Psalms 78
1 An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings 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 open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,
I will tell you wise sayings; I will explain mysteries from the past
3 That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
that we have heard before and reflected on; stories our forefathers passed down to us.
4 We do not hide from their sons, To a later generation recounting praises of Jehovah, And His strength, and His wonders that 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 And He raiseth up a testimony in Jacob, And a law hath placed in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.
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 So that a later generation doth know, Sons who are born, do rise and recount to their sons,
so that the next generation—children yet to be born—would understand and grow up to teach their children.
7 And place in God their confidence, And forget not the doings of God, But keep His commands.
In this way they should place their trust in God and not forget what God has done, and keep his commandments.
8 And they are not like their fathers, A generation apostate and rebellious, A generation! it hath not prepared its heart, Nor stedfast with God [is] its spirit.
Then they would not be like their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation that was untrustworthy and unfaithful.
9 Sons of Ephraim — armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
The soldiers of Ephraim, though armed with bows, ran away on the day of battle.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God, And in His law they have refused to walk,
They did not keep God's agreement, and refused to follow his laws.
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He shewed them.
They ignored what he had done, and the amazing things he had shown them—
12 Before their fathers He hath 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 cleft a sea, and causeth them to pass over, Yea, He causeth 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 leadeth them with a cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire.
He led them with a cloud by day, and by night with a light of fire.
15 He cleaveth rocks in a wilderness, And giveth drink — as the great deep.
He split open rocks in the desert to give his people plenty to drink, water as deep as the ocean.
16 And bringeth out streams from a rock, And causeth waters to come down as rivers.
He made streams flow from the stone; water rushing down like rivers!
17 And they add still to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
But they repeatedly sinned against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
They deliberately provoked God by demanding the foods they longed for.
19 And they speak against God — they said: 'Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?'
They insulted God by saying, “Can God provide food here in the desert?
20 Lo, He hath smitten a rock, And waters flow, yea, streams overflow. 'Also — bread [is] He able to give? Doth He prepare 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 hath Jehovah heard, And He sheweth Himself wroth, And fire hath been kindled against Jacob, And anger also hath gone 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 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
for they didn't believe in God and didn't trust him to take care of them.
23 And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened.
Even so he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven to open,
24 And He raineth on them manna to eat, Yea, corn of heaven He hath given to them.
and he made manna rain down on them to eat, giving them bread from heaven.
25 Food of the mighty hath each eaten, Venison He sent to them to satiety.
Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them more than enough food.
26 He causeth an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leadeth by His strength a south wind,
He sent the east wind blowing across the sky; by his power he drove the south wind.
27 And He raineth on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas — winged fowl,
He rained down meat on them as plentiful as dust; birds as numerous as sand on a beach.
28 And causeth [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Round about His tabernacles.
He made them fall right in the middle of their camp, all around where they were living.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And their desire He bringeth to them.
They ate until they were full. He gave them the food they longed for.
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Yet [is] their food in their mouth,
But before they satisfied their appetite, while the meat was still in their mouths,
31 And the anger of God hath gone up against them, And He slayeth among their fat ones, And youths of Israel He caused to bend.
God became angry with them and he killed their strongest men, striking them down in the prime of life.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
Despite all this they went right on sinning. Despite the miracles, they refused to trust him.
33 And He consumeth in vanity their days, And their years in trouble.
So he snuffed out their futile lives, bringing them to an end in terror.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and sought God earnestly,
When he began killing them, the rest came back to God in repentance, praying to him.
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
They remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their Savior.
36 And — they deceive Him with their mouth, And with their tongue do lie to Him,
They flattered him by what they told him, but they were only lying.
37 And their heart hath not been right with Him, And they have not been stedfast in His covenant.
Deep down they were not sincere, and did not keep the agreement they had with him.
38 And He — the Merciful One, Pardoneth iniquity, and destroyeth not, And hath often turned back His anger, And waketh not 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 remembereth that they [are] flesh, A wind going on — and it returneth not.
He remembered their mortality—that they were like a puff of wind that would not return.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, giving him grief in the desert!
41 Yea, they turn back, and try God, And the Holy One of Israel have limited.
Again and again they provoked God, causing pain to the Holy One of Israel.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
They did not remember his strength when he rescued them from their oppressors,
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
performing miracles in Egypt, doing wonderful things on the plain of Zoan.
44 And He turneth to blood their streams, And their floods they drink not.
There he turned their rivers and their streams into blood so that no one could drink from them.
45 He sendeth among them the beetle, and it consumeth them, And the frog, and it destroyeth them,
He sent flies among them to destroy them, and frogs to ruin everything.
46 And giveth to the caterpillar their increase, And their labour to the locust.
He gave their crops to locusts; everything they worked had for was taken by locusts.
47 He destroyeth with hail their vine, And their sycamores with frost,
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their fig trees with freezing rain.
48 And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames.
He handed over their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning bolts.
49 He sendeth on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress — A discharge of evil messengers.
He poured out on them his fierce anger—rage and hostility and anguish—sending a band of destroying angels against them.
50 He pondereth a path for His anger, He kept not back their soul from death, Yea, their life to the pestilence He delivered up.
He sent his unrestrained anger against them; he did not spare them from death, handing them over to the plague.
51 And He smiteth every first-born in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the first to be conceived in the tents of Ham.
52 And causeth His people to journey as a flock, And guideth them as a drove in a wilderness,
But he led out his people like sheep, and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 And He leadeth them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And their enemies hath the sea covered.
He led them to safety, and they were not afraid. He drowned their enemies in the sea.
54 And He bringeth them in unto the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had got,
He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land that he had conquered for them.
55 And casteth out nations from before them, And causeth them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causeth 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 And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And His testimonies have not kept.
But they provoked God Most High, rebelling against him. They did not follow what he had told them.
57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been 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 make Him angry with their high places, And with their graven images make Him zealous,
They made him angry with their pagan high places of worship; they made him jealous with their idols.
59 God hath heard, and sheweth Himself wroth. And kicketh exceedingly against Israel.
When God heard their worship he became furious and he totally rejected Israel.
60 And He leaveth the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
He abandoned his place at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he lived among the people.
61 And He giveth His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
He surrendered the Ark of his power, allowing it to be captured; handing it over into enemy hands.
62 And delivereth up to the sword His people, And with His inheritance shewed Himself angry.
He handed over his people to be slaughtered by the sword; he was furious with his chosen people.
63 His young men hath fire consumed, And His virgins have not been praised.
Their young men were destroyed by fire; their young women had no wedding songs.
64 His priests by the sword have fallen, And their widows weep not.
Their priests were killed by the sword; their widows were unable to mourn.
65 And the Lord waketh as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
Then the Lord woke up as if from sleep, as a warrior sobering up from drinking wine.
66 And He smiteth His adversaries backward, A reproach age-during He hath put on them,
He defeated his enemies, striking them on the back, causing them everlasting shame.
67 And He kicketh against the tent of Joseph, And on the tribe of Ephraim hath not fixed.
He rejected the descendants of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 And He chooseth the tribe of Judah, With mount Zion that He loved,
Instead he chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion which he loves.
69 And buildeth His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it to the age.
There he built his sanctuary, high like the heavens, on earth that he made to last forever.
70 And He fixeth on David His servant, And taketh him from the folds of a flock,
He chose his servant David, taking him from the sheep pens,
71 From behind suckling ones He hath brought him in, To rule over Jacob His people, And over 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 ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!
Like a shepherd, he took care of them with sincere devotion, leading them with skillful hands.
