Psalms 78
1 An instruction. Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
A psalm (maskil) of Asaph. Listen to what I have to teach you, my people; hear what I have to say.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,
I will tell you wise sayings; I will explain mysteries from the past
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:
that we have heard before and reflected on; stories our forefathers passed down to us.
4 We will not hide [them] from their sons, shewing forth to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength, and his marvellous works which he hath done.
We will not keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about God's marvelous actions—about his power and the amazing things he has done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;
He gave his laws to the descendants of Jacob; his instructions to the people of Israel. He commanded our forefathers to teach them to their children,
6 That the generation to come might know [them], the children that should be born; that they might rise up and tell [them] to their children,
so that the next generation—children yet to be born—would understand and grow up to teach their children.
7 And that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but observe his commandments;
In this way they should place their trust in God and not forget what God has done, and keep his commandments.
8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that prepared not their heart, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
Then they would not be like their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation that was untrustworthy and unfaithful.
9 The sons of Ephraim, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.
The soldiers of Ephraim, though armed with bows, ran away on the day of battle.
10 They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
They did not keep God's agreement, and refused to follow his laws.
11 And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.
They ignored what he had done, and the amazing things he had shown them—
12 In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.
the miracles he had performed for their forefathers near Zoan in Egypt.
13 He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap;
He split the sea in two and led them through, making the water stand like walls on either side.
14 And he led them with a cloud in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire.
He led them with a cloud by day, and by night with a light of fire.
15 He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly;
He split open rocks in the desert to give his people plenty to drink, water as deep as the ocean.
16 And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
He made streams flow from the stone; water rushing down like rivers!
17 Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;
But they repeatedly sinned against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;
They deliberately provoked God by demanding the foods they longed for.
19 And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?
They insulted God by saying, “Can God provide food here in the desert?
20 Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?
Yes, he can strike a rock so that water gushes out like flowing rivers, but can he give us bread? Can he supply his people with meat?”
21 Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:
When he heard this, the Lord became very angry, burning like fire against the descendants of Jacob, furious with the people of Israel,
22 Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;
for they didn't believe in God and didn't trust him to take care of them.
23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,
Even so he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven to open,
24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.
and he made manna rain down on them to eat, giving them bread from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.
Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them more than enough food.
26 He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind;
He sent the east wind blowing across the sky; by his power he drove the south wind.
27 And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,
He rained down meat on them as plentiful as dust; birds as numerous as sand on a beach.
28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:
He made them fall right in the middle of their camp, all around where they were living.
29 And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.
They ate until they were full. He gave them the food they longed for.
30 They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,
But before they satisfied their appetite, while the meat was still in their mouths,
31 When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
God became angry with them and he killed their strongest men, striking them down in the prime of life.
32 For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;
Despite all this they went right on sinning. Despite the miracles, they refused to trust him.
33 And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
So he snuffed out their futile lives, bringing them to an end in terror.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;
When he began killing them, the rest came back to God in repentance, praying to him.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.
They remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their Savior.
36 But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue;
They flattered him by what they told him, but they were only lying.
37 For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
Deep down they were not sincere, and did not keep the agreement they had with him.
38 But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury:
But being compassionate he pardoned their guilt and did not destroy all of them. He often held back his anger—he did not pour out all his fury.
39 And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.
He remembered their mortality—that they were like a puff of wind that would not return.
40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, giving him grief in the desert!
41 And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.
Again and again they provoked God, causing pain to the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,
They did not remember his strength when he rescued them from their oppressors,
43 How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;
performing miracles in Egypt, doing wonderful things on the plain of Zoan.
44 And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;
There he turned their rivers and their streams into blood so that no one could drink from them.
45 He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them;
He sent flies among them to destroy them, and frogs to ruin everything.
46 And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;
He gave their crops to locusts; everything they worked had for was taken by locusts.
47 He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their fig trees with freezing rain.
48 And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
He handed over their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning bolts.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.
He poured out on them his fierce anger—rage and hostility and anguish—sending a band of destroying angels against them.
50 He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
He sent his unrestrained anger against them; he did not spare them from death, handing them over to the plague.
51 And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.
He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the first to be conceived in the tents of Ham.
52 And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
But he led out his people like sheep, and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.
He led them to safety, and they were not afraid. He drowned their enemies in the sea.
54 And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;
He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land that he had conquered for them.
55 And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
He drove out the heathen nations before them. He divided up the land for them to own. He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies,
But they provoked God Most High, rebelling against him. They did not follow what he had told them.
57 And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.
Just like their forefathers they turned away from God and were unfaithful to him, as twisted as a defective bow.
58 And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
They made him angry with their pagan high places of worship; they made him jealous with their idols.
59 God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
When God heard their worship he became furious and he totally rejected Israel.
60 And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,
He abandoned his place at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he lived among the people.
61 And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;
He surrendered the Ark of his power, allowing it to be captured; handing it over into enemy hands.
62 And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:
He handed over his people to be slaughtered by the sword; he was furious with his chosen people.
63 The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;
Their young men were destroyed by fire; their young women had no wedding songs.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
Their priests were killed by the sword; their widows were unable to mourn.
65 Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;
Then the Lord woke up as if from sleep, as a warrior sobering up from drinking wine.
66 And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.
He defeated his enemies, striking them on the back, causing them everlasting shame.
67 And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
He rejected the descendants of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;
Instead he chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion which he loves.
69 And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
There he built his sanctuary, high like the heavens, on earth that he made to last forever.
70 And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
He chose his servant David, taking him from the sheep pens,
71 From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
taking him from caring for the sheep and lambs to be a shepherd to the descendants of Jacob—God's special people, Israel.
72 And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Like a shepherd, he took care of them with sincere devotion, leading them with skillful hands.
