Psalms 78

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

An instruction. Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

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],

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter riddles from of old,

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

Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us:

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.

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.

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

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;

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

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,

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The sons of Ephraim, armed bowmen, turned back in the day of battle.

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

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

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

And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.

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

In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.

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].

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

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

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

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

He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly;

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

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

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

Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert;

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.

And they tempted God in their heart, by asking meat for their lust;

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

And they spoke against God: they said, Is God able to prepare a table in the wilderness?

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]

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?

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]

Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel:

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

Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation;

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

Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,

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

And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.

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

Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full.

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

He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind;

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

And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas,

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.

And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations:

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

And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them.

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

They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths,

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.

When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

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].

For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works;

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

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

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

When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after God;

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.

And they remembered that God was their rock, and God, the Most High, their redeemer.

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

But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue;

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

For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

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].

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:

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.

And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again.

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

How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

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.

And they turned again and tempted God, and grieved the Holy One of Israel.

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

They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor,

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

How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan;

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.

And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink;

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

He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them;

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

And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust;

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

He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones;

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

And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.

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].

He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, — a mission of angels of woes.

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.

He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

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

And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham.

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.

And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

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

And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies.

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].

And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased;

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.

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.

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.

But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies,

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].

And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow.

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

And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

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

God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

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

And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,

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

And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor;

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

And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance:

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

The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song;

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.

Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

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].

Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine;

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

And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.

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].

And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim,

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

But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved;

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.

And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.

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

And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

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.

From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

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

And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.