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Psalm 78[a]

A well-written song[b] by Asaph.

78 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction.
Listen to the words I speak.[c]
I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past.[d]
What we have heard and learned[e]
that which our ancestors[f] have told us—
we will not hide from their[g] descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,[h]
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
He established a rule[i] in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants,[j]
so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.[k]
Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey[l] his commands.
Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God.[m]
The Ephraimites[n] were armed with bows,[o]
but they retreated in the day of battle.[p]
10 They did not keep their covenant with God,[q]
and they refused to obey[r] his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,[s]
the amazing things he had shown them.
12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.[t]
13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.[u]
16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the Most High[v] in the desert.
18 They willfully challenged God[w]
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
19 They insulted God, saying,[x]
“Is God really able to give us food[y] in the wilderness?
20 Yes,[z] he struck a rock and water flowed out;
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 When[aa] the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up[ab] against Israel,
22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them.[ac]
23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.[ad]
25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.[ae]
He sent them more than enough to eat.[af]
26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.[ag]
28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
29 They ate until they were beyond full;[ah]
he gave them what they desired.
30 They were not yet filled up;[ai]
their food was still in their mouths,
31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things.[aj]
33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied[ak]
and filled with terror.[al]
34 When he struck them down,[am] they sought his favor;[an]
they turned back and longed for God.
35 They remembered that God was their protector,[ao]
and that God Most High[ap] was their deliverer.[aq]
36 But they deceived him with their words,[ar]
and lied to him.[as]
37 They were not really committed to him,[at]
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury.[au]
39 He remembered[av] that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.[aw]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 78:1 sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.
  2. Psalm 78:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 74.
  3. Psalm 78:1 tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”
  4. Psalm 78:2 tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה + מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).
  5. Psalm 78:3 tn Or “known.”
  6. Psalm 78:3 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).
  7. Psalm 78:4 tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).
  8. Psalm 78:4 tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.
  9. Psalm 78:5 tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (ʿedut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).
  10. Psalm 78:5 tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lord’s mighty deeds (see vv. 3-4).
  11. Psalm 78:6 tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”
  12. Psalm 78:7 tn Heb “keep.”
  13. Psalm 78:8 tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).
  14. Psalm 78:9 tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.
  15. Psalm 78:9 tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (nosheqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (rome, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (nosheqe qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.
  16. Psalm 78:9 sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).
  17. Psalm 78:10 tn Heb “the covenant of God.”
  18. Psalm 78:10 tn Heb “walk in.”
  19. Psalm 78:11 tn Heb “his deeds.”
  20. Psalm 78:12 sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).
  21. Psalm 78:15 tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”
  22. Psalm 78:17 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
  23. Psalm 78:18 tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
  24. Psalm 78:19 tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”
  25. Psalm 78:19 tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”
  26. Psalm 78:20 tn Heb “look.”
  27. Psalm 78:21 tn Heb “therefore.”
  28. Psalm 78:21 tn Heb “and also anger went up.”
  29. Psalm 78:22 tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”
  30. Psalm 78:24 sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.
  31. Psalm 78:25 sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).
  32. Psalm 78:25 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
  33. Psalm 78:27 tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”
  34. Psalm 78:29 tn Heb “and they ate and were extremely filled.” The verb שָׂבַע (savaʿ, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill, to have had fully enough and want no more. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. In some cases it means to have had more than enough of something (cf. Prov 25:17; Isa 1:11). Here the use of מְאֹד (meʾod, “very”) and the context of the account indicate they felt filled beyond capacity.
  35. Psalm 78:30 tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”
  36. Psalm 78:32 tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”
  37. Psalm 78:33 tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”
  38. Psalm 78:33 tn Heb “and their years in terror.”
  39. Psalm 78:34 tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.
  40. Psalm 78:34 tn Heb “they sought him.”
  41. Psalm 78:35 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
  42. Psalm 78:35 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
  43. Psalm 78:35 tn Heb “redeemer”
  44. Psalm 78:36 tn Heb “with their mouth.”
  45. Psalm 78:36 tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”
  46. Psalm 78:37 tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”
  47. Psalm 78:38 tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.
  48. Psalm 78:39 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.
  49. Psalm 78:39 tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”