caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.

He expelled the people-groups while his people were advancing; he allotted part of the land for [each tribe] to possess, and he gave to the Israeli people the houses of those people who had been expelled.

56 Yet they tempted and aggravated God Most High, and they did not keep his testaments.

However, the Israeli people rebelled against God, who is greater than any other god, and they did many evil things to see if they could do those things without God punishing them, and they did not obey his commandments.

57 And they turned themselves aside, and they did not serve the covenant. In the same manner as their fathers, they were turned backwards, like a crooked bow.

Instead, like their ancestors did, they rebelled against God and (were not loyal to/did not faithfully [obey]) him; they were as [unreliable as] a crooked arrow [that does not go straight] [SIM].

58 They impelled him to anger on their hills, and they provoked him to rivalry with their graven images.

Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].

59 God listened, and he spurned them, and he reduced Israel greatly, almost to nothing.

He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.

60 And he rejected the tabernacle of Shiloh, his tabernacle where he had dwelt among men.

He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.

61 And he delivered their virtue into captivity, and their beauty into the hands of the enemy.

He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.

62 And he enclosed his people with the sword, and he spurned his inheritance.

Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].

63 Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins were not lamented.

Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.

64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.

[Many] priests were killed by [their enemies’] swords, and (the people did not allow the priests’ widows/the priests’ widows were not allowed) to mourn.

65 And the Lord was awakened, as if out of sleep, and like a powerful man impaired by wine.

Later, [it was as though] the Lord awoke from sleeping; he was like a strong man who (became stimulated/felt that he was strong) by (OR, became sober after) [drinking] a lot of wine [SIM].

66 And he struck his enemies on the back. He gave them over to everlasting disgrace.

He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].

67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

[But] he did not set up his tent where [the people of] the tribe of Ephraim lived; he did not choose their area [to do that].

68 But he chose the tribe of Judah: mount Zion, which he loved.

Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.

69 And he built up his sanctuary, like a single-horned beast, in the land that he founded for all ages.

He [decided to have] his temple built [there], high up, like [his home in] heaven; he caused it to be firm, [and intended that] his temple would last forever, like the earth.

70 And he chose his servant David, and he took him from the flocks of the sheep: he received him from following the ewes with their young,

He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures

71 in order to pasture Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance.

where he was taking care of his [father’s] sheep, and appointed him to be the leader [MET] of the Israeli people, the people who belong to God.

72 And he fed them with the innocence of his heart. And he led them with the understanding of his hands.

David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.