Psalms 78

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

[A contemplation by Asaph.] Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.

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

I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings since the beginning of the world,

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

which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

4 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;

We will not hide them from their descendants, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous works that he has done.

5 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;

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;

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

that the generation to come might know it, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell their children,

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

that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments,

8 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.

and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

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

The people of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

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

They did not keep God's covenant, and refused to walk by his Law.

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

They forgot his doings, his wondrous works that he had shown them.

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

He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

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

He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.

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

In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.

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

He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.

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

He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

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

Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert.

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

They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire.

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

Yes, they spoke against God. They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

20 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?

Look, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?"

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

Therefore the LORD heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel,

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

because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in his salvation.

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

Yet he commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven.

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

He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them bread from heaven.

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

Man ate the bread of the mighty ones. He sent them food to the full.

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

He caused the east wind to blow in the sky. By his power he guided the south wind.

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

He rained also flesh on them as the dust; winged birds as the sand of the seas.

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

He let it fall in the midst of his camp, all around his tent.

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

So they ate, and were well filled. He gave them their own desire.

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

They did not turn from their cravings. Their food was yet in their mouths,

31 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.

when the anger of God went up against them, killed some of the fattest of them, and struck down the young men of Israel.

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

For all this they still sinned, and did not believe in his wondrous works.

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

Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.

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

When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly.

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

They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their redeemer.

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

But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.

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

For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant.

38 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.

But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

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

He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes away, and doesn't come again.

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

How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert.

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

They turned again and tempted God, and gave pain to the Holy One of Israel.

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

They did not remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;

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

how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan,

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

he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink.

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

He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

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

He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.

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

He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore fig trees with frost.

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

He gave over their livestock also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

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

He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of destroying angels.

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

He made a path for his anger. He did not spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence,

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

and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.

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

But he led forth his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

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

He led them safely, so that they weren't afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

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

He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.

55 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.

He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

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

Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not keep his testimonies;

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

but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

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

For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.

59 God heard and was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;

When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel;

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

So that he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among men;

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

and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary's hand.

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

He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance.

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

Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.

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

Their cohanim fell by the sword, and their widows couldn't weep.

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

Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.

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

He struck his adversaries backward. He made them a permanent shame.

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

Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

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

But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.

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

He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever.

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

He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;

71 From after the sucking ewes, he brought him in, —To be shepherd to Jacob his people, And to Israel, his inheritance.

from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob his servant, and Israel his inheritance.

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

So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.