Psalm 77-80 (New American Standard Bible)

Psalm 77

Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God's Mighty Deeds.

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

    ¹My voice rises to God, and I will ^(A)cry aloud;
         My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
    ²In the ^(B)day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
         ^(C)In the night my ^(D)hand was stretched out ^[a]without weariness;
         My soul ^(E)refused to be comforted.
    ³When I remember God, then I am ^(F)disturbed;
         When I ^(G)sigh, then ^(H)my spirit grows faint. Selah.
    ⁴You have held my eyelids open;
         I am so troubled that I ^(I)cannot speak.
    ⁵I have considered the ^(J)days of old,
         The years of long ago.
    ⁶I will remember my ^(K)song in the night;
         I ^(L)will meditate with my heart,
         And my spirit ponders:
    ⁷Will the Lord ^(M)reject forever?
         And will He ^(N)never be favorable again?
    ⁸Has His ^(O)lovingkindness ceased forever?
         Has His ^(P)promise come to an end forever?
    ⁹Has God ^(Q)forgotten to be gracious,
         Or has He in anger withdrawn His ^(R)compassion? Selah.
    ¹⁰Then I said, "^(S)It is my grief,
         That the ^(T)right hand of the Most High has changed."
    ¹¹I shall remember the ^(U)deeds of the LORD;
         Surely I will ^(V)remember Your wonders of old.
    ¹²I will ^(W)meditate on all Your work
         And muse on Your deeds.
    ¹³Your way, O God, is ^(X)holy;
         ^(Y)What god is great like our God?
    ¹⁴You are the ^(Z)God who works wonders;
         You have ^(AA)made known Your strength among the peoples.
    ¹⁵You have by Your power ^(AB)redeemed Your people,
         The sons of Jacob and ^(AC)Joseph. Selah.
    ¹⁶The ^(AD)waters saw You, O God;
         The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
         The deeps also trembled.
    ¹⁷The ^(AE)clouds poured out water;
         The skies ^(AF)gave forth a sound;
         Your ^(AG)arrows flashed here and there.
    ¹⁸The ^(AH)sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
         The ^(AI)lightnings lit up the world;
         The ^(AJ)earth trembled and shook.
    ¹⁹Your ^(AK)way was in the sea
         And Your paths in the mighty waters,
         And Your footprints may not be known.
    ²⁰You ^(AL)led Your people like a flock
         By the hand of ^(AM)Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78

God's Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.

A Maskil of Asaph.

    ^1(AN)Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
         ^(AO)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
    ²I will ^(AP)open my mouth in a parable;
         I will utter ^(AQ)dark sayings of old,
    ³Which we have heard and known,
         And ^(AR)our fathers have told us.
    ⁴We will ^(AS)not conceal them from their children,
         But ^(AT)tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
         And His strength and His ^(AU)wondrous works that He has done.
    ⁵For He established a ^(AV)testimony in Jacob
         And appointed a ^(AW)law in Israel,
         Which He ^(AX)commanded our fathers
         That they should ^(AY)teach them to their children,
    ^6(AZ)That the generation to come might know, even ^(BA)the children yet to be born,
         That they may arise and ^(BB)tell them to their children,
    ⁷That they should put their confidence in God
         And ^(BC)not forget the works of God,
         But ^(BD)keep His commandments,
    ⁸And ^(BE)not be like their fathers,
         A ^(BF)stubborn and rebellious generation,
         A generation that ^(BG)did not ^[b]prepare its heart
         And whose spirit was not ^(BH)faithful to God.
    ⁹The sons of Ephraim were ^(BI)archers equipped with bows,
         Yet ^(BJ)they turned back in the day of battle.
    ¹⁰They ^(BK)did not keep the covenant of God
         And refused to ^(BL)walk in His law;
    ¹¹They ^(BM)forgot His deeds
         And His miracles that He had shown them.
    ^12(BN)He wrought wonders before their fathers
         In the land of Egypt, in the ^(BO)field of Zoan.
    ¹³He ^(BP)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
         And He made the waters stand ^(BQ)up like a heap.
    ¹⁴Then He led them with the cloud by ^(BR)day
         And all the night with a ^(BS)light of fire.
    ¹⁵He ^(BT)split the rocks in the wilderness
         And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
    ¹⁶He ^(BU)brought forth streams also from the rock
         And caused waters to run down like rivers.
    ¹⁷Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
         To ^(BV)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
    ¹⁸And in their heart they ^(BW)put God to the test
         By asking ^(BX)food according to their desire.
    ¹⁹Then they spoke against God;
         They said, "^(BY)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
    ²⁰"Behold, He ^(BZ)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
         And streams were overflowing;
         Can He give bread also?
         Will He provide ^(CA)meat for His people?"
    ²¹Therefore the LORD heard and was ^(CB)full of wrath;
         And a fire was kindled against Jacob
         And anger also mounted against Israel,
    ²²Because they ^(CC)did not believe in God
         And did not trust in His salvation.
    ²³Yet He commanded the clouds above
         And ^(CD)opened the doors of heaven;
    ²⁴He ^(CE)rained down manna upon them to eat
         And gave them ^(CF)food from heaven.
    ²⁵Man did eat the bread of angels;
         He sent them food ^(CG)in abundance.
    ²⁶He ^(CH)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
         And by His power He directed the south wind.
    ²⁷When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
         Even ^(CI)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
    ²⁸Then He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
         Round about their dwellings.
    ²⁹So they ^(CJ)ate and were well filled,
         And their desire He gave to them.
    ³⁰Before they had satisfied their desire,
         ^(CK)While their food was in their mouths,
    ³¹The ^(CL)anger of God rose against them
         And killed some of their ^(CM)stoutest ones,
         And subdued the choice men of Israel.
    ³²In spite of all this they ^(CN)still sinned
         And ^(CO)did not believe in His wonderful works.
    ³³So He brought ^(CP)their days to an end in futility
         And their years in sudden terror.
    ³⁴When He killed them, then they ^(CQ)sought Him,
         And returned and searched ^(CR)diligently for God;
    ³⁵And they remembered that God was their ^(CS)rock,
         And the Most High God their ^(CT)Redeemer.
    ³⁶But they ^(CU)deceived Him with their mouth
         And ^(CV)lied to Him with their tongue.
    ³⁷For their heart was not ^(CW)steadfast toward Him,
         Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
    ³⁸But He, being ^(CX)compassionate, ^(CY)forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
         And often He ^(CZ)restrained His anger
         And did not arouse all His wrath.
    ³⁹Thus ^(DA)He remembered that they were but ^(DB)flesh,
         A ^(DC)wind that passes and does not return.
    ⁴⁰How often they ^(DD)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
         And ^(DE)grieved Him in the ^(DF)desert!
    ⁴¹Again and again they ^[c](DG)tempted God,
         And pained the ^(DH)Holy One of Israel.
    ⁴²They ^(DI)did not remember ^(DJ)His power,
         The day when He ^(DK)redeemed them from the adversary,
    ⁴³When He performed His ^(DL)signs in Egypt
         And His ^(DM)marvels in the field of Zoan,
    ⁴⁴And ^(DN)turned their rivers to blood,
         And their streams, they could not drink.
    ⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of ^(DO)flies which devoured them,
         And ^(DP)frogs which destroyed them.
    ⁴⁶He gave also their crops to the ^(DQ)grasshopper
         And the product of their labor to the ^(DR)locust.
    ⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with ^(DS)hailstones
         And their sycamore trees with frost.
    ⁴⁸He gave over their ^(DT)cattle also to the hailstones
         And their herds to bolts of lightning.
    ⁴⁹He ^(DU)sent upon them His burning anger,
         Fury and indignation and trouble,
         A band of destroying angels.
    ⁵⁰He leveled a path for His anger;
         He did not spare their soul from death,
         But ^(DV)gave over their life to the plague,
    ⁵¹And ^(DW)smote all the firstborn in Egypt,
         The ^(DX)first issue of their virility in the tents of ^(DY)Ham.
    ⁵²But He ^(DZ)led forth His own people like sheep
         And guided them in the wilderness ^(EA)like a flock;
    ⁵³He led them ^(EB)safely, so that they did not fear;
         But ^(EC)the sea engulfed their enemies.
    ⁵⁴So ^(ED)He brought them to His holy land,
         To this ^(EE)hill country ^(EF)which His right hand had gained.
    ⁵⁵He also ^(EG)drove out the nations before them
         And ^(EH)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
         And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
    ⁵⁶Yet they ^[d](EI)tempted and ^(EJ)rebelled against the Most High God
         And did not keep His testimonies,
    ⁵⁷But turned back and ^(EK)acted treacherously like their fathers;
         They ^(EL)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
    ⁵⁸For they ^(EM)provoked Him with their ^(EN)high places
         And ^(EO)aroused His jealousy with their ^(EP)graven images.
    ⁵⁹When God heard, He was filled with ^(EQ)wrath
         And greatly ^(ER)abhorred Israel;
    ⁶⁰So that He ^(ES)abandoned the ^(ET)dwelling place at Shiloh,
         The tent which He had pitched among men,
    ⁶¹And gave up His ^(EU)strength to captivity
         And His glory ^(EV)into the hand of the adversary.
    ⁶²He also ^(EW)delivered His people to the sword,
         And was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
    ^63(EX)Fire devoured His young men,
         And His ^(EY)virgins had no wedding songs.
    ⁶⁴His ^(EZ)priests fell by the sword,
         And His ^(FA)widows could not weep.
    ⁶⁵Then the Lord ^(FB)awoke as if from sleep,
         Like a ^(FC)warrior overcome by wine.
    ⁶⁶He ^(FD)drove His adversaries backward;
         He put on them an everlasting reproach.
    ⁶⁷He also ^(FE)rejected the tent of Joseph,
         And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
    ⁶⁸But chose the tribe of Judah,
         Mount ^(FF)Zion which He loved.
    ⁶⁹And He ^(FG)built His sanctuary like the heights,
         Like the earth which He has founded forever.
    ⁷⁰He also ^(FH)chose David His servant
         And took him from the sheepfolds;
    ⁷¹From ^(FI)the care of the ewes ^(FJ)with suckling lambs He brought him
         To ^(FK)shepherd Jacob His people,
         And Israel ^(FL)His inheritance.
    ⁷²So he shepherded them according to the ^(FM)integrity of his heart,
         And guided them with his skillful hands.

Psalm 79

A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.

A Psalm of Asaph.

    ¹O God, the ^(FN)nations have invaded ^(FO)Your inheritance;
         They have defiled Your ^(FP)holy temple;
         They have ^(FQ)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
    ²They have given the ^(FR)dead bodies of Your servants for food to the birds of the heavens,
         The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
    ³They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;
         And there was ^(FS)no one to bury them.
    ⁴We have become a ^(FT)reproach to our neighbors,
         A scoffing and derision to those around us.
    ^5(FU)How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever?
         Will Your ^(FV)jealousy ^(FW)burn like fire?
    ^6(FX)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which ^(FY)do not know You,
         And upon the kingdoms which ^(FZ)do not call upon Your name.
    ⁷For they have ^(GA)devoured Jacob
         And ^(GB)laid waste his habitation.
    ^8(GC)Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us;
         Let Your compassion come quickly to ^(GD)meet us,
         For we are ^(GE)brought very low.
    ^9(GF)Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of ^(GG)Your name;
         And deliver us and ^(GH)forgive our sins ^(GI)for Your name's sake.
    ^10(GJ)Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"
         Let there be known among the nations in our sight,
         ^(GK)Vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed.
    ¹¹Let ^(GL)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
         According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are ^(GM)doomed to die.
    ¹²And return to our neighbors ^(GN)sevenfold ^(GO)into their bosom
         The ^(GP)reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
    ¹³So we Your people and the ^(GQ)sheep of Your pasture
         Will ^(GR)give thanks to You forever;
         To all generations we will ^(GS)tell of Your praise.

Psalm 80

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the choir director; set to El Shoshannim; Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.

    ¹Oh, give ear, ^(GT)Shepherd of Israel,
         You who lead ^(GU)Joseph like a flock;
         You who ^(GV)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
    ²Before ^(GW)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, ^(GX)stir up Your power
         And come to save us!
    ³O God, ^(GY)restore us
         And ^(GZ)cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.
    ⁴O ^(HA)LORD God of hosts,
         ^(HB)How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people?
    ⁵You have fed them with the ^(HC)bread of tears,
         And You have made them to drink tears in large measure.
    ⁶You make us ^[e]an object of contention ^(HD)to our neighbors,
         And our enemies laugh among themselves.
    ⁷O God of hosts, restore us
         And cause Your face to shine upon us, ^[f]and we will be saved.
    ⁸You removed a ^(HE)vine from Egypt;
         You ^(HF)drove out the nations and ^(HG)planted it.
    ⁹You ^(HH)cleared the ground before it,
         And it ^(HI)took deep root and filled the land.
    ¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shadow,
         And the cedars of God with its ^(HJ)boughs.
    ¹¹It was sending out its branches ^(HK)to the sea
         And its shoots to the River.
    ¹²Why have You ^(HL)broken down its hedges,
         So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
    ¹³A boar from the forest ^(HM)eats it away
         And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
    ¹⁴O God of hosts, ^(HN)turn again now, we beseech You;
         ^(HO)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
    ¹⁵Even the ^(HP)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
         And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.
    ¹⁶It is ^(HQ)burned with fire, it is cut down;
         They perish at the ^(HR)rebuke of Your countenance.
    ¹⁷Let ^(HS)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
         Upon the son of man whom You ^(HT)made strong for Yourself.
    ¹⁸Then we shall not ^(HU)turn back from You;
         ^(HV)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
    ¹⁹O LORD God of hosts, ^(HW)restore us;
         Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.