Psalms 78
1 My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you; pay careful attention [IDM] to what I say.
συνέσεως τῷ Ασαφ προσέχετε λαός μου τὸν νόμον μου κλίνατε τὸ οὖς ὑμῶν εἰς τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματός μου
2 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],
ἀνοίξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὸ στόμα μου φθέγξομαι προβλήματα ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς
3 things that we have heard and known previously, things that our parents and grandparents told us.
ὅσα ἠκούσαμεν καὶ ἔγνωμεν αὐτὰ καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν διηγήσαντο ἡμῖν
4 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.
οὐκ ἐκρύβη ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῶν εἰς γενεὰν ἑτέραν ἀπαγγέλλοντες τὰς αἰνέσεις τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τὰς δυναστείας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ ἃ ἐποίησεν
5 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
καὶ ἀνέστησεν μαρτύριον ἐν Ιακωβ καὶ νόμον ἔθετο ἐν Ισραηλ ὅσα ἐνετείλατο τοῖς πατράσιν ἡμῶν τοῦ γνωρίσαι αὐτὰ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτῶν
6 in order that their children would [also] know them and then they would teach them to their children.
ὅπως ἂν γνῷ γενεὰ ἑτέρα υἱοὶ οἱ τεχθησόμενοι καὶ ἀναστήσονται καὶ ἀπαγγελοῦσιν αὐτὰ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτῶν
7 In that way, they also would trust in God, and not forget the things that he has done; instead, they would obey his commandments.
ἵνα θῶνται ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν τὴν ἐλπίδα αὐτῶν καὶ μὴ ἐπιλάθωνται τῶν ἔργων τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ἐκζητήσουσιν
8 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.
ἵνα μὴ γένωνται ὡς οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν γενεὰ σκολιὰ καὶ παραπικραίνουσα γενεά ἥτις οὐ κατηύθυνεν τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῆς καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστώθη μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτῆς
9 [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.
υἱοὶ Εφραιμ ἐντείνοντες καὶ βάλλοντες τόξοις ἐστράφησαν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πολέμου
10 They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do; they refused to obey his laws.
οὐκ ἐφύλαξαν τὴν διαθήκην τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἤθελον πορεύεσθαι
11 They forgot what he had done; they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.
καὶ ἐπελάθοντο τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν θαυμασίων αὐτοῦ ὧν ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς
12 While our ancestors were watching, God performed miracles in the area around Zoan [city] in Egypt.
ἐναντίον τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν ἃ ἐποίησεν θαυμάσια ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν πεδίῳ Τάνεως
13 [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].
διέρρηξεν θάλασσαν καὶ διήγαγεν αὐτούς ἔστησεν ὕδατα ὡσεὶ ἀσκὸν
14 He led them by a [bright] cloud during the day and by a fiery light during the night.
καὶ ὡδήγησεν αὐτοὺς ἐν νεφέλῃ ἡμέρας καὶ ὅλην τὴν νύκτα ἐν φωτισμῷ πυρός
15 He split rocks open in the desert, giving to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.
διέρρηξεν πέτραν ἐν ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἐπότισεν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐν ἀβύσσῳ πολλῇ
16 He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock; the water flowed like a river [DOU].
καὶ ἐξήγαγεν ὕδωρ ἐκ πέτρας καὶ κατήγαγεν ὡς ποταμοὺς ὕδατα
17 But [our ancestors] continued to sin against God; in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other god.
καὶ προσέθεντο ἔτι τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν αὐτῷ παρεπίκραναν τὸν ὕψιστον ἐν ἀνύδρῳ
18 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.
καὶ ἐξεπείρασαν τὸν θεὸν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν τοῦ αἰτῆσαι βρώματα ταῖς ψυχαῖς αὐτῶν
19 They insulted God by saying, “We don’t think he can supply food for us [here] in this desert!
καὶ κατελάλησαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἶπαν μὴ δυνήσεται ὁ θεὸς ἑτοιμάσαι τράπεζαν ἐν ἐρήμῳ
20 [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]
ἐπεὶ ἐπάταξεν πέτραν καὶ ἐρρύησαν ὕδατα καὶ χείμαρροι κατεκλύσθησαν μὴ καὶ ἄρτον δύναται δοῦναι ἢ ἑτοιμάσαι τράπεζαν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ
21 So, when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry, and he sent a fire to burn up [some of] his Israeli [people]. [MTY, DOU]
διὰ τοῦτο ἤκουσεν κύριος καὶ ἀνεβάλετο καὶ πῦρ ἀνήφθη ἐν Ιακωβ καὶ ὀργὴ ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὸν Ισραηλ
22 [He did that] because they did not trust in him, and they did not believe that he would rescue them.
ὅτι οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν ἐν τῷ θεῷ οὐδὲ ἤλπισαν ἐπὶ τὸ σωτήριον αὐτοῦ
23 But God spoke to the sky above them; he commanded it to open [like] a door,
καὶ ἐνετείλατο νεφέλαις ὑπεράνωθεν καὶ θύρας οὐρανοῦ ἀνέῳξεν
24 and [then food] fell down like rain, [food which they named] ‘manna’; God gave them grain from (heaven/the sky).
καὶ ἔβρεξεν αὐτοῖς μαννα φαγεῖν καὶ ἄρτον οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς
25 [So] the people ate the food that angels eat, [and] God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.
ἄρτον ἀγγέλων ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος ἐπισιτισμὸν ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοῖς εἰς πλησμονήν
26 [Later], he caused the wind to blow from the east, and by his power he also sent wind from the south,
ἀπῆρεν νότον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐπήγαγεν ἐν τῇ δυναστείᾳ αὐτοῦ λίβα
27 and the wind brought birds which were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore.
καὶ ἔβρεξεν ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ὡσεὶ χοῦν σάρκας καὶ ὡσεὶ ἄμμον θαλασσῶν πετεινὰ πτερωτά
28 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.
καὶ ἐπέπεσον εἰς μέσον τῆς παρεμβολῆς αὐτῶν κύκλῳ τῶν σκηνωμάτων αὐτῶν
29 [So] the people [cooked the birds and] ate the meat and their stomachs were full, because God had given them what they wanted.
καὶ ἐφάγοσαν καὶ ἐνεπλήσθησαν σφόδρα καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτῶν ἤνεγκεν αὐτοῖς
30 But before they had eaten all that they wanted, and while they were still eating it,
οὐκ ἐστερήθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν ἔτι τῆς βρώσεως αὐτῶν οὔσης ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν
31 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.
καὶ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀνέβη ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν ἐν τοῖς πίοσιν αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς τοῦ Ισραηλ συνεπόδισεν
32 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].
ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις ἥμαρτον ἔτι καὶ οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν ἐν τοῖς θαυμασίοις αὐτοῦ
33 So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends; they died when disasters suddenly struck them.
καὶ ἐξέλιπον ἐν ματαιότητι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ ἔτη αὐτῶν μετὰ σπουδῆς
34 When God caused [some of] them to die, [the others] turned to God; they repented and earnestly asked God [to save them].
ὅταν ἀπέκτεννεν αὐτούς ἐξεζήτουν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπέστρεφον καὶ ὤρθριζον πρὸς τὸν θεὸν
35 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.
καὶ ἐμνήσθησαν ὅτι ὁ θεὸς βοηθὸς αὐτῶν ἐστιν καὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ ὕψιστος λυτρωτὴς αὐτῶν ἐστιν
36 But they [tried to] deceive God by what they said [MTY]; their words [MTY] were [all] lies.
καὶ ἠπάτησαν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν καὶ τῇ γλώσσῃ αὐτῶν ἐψεύσαντο αὐτῷ
37 They were not loyal to him; they disregarded/ignored the agreement that he had made with them.
ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν οὐκ εὐθεῖα μετ’ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ ἐπιστώθησαν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ αὐτοῦ
38 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].
αὐτὸς δέ ἐστιν οἰκτίρμων καὶ ἱλάσεται ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ διαφθερεῖ καὶ πληθυνεῖ τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐχὶ ἐκκαύσει πᾶσαν τὴν ὀργὴν αὐτοῦ
39 He remembered/considered that they were only humans who die; they [disappear quickly] [SIM], like a wind that blows by and then is gone.
καὶ ἐμνήσθη ὅτι σάρξ εἰσιν πνεῦμα πορευόμενον καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστρέφον
40 Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the desert and caused him to become very sad.
ποσάκις παρεπίκραναν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ παρώργισαν αὐτὸν ἐν γῇ ἀνύδρῳ
41 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.
καὶ ἐπέστρεψαν καὶ ἐπείρασαν τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ισραηλ παρώξυναν
42 They forgot about his [great] power, and they (forgot/did not think) about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.
οὐκ ἐμνήσθησαν τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ ἡμέρας ἧς ἐλυτρώσατο αὐτοὺς ἐκ χειρὸς θλίβοντος
43 They forgot about when he performed many miracles in the area near Zoan [city] in Egypt.
ὡς ἔθετο ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τὰ σημεῖα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ τέρατα αὐτοῦ ἐν πεδίῳ Τάνεως
44 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.
καὶ μετέστρεψεν εἰς αἷμα τοὺς ποταμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ ὀμβρήματα αὐτῶν ὅπως μὴ πίωσιν
45 He sent among the people of Egypt swarms of flies that bit them, and he sent frogs that ate up everything.
ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς αὐτοὺς κυνόμυιαν καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτούς καὶ βάτραχον καὶ διέφθειρεν αὐτούς
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and the other things that grew in their fields.
καὶ ἔδωκεν τῇ ἐρυσίβῃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς πόνους αὐτῶν τῇ ἀκρίδι
47 He sent hail that destroyed the grapevines, and sent frost that ruined the figs.
ἀπέκτεινεν ἐν χαλάζῃ τὴν ἄμπελον αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς συκαμίνους αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ πάχνῃ
48 He sent hail that killed their cattle and sent lightning that killed their sheep and cows.
καὶ παρέδωκεν εἰς χάλαζαν τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ὕπαρξιν αὐτῶν τῷ πυρί
49 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].
ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς αὐτοὺς ὀργὴν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ θλῖψιν ἀποστολὴν δῑ ἀγγέλων πονηρῶν
50 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.
ὡδοποίησεν τρίβον τῇ ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο ἀπὸ θανάτου τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν εἰς θάνατον συνέκλεισεν
51 He also caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.
καὶ ἐπάταξεν πᾶν πρωτότοκον ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀπαρχὴν τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασι Χαμ
52 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.
καὶ ἀπῆρεν ὡς πρόβατα τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίμνιον ἐν ἐρήμῳ
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid, but their enemies were drowned in the sea.
καὶ ὡδήγησεν αὐτοὺς ἐν ἐλπίδι καὶ οὐκ ἐδειλίασαν καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάλυψεν θάλασσα
54 [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].
καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅριον ἁγιάσματος αὐτοῦ ὄρος τοῦτο ὃ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ
55 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.
καὶ ἐξέβαλεν ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν ἔθνη καὶ ἐκληροδότησεν αὐτοὺς ἐν σχοινίῳ κληροδοσίας καὶ κατεσκήνωσεν ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν αὐτῶν τὰς φυλὰς τοῦ Ισραηλ
56 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.
καὶ ἐπείρασαν καὶ παρεπίκραναν τὸν θεὸν τὸν ὕψιστον καὶ τὰ μαρτύρια αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐφυλάξαντο
57 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].
καὶ ἀπέστρεψαν καὶ ἠσυνθέτησαν καθὼς καὶ οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν καὶ μετεστράφησαν εἰς τόξον στρεβλὸν
58 Because they [worshiped] carved images of their gods on the tops of hills, they caused God to become angry [DOU].
καὶ παρώργισαν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς βουνοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτῶν παρεζήλωσαν αὐτόν
59 He saw what they were doing and became very angry, so he rejected the Israeli people.
ἤκουσεν ὁ θεὸς καὶ ὑπερεῖδεν καὶ ἐξουδένωσεν σφόδρα τὸν Ισραηλ
60 He no longer appeared to them at Shiloh in the tent where he had lived among them.
καὶ ἀπώσατο τὴν σκηνὴν Σηλωμ σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ οὗ κατεσκήνωσεν ἐν ἀνθρώποις
61 He allowed their enemies to capture [the sacred chest], [which was the symbol of] his power and his glory.
καὶ παρέδωκεν εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν καλλονὴν αὐτῶν εἰς χεῖρας ἐχθροῦ
62 Because he was angry with his people, he allowed them to be killed [MTY] [by their enemies].
καὶ συνέκλεισεν εἰς ῥομφαίαν τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ ὑπερεῖδεν
63 Young men were killed in battles, with the result that the young women had no one to marry.
τοὺς νεανίσκους αὐτῶν κατέφαγεν πῦρ καὶ αἱ παρθένοι αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐπενθήθησαν
64 [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.
οἱ ἱερεῖς αὐτῶν ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ ἔπεσαν καὶ αἱ χῆραι αὐτῶν οὐ κλαυσθήσονται
65 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].
καὶ ἐξηγέρθη ὡς ὁ ὑπνῶν κύριος ὡς δυνατὸς κεκραιπαληκὼς ἐξ οἴνου
66 He pushed their enemies back and caused them to be [very] ashamed for a long time [HYP] [because they had been defeated].
καὶ ἐπάταξεν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω ὄνειδος αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς
67 [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].
καὶ ἀπώσατο τὸ σκήνωμα Ιωσηφ καὶ τὴν φυλὴν Εφραιμ οὐκ ἐξελέξατο
68 Instead he chose [the area where] the tribe of Judah [lived]; he chose Zion Hill, which he loves.
καὶ ἐξελέξατο τὴν φυλὴν Ιουδα τὸ ὄρος τὸ Σιων ὃ ἠγάπησεν
69 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.
καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ὡς μονοκερώτων τὸ ἁγίασμα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ γῇ ἐθεμελίωσεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
70 He chose David, who served him [faithfully], and took him from the pastures
καὶ ἐξελέξατο Δαυιδ τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέλαβεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν ποιμνίων τῶν προβάτων
71 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.
ἐξόπισθεν τῶν λοχευομένων ἔλαβεν αὐτὸν ποιμαίνειν Ιακωβ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ Ισραηλ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ
72 David took care of the Israeli people sincerely and wholeheartedly, and guided them skillfully/wisely.
καὶ ἐποίμανεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀκακίᾳ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν ταῖς συνέσεσι τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ὡδήγησεν αὐτούς
