Tehillim (Psalms) 78
78
1My people, give ear to my Torah, Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2I open my mouth in a parable; I utter riddles of old,
3Which we have heard and known, For our fathers have related them to us.
4We do not hide them from their children, Relating to the generation to come the praises of יהוה, And His strength and His wonders which He has done.
5For He raised a witness in Ya‛aqoḇ, And set a Torah in Yisra’ĕl, Which He commanded our fathers, To teach them to their children;
6That it might be known to a generation to come, To children who would be born, To rise up and relate them to their children,
7And place their trust in Elohim, And not forget the works of Ěl, But watch over His commands,
8And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation which did not prepare its heart, Whose spirit was not steadfast to Ěl.
9The children of Ephrayim, armed bowmen, Turned back in the day of battle.
10They did not guard the covenant of Elohim, And they refused to walk in His Torah,
11And they forgot His deeds And His wonders which He had shown them.
12He did wonders in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Mitsrayim, in the field of Tso‛an.
13He split the sea and caused them to pass through, And He made the waters stand up like a heap,
14And led them with the cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire.
15He split the rocks in the wilderness, And made them drink, as from the great depths,
16And brought forth streams from the rock, And caused waters to come down as rivers.
17Yet they sinned still more against Him To rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18And they tried Ěl in their heart By asking food according to their desire.
19And they spoke against Elohim. They said, “Is Ěl able to set a table in the wilderness?
20Look, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Is He able to give bread also? Would He provide meat for His people?
21Therefore יהוה heard, and He was wroth; So a fire was kindled against Ya‛aqoḇ, And displeasure also came up against Yisra’ĕl,
22Because they did not believe in Elohim, Neither did they trust in His deliverance.
23Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of the heavens,
24And He rained down manna on them to eat, And He gave them the grain of the heavens.
25Men ate bread of the mighty; He sent them provisions to satisfaction.
26He made an east wind blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27And He rained meat on them like the dust, And winged birds like the sand of the seas,
28And let them fall in the midst of His camp, All around His Dwelling Place.
29So they ate and were completely satisfied, For He brought them what they desired.
30They had not turned away from their desire, Their food was still in their mouths,
31When the wrath of Elohim came against them, And He killed among their fat ones, And He struck down the choice ones of Yisra’ĕl.
32In spite of all this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wonders.
33So He ended their days in a breath, And their years in trouble.
34When He killed them, then they sought Him, And they returned and did earnestly seek Ěl.
35And they remembered that Elohim was their rock, And the Most High Ěl their redeemer.
36But they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue,
37For their heart was not steadfast with Him, And they were not true to His covenant.
38But He, the Compassionate One, Pardoned crookedness, And did not destroy them. And many a time He turned His displeasure away, And did not stir up all His wrath.
39For He remembered that they were but flesh, A passing breath that does not return.
40How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
41And again and again they tried Ěl, And provoked the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl.
42They did not remember His hand, The day when He redeemed them from the adversary,
43How He worked His signs in Mitsrayim, And His wonders in the field of Tso‛an.
44He turned their rivers into blood, And they could not drink their streams.
45He sent among them swarms of flies which devoured them, And frogs which destroyed them,
46And gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labour to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost,
48And gave their beasts over to the hail, And their livestock to bolts of fire.
49He sent on them the burning of His displeasure, Wrath, and rage, and distress, A deputation of messengers of evils.
50He made a path for His displeasure; He did not spare their being from death, But gave their life over to the plague.
51And He struck all the first-born in Mitsrayim, The first-fruits of strength in the tents of Ḥam,
52Then made His own people go forth like sheep, And led them in the wilderness like a flock.
53And He led them on safely, And they did not fear, But the sea covered their enemies.
54And He brought them to the border of His set-apart place, This mountain which His right hand had gained,
55And drove out nations before them, And allotted them a measured inheritance, And made the tribes of Yisra’ĕl dwell in their tents.
56Yet they tried and rebelled Against the Most High Elohim, And did not guard His witnesses,
57But they turned back And acted treacherously like their fathers; They twisted like a treacherous bow.
58For they enraged Him with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59When Elohim heard this, He was wroth, And greatly despised Yisra’ĕl,
60And He left the Dwelling Place of Shiloh, The Tent which He had set up among men.
61And He gave His strength into captivity, And His comeliness into the hand of the adversary.
62And He gave His people over to the sword, And He was wroth with His inheritance.
63His young men were consumed by fire, And His maidens were not praised.
64His priests fell by the sword, And their widows could not weep.
65Then יהוה awoke as one asleep, As a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66And He struck His adversaries backward, He put them to an everlasting reproach.
67Then He rejected the tent of Yosĕph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephrayim,
68But chose the tribe of Yehuḏah, Mount Tsiyon, which He loved.
69And He built His set-apart place like the heights, Like the earth He founded it forever.
70And He chose Dawiḏ His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;
71He brought him in from tending the ewes, To shepherd Ya‛aqoḇ His people, And Yisra’ĕl His inheritance.
72And he shepherded them According to the integrity of his heart, And led them by the skill of his hands.
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Tehillim (Psalms) 78: TS2009
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Psalm 78
78
Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil#78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of #Ps. 50, title Asaph.
1 # [Isa. 51:4]; See Ps. 49:1; 50:7 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 # Cited Matt. 13:35; See Ps. 49:4 I will open my mouth #[Num. 21:27]in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3things that we have heard and known,
that our #See Ps. 44:1fathers have told us.
4We will not #Job 15:18 hide them from their children,
but #[Ex. 12:26, 27; 13:8, 14; Deut. 11:19; Josh. 4:6, 7; Joel 1:3] tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and #ver. 11, 32the wonders that he has done.
5He established #Ps. 19:7; [Ps. 81:5] a testimony in #Ps. 147:19Jacob
and appointed a law in #Ps. 147:19Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6that #ver. 4; Ps. 102:18the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget #Ps. 77:12 the works of God,
but #Ps. 105:45keep his commandments;
8and that they should not be #2 Kgs. 17:14; 2 Chr. 30:7; Ezek. 20:18 like their fathers,
#
Ex. 32:9; 33:3; Deut. 9:7, 24; 31:27; Jer. 5:23 a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation #ver. 37; Job 11:13whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The Ephraimites, armed with#78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting the bow,
# ver. 57 turned back on the day of battle.
10They #[2 Kgs. 17:15]did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11They #See Ps. 106:13 forgot his works
and #ver. 4the wonders that he had shown them.
12In the sight of their fathers #ver. 43; See Ex. 7-12; Ps. 72:18 he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in #ver. 43; Num. 13:22; Isa. 19:11, 13; Ezek. 30:14the fields of Zoan.
13He #Ps. 136:13; Ex. 14:21 divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters #Ex. 15:8stand like a heap.
14 # See Ps. 105:39 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15He #ver. 20; Ps. 105:41; 114:8; Ex. 17:6; Isa. 48:21split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16He made streams come out of #Num. 20:8, 10, 11the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17Yet they sinned still more against him,
# ver. 40, 56; Deut. 9:22; Isa. 63:10 rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18They #ver. 41, 56; Ps. 95:9; 106:14; Deut. 6:16; 1 Cor. 10:9tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God, saying,
# [Ex. 16:3; Num. 11:4; 20:3; 21:5] “Can God #See Ps. 23:5spread a table in the wilderness?
20 # ver. 15, 16 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”
21Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
#
Num. 11:1
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22because they #ver. 8, 32, 37did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23Yet he commanded the skies above
and #Gen. 7:11; [Mal. 3:10]opened the doors of heaven,
24and he #Ex. 16:4 rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them #Ps. 105:40; [John 6:31]the grain of heaven.
25Man ate of the bread of #Ps. 103:20 the angels;
he sent them food #[ver. 29]in abundance.
26He #Num. 11:31caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27he rained meat on them like #[Gen. 13:16] dust,
winged birds like #[Gen. 22:17]the sand of the seas;
28he #Ex. 16:13; Num. 11:31let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29And they #Num. 11:19, 20 ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they #Num. 11:4, 34craved.
30But before they had satisfied their craving,
#
Num. 11:33; [Job 20:23] while the food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed #Isa. 10:16 the strongest of them
and laid low #ver. 63the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they #See Num. 14; 16; 17 still sinned;
# ver. 22; Num. 14:11 despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he made #Num. 14:29, 35; 26:64, 65 their days #Ps. 39:5vanish like#78:33 Hebrew in a breath,#78:33 Or vapor
and their years in terror.
34When he killed them, they #Hos. 5:15sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35They remembered that God was their #Deut. 32:4, 15, 31 rock,
the Most High God their #Ex. 15:13; See Ps. 74:2redeemer.
36But they #Isa. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31 flattered him with their mouths;
they #Isa. 57:11lied to him with their tongues.
37Their #ver. 8 heart was not #Ps. 51:10steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he, being #Ex. 34:6 compassionate,
#
Num. 14:20
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39He #[Ps. 103:14; Job 10:9] remembered that they were but #Gen. 6:3 flesh,
#
Job 7:7
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40How often they #ver. 17, 56; Ps. 107:11 rebelled against him in the wilderness
and #[Eph. 4:30] grieved him in #Ps. 106:14the desert!
41They #See ver. 18 tested God again and again
and provoked #See Ps. 71:22the Holy One of Israel.
42They #Judg. 8:34did not remember his power#78:42 Hebrew hand
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 # For ver. 43-51, see Ps. 105:27-36 when he performed his #Ex. 7:3; [Ps. 106:22]; Acts 7:36 signs in Egypt
and his #Ex. 4:21; 11:9, 10 marvels in #See ver. 12the fields of Zoan.
44He #See Ex. 7:17-24turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45He sent among them swarms of #See Ex. 8:21-24 flies, which devoured them,
and #See Ex. 8:2-14frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave their crops to #See Ex. 10:12-15the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with #See Ex. 9:23-25hail
and their sycamores with frost.
48He gave over their #See Ex. 9:19-21cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of #Ex. 12:13, 23; [2 Sam. 24:16]destroying angels.
50He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51He struck down every #Ex. 12:29; [Ps. 105:36; 135:8; 136:10] firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of #Ps. 105:23, 27; 106:22Ham.
52Then he led out his people #See Ps. 77:20like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 # [Ex. 14:19, 20] He led them in safety, so that they #[Ex. 14:13] were not afraid,
but #Ex. 14:27, 28; 15:10the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54And he brought them to his #Ex. 15:17 holy land,
#
Isa. 11:9; 57:13; [Ps. 68:16] to the mountain which his right hand had #Ps. 74:2won.
55He #See Ps. 44:2 drove out nations before them;
he #Josh. 23:4; [Ps. 135:12; 136:21, 22; Acts 13:19]apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56Yet they #ver. 18; Judg. 2:11, 12 tested and #ver. 40rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like #Hos. 7:16; [ver. 9]a deceitful bow.
58For they #Deut. 31:29 provoked him to anger with their #Lev. 26:30; Deut. 12:2; 1 Kgs. 11:7; 12:31; Ezek. 20:28 high places;
they #Num. 25:11; Deut. 32:16, 21; Judg. 2:12 moved him to jealousy with their #Deut. 7:5, 25; 12:3idols.
59When God heard, he was full of #ver. 62; Ps. 106:40; Deut. 3:26wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60He #1 Sam. 4:11; Jer. 7:12, 14; 26:6 forsook his dwelling at #Josh. 18:1Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61and delivered his #Ps. 132:8; [Ps. 63:2; 96:6] power to captivity,
his #[1 Sam. 4:21]glory to the hand of the foe.
62He #[1 Sam. 4:10] gave his people over to the sword
and #ver. 59vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 # [Ps. 79:5; 89:46] Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no #[Jer. 7:34]marriage song.
64Their #1 Sam. 4:11 priests fell by the sword,
and their #Job 27:15widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord #Ps. 73:20; See Ps. 35:23awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66And he #[Ps. 40:14]put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67He rejected the tent of #Ps. 80:1; 81:5Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he #Ps. 87:2loves.
69He #See 1 Kgs. 6built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70He #1 Sam. 16:12, 13chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71from #2 Sam. 7:8 following the nursing ewes he brought him
to #2 Sam. 5:2; [Ps. 28:9] shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his #1 Sam. 10:1inheritance.
72With #Ps. 101:2; 1 Kgs. 9:4 upright heart he shepherded them
and #[Ps. 77:20]guided them with his skillful hand.
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