Psalms 78
1 Understanding for Asaph. Attend, O my people, 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 utter propositions 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 How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
4 They have not been hidden from their children, in another generation. Declaring the praises of the Lord, and his powers, and his wonders which he hath 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 set up a testimony in Jacob: and made a law in Israel. How great things he commanded our fathers, that they should make the same known to their children:
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 That another generation might know them. The children that should be born and should rise up, and declare them to their children.
in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
7 That they may put their hope in God and may not forget the works of God: and may 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 That they may not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation. A generation that set not their heart aright: and whose spirit was not faithful to 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 with the bow: they have 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 kept not the covenant of God: and in his law they would not walk.
They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
11 And they forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had shewn them.
They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
12 Wonderful things did he do 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 divided the sea and brought them through: and he made the waters to stand as 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 conducted them with a cloud by day: and all the night with a light of fire.
He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
15 He struck the rock in the wilderness: and gave them to drink, as out of the great deep.
He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
16 He brought forth water out of the rock: and made streams run down as rivers.
He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
17 And they added yet more sin against him: they provoked the most High to wrath in the place without water.
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 meat for 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 ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
20 Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give 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 was angry: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath came up against 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 Because they believed not in God: and trusted not 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 had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of heaven.
But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given 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 removed the south wind from heaven: and by his power 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 upon them flesh as dust: and feathered fowls like as 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 in the midst of their camp, round about their pavilions.
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 So they did eat, and were filled exceedingly, and he gave them their desire:
[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 defrauded of that which they craved. As yet their meat was in their mouth:
But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
31 And the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones amongst them, and brought down the chosen men 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 sinned still: and they believed not for his wondrous works.
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 were consumed in vanity, and their years in 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 came to him early in the 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 remembered that God was their helper: and the most high God 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 loved him with their mouth: and with their tongue they lied unto him:
But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
37 But their heart was not right with him: nor were they counted faithful in his covenant.
They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
38 But he is merciful, and will forgive their sins: and will not destroy them. And many a time did he turn away his anger: and did not kindle all his wrath.
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: a wind that goeth and returneth not.
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 move him to wrath in the place without water?
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 grieved 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 remembered not his hand, in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of him that afflicted them:
They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
43 How he wrought 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, and their showers that they might, 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 amongst them divers sores of flies, which devoured them: and frogs which destroyed 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 the blast, and their labours to the locust.
He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
47 And he destroyed their vineyards with hail, and their mulberry trees with hoarfrost.
He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
48 And he gave up their cattle to the hail, and their stock to the fire.
He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
49 And he sent upon them the wrath of his indignation: indignation and wrath and trouble, which he sent 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 a way for a path to his anger: he spared not their souls from death, and their cattle he shut up 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 killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt: the firstfruits of all their labour in the tabernacles of Cham.
He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
52 And he took away his own people as sheep: and guided them in 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 brought them out in hope, and they feared not: band the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
54 And he brought them into the mountain of his sanctuary: the mountain which his right hand had purchased. And he cast out the Gentiles before them: and by lot divided to them their land by 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 made 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 provoked the most high God: and they kept not his testimonies.
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 away, and kept not the covenant: even like their fathers they were turned aside as 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 provoked him to anger on their hills: and moved him to jealousy with their graven things.
Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
59 God heard, and despised them, and he reduced Israel exceedingly as it were to nothing.
He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
60 And he put away the tabernacle of Silo, his tabernacle where he 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 strength 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 shut up his people under the sword: and he despised 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 maidens 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 mourn.
[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 awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that hath been surfeited with 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 smote his enemies on the hinder parts: he put them to an everlasting reproach.
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 chose not 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 Juda, mount Sion 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 his sanctuary as of unicorns, in the land which he founded for ever.
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 took him from the hocks of sheep: he brought him from following the ewes great with young,
He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
71 To feed 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 in the innocence of his heart: and conducted them by the skillfulness of his hands.
David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
