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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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Psalms 78
78
A New Beginning in Zion and David
1A maskil of Asaph.
I
Attend, my people, to my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth in a parable,#Parable: Hebrew mashal literally refers to some sort of relationship of comparison and can signify a story whose didactic potential becomes clear in the telling, as here in the retrospective examination of the history of Israel. Mt 13:35 cites the verse to explain Jesus’ use of parables.
unfold the puzzling events of the past.#Ps 49:5; Mt 13:35.
3What we have heard and know;
things our ancestors have recounted to us.#Ps 44:2.
4We do not keep them from our children;
we recount them to the next generation,
The praiseworthy deeds of the Lord and his strength,
the wonders that he performed.#Ex 10:2; Dt 4:9; Jb 8:8.
5God made a decree in Jacob,
established a law in Israel:#Ps 147:19; Dt 33:4.
Which he commanded our ancestors,
they were to teach their children;
6That the next generation might come to know,
children yet to be born.#Ps 22:31–32; Dt 4:9; 6:7.
In turn they were to recount them to their children,
7that they too might put their confidence in God,
And not forget God’s deeds,
but keep his commandments.
8They were not to be like their ancestors,
a rebellious and defiant generation,#Dt 31:27; 32:5.
A generation whose heart was not constant,#Ps 95:10.
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The ranks of Ephraimite archers,#Ephraimite archers: Ephraim was the most important tribe of the Northern Kingdom. Its military defeat (here unspecified) demonstrates its infidelity to God, who otherwise would have protected it.
retreated on the day of battle.
10They did not keep God’s covenant;
they refused to walk according to his law.
11They forgot his deeds,
the wonders that he had shown them.
II
A
12In the sight of their ancestors God did wonders,
in the land of Egypt, the plain of Zoan.#78:12, 43] Zoan: a city on the arm of the Nile, a former capital of Egypt.#Ps 106:7.
13He split the sea and led them across,#Ps 136:13; Ex 14–15.
making the waters stand like walls.#Ex 14:22; 15:8.
14He led them with a cloud by day,
all night with the light of fire.#Ps 105:39; Ex 13:21; Wis 18:3.
15He split rocks in the desert,
gave water to drink, abundant as the deeps of the sea.#Ps 105:41; 114:8; Ex 17:1–7; Nm 20:2–13; Dt 8:15; Wis 11:4; Is 48:21.
16He made streams flow from crags,
caused rivers of water to flow down.
B
17But they went on sinning against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.#Dt 9:7; Ez 20:13.
18They tested God in their hearts,
demanding the food they craved.#Ps 106:14; Ex 16:2–36.
19They spoke against God, and said,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?#Ps 23:5.
20True, when he struck the rock,
water gushed forth,
the wadies flooded.
But can he also give bread,
or provide meat to his people?”
C
21The Lord heard and grew angry;#78:21f] Nm 11; Dt 32:22.
fire blazed up against Jacob;
anger flared up against Israel.
22For they did not believe in God,
did not trust in his saving power.
23#On the manna and the quail, see Ex 16 and Nm 11. Unlike Ex 16, here both manna and quail are instruments of punishment, showing that a divine gift can become deadly because of Israel’s apostasy.So he commanded the clouds above;
and opened the doors of heaven.
24God rained manna upon them for food;
grain from heaven he gave them.#Ps 105:40; Ex 16:4, 14; Dt 8:3; Wis 16:20; Jn 6:31.
25Man ate the bread of the angels;#Bread of the angels: the translation “angels” comports with the supernatural origin of the manna, though the Hebrew lechem ‘abbirim is more literally translated as “bread of the strong ones” or “bread of the mighty.” In the context of the manna event, this phrase cannot possibly mean the Israelites or any human being.
food he sent in abundance.
26He stirred up the east wind in the skies;
by his might God brought on the south wind.
27He rained meat upon them like dust,
winged fowl like the sands of the sea,
28They fell down in the midst of their camp,
all round their dwellings.
29They ate and were well filled;
he gave them what they had craved.
30But while they still wanted more,
and the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger flared up against them,
and he made a slaughter of their strongest,
laying low the youth of Israel.#Nm 14:29.
32In spite of all this they went on sinning,
they did not believe in his wonders.
D
33God ended their days abruptly,
their years in sudden death.
34When he slew them, they began to seek him;
they again looked for God.#Dt 32:15, 18; Is 26:16.
35They remembered#Remembered: invoked God publicly in worship. Their words were insincere (Ps 78:36). that God was their rock,
God Most High, their redeemer.
36But they deceived him with their mouths,
lied to him with their tongues.
37Their hearts were not constant toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.#Ps 95:10; Is 29:13.
38#God is always ready to forgive and begin anew, as in choosing Zion and David (Ps 78:65–72).But God being compassionate forgave their sin;
he did not utterly destroy them.
Time and again he turned back his anger,
unwilling to unleash all his rage.#Ps 85:4; Ex 32:14; Is 48:9; Ez 20:22.
39He remembered that they were flesh,
a breath that passes on and does not return.
III
A
40How often they rebelled against God in the wilderness,
grieved him in the wasteland.
41Again and again they tested God,
provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember his power,
the day he redeemed them from the foe,#Ps 106:21.
43#Ex 7–12 records ten plagues. Here there are six divine attacks upon Egypt; the seventh climactic act is God’s bringing Israel to the holy land.When he performed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the plain of Zoan.#78:43f] Ps 105:27–36; 135:9; Ex 7:14–11:10; 12:29–36; Wis 16–18.
44God turned their rivers to blood;
their streams they could not drink.
45He sent swarms of insects that devoured them,#Ex 8:17.
frogs that destroyed them.
46He gave their harvest to the caterpillar,
the fruits of their labor to the locust.
47He killed their vines with hail,#Wis 16:16.
their sycamores with frost.
48He exposed their cattle to plague,
their flocks to pestilence.#Ex 9:3.
49He let loose against them the heat of his anger,
wrath, fury, and distress,
a band of deadly messengers.
50He cleared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but delivered their animals to the plague.
51He struck all the firstborn of Egypt,#Ps 105:36; 136:10; Ex 12:29.
the first fruits of their vigor in the tents of Ham.
52Then God led forth his people like sheep,
guided them like a flock through the wilderness.#Ps 77:21.
53He led them on secure and unafraid,
while the sea enveloped their enemies.#Ex 14:26–28.
54And he brought them to his holy mountain,
the hill his right hand had won.#Ex 15:17.
55He drove out the nations before them,
allotted them as their inherited portion,
and settled in their tents the tribes of Israel.
B
56But they tested and rebelled against God Most High,
his decrees they did not observe.
57They turned disloyal, faithless like their ancestors;
they proved false like a slack bow.
58They enraged him with their high places,
and with their idols provoked him#Provoked him: lit., “made him jealous.” to jealous anger.#Dt 32:16, 21.
C
59God heard and grew angry;
he rejected Israel completely.
60He forsook the shrine at Shiloh,#Shiloh: an important shrine in the north prior to Jerusalem. Despite its holy status, it was destroyed (Ps 78:60–64; cf. Jer 7:12, 14).#Jos 18:1; 1 Sm 1:3; Jer 7:12; 26:6.
the tent he set up among human beings.
61He gave up his might into captivity,
his glorious ark into the hands of the foe.#1 Sm 4:11, 22.
62God delivered his people to the sword;
he was enraged against his heritage.
63Fire consumed their young men;
their young women heard no wedding songs.#Dt 32:25; Jer 7:34.
64Their priests fell by the sword;
their widows made no lamentation.
D
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting from the effects of wine.
66He put his foes to flight;
everlasting shame he dealt them.
67He rejected the tent of Joseph,
chose not the tribe of Ephraim.
68#78:68, 70] God’s ultimate offer of mercy to the sinful, helpless people is Zion and the Davidic king.God chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which he loved.#Ps 48:2; 50:2; Lam 2:15.
69He built his shrine like the heavens,
like the earth which he founded forever.
70He chose David his servant,
took him from the sheepfolds.#Ps 89:21; Ez 34:23; 37:24; 2 Chr 6:6.
71From tending ewes God brought him,
to shepherd Jacob, his people,
Israel, his heritage.#1 Sm 16:11–13; 2 Sm 7:8.
72He shepherded them with a pure heart;
with skilled hands he guided them.
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