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Psalm 75-78
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 75-78
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 75
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A psalm of Asaph.(A) A song.
1 We give thanks to You, God;
we give thanks to You, for Your name is near.
People tell about Your wonderful works.(B)
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.(C)
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the One who steadies its pillars.(D)
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.(E)
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak arrogantly.’”(F)
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.(G)
8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.(H)
9 As for me, I will tell about Him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.(I)
10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,(J)
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(K)
Psalm 76
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.(L) A song.
1 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.(M)
2 His tent is in Salem,[b]
His dwelling place in Zion.(N)
3 There He shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(O)
4 You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.(P)
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.(Q)
6 At Your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.(R)
7 And You—You are to be feared.[c]
When You are angry,
who can stand before You?(S)
8 From heaven You pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet(T)
9 when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.(U)
10 Even human wrath will praise You;
You will clothe Yourself
with their remaining wrath.[d](V)
11 Make and keep your vows
to the Lord your God;(W)
let all who are around Him bring tribute
to the awe-inspiring One.[e](X)
12 He humbles the spirit of leaders;
He is feared by the kings of the earth.(Y)
Psalm 77
Confidence in a Time of Crisis
For the choir director: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph.(Z) A psalm.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and He will hear me.(AA)
2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.(AB)
3 I think of God; I groan;
I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.(AC)
4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.(AD)
5 I consider days of old,
years long past.(AE)
6 At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.(AF)
7 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?(AG)
8 Has His faithful love ceased forever?
Is His promise at an end for all generations?(AH)
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion?”(AI)
10 So I say, “I am grieved[f]
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”(AJ)
11 I will remember the Lord’s works;
yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders.(AK)
12 I will reflect on all You have done
and meditate on Your actions.(AL)
13 God, Your way is holy.
What god is great like God?(AM)
14 You are the God who works wonders;
You revealed Your strength among the peoples.(AN)
15 With power You redeemed Your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.(AO)
16 The waters saw You, God.
The waters saw You; they trembled.
Even the depths shook.(AP)
17 The clouds poured down water.
The storm clouds thundered;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.(AQ)
18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
lightning lit up the world.(AR)
The earth shook and quaked.(AS)
19 Your way went through the sea
and Your path through the great waters,
but Your footprints were unseen.(AT)
20 You led Your people like a flock(AU)
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.(AV)
Psalm 78
Lessons from Israel’s Past
A Maskil of Asaph.(AW)
1 My people, hear my instruction;
listen to what I say.(AX)
2 I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past(AY)—
3 things we have heard and known
and that our fathers have passed down to us.(AZ)
4 We must not hide them from their children,
but must tell a future generation
the praises of the Lord,
His might, and the wonderful works
He has performed.(BA)
5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children(BB)
6 so that a future generation—
children yet to be born—might know.
They were to rise and tell their children(BC)
7 so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God’s works,
but keep His commands.(BD)
8 Then they would not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.(BE)
9 The Ephraimite archers turned back
on the day of battle.(BF)
10 They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by His law.(BG)
11 They forgot what He had done,
the wonderful works He had shown them.(BH)
12 He worked wonders in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, the region of Zoan.(BI)
13 He split the sea and brought them across;
the water stood firm like a wall.(BJ)
14 He led them with a cloud by day
and with a fiery light throughout the night.(BK)
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.(BL)
16 He brought streams out of the stone
and made water flow down like rivers.(BM)
17 But they continued to sin against Him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.(BN)
18 They deliberately[g] tested God,
demanding the food they craved.(BO)
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
20 Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out;
torrents overflowed.(BP)
But can He also provide bread
or furnish meat for His people?”(BQ)
21 Therefore, the Lord heard and became furious;
then fire broke out against Jacob,
and anger flared up against Israel(BR)
22 because they did not believe God
or rely on His salvation.(BS)
23 He gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.(BT)
24 He rained manna for them to eat;
He gave them grain from heaven.(BU)
25 People[h] ate the bread of angels.[i]
He sent them an abundant supply of food.(BV)
26 He made the east wind blow in the skies
and drove the south wind by His might.(BW)
27 He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the seas.
28 He made them fall in His camp,
all around His tent.[j][k](BX)
29 They ate and were completely satisfied,
for He gave them what they craved.(BY)
30 Before they had satisfied their desire,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 God’s anger flared up against them,
and He killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel’s choice young men.(BZ)
32 Despite all this, they kept sinning
and did not believe His wonderful works.(CA)
33 He made their days end in futility,
their years in sudden disaster.(CB)
34 When He killed some of them,
the rest began to seek Him;
they repented and searched for God.(CC)
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God, their Redeemer.(CD)
36 But they deceived Him with their mouths,
they lied to Him with their tongues,(CE)
37 their hearts were insincere toward Him,
and they were unfaithful to His covenant.(CF)
38 Yet He was compassionate;
He atoned for[l] their guilt
and did not destroy them.
He often turned His anger aside
and did not unleash[m] all His wrath.(CG)
39 He remembered that they were only flesh,
a wind that passes and does not return.(CH)
40 How often they rebelled against Him
in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert.
41 They constantly tested God(CI)
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.(CJ)
42 They did not remember His power shown
on the day He redeemed them from the foe,(CK)
43 when He performed His miraculous signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the region of Zoan.(CL)
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.(CM)
45 He sent among them swarms of flies,(CN)
which fed on them,
and frogs, which devastated them.(CO)
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.(CP)
47 He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48 He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts.(CQ)
49 He sent His burning anger against them:
fury, indignation, and calamity—
a band of deadly messengers.[n](CR)
50 He cleared a path for His anger.
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.(CS)
51 He struck all the firstborn(CT) in Egypt,
the first progeny of the tents of Ham.[o](CU)
52 He led His people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.(CV)
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.(CW)
54 He brought them to His holy land,
to the mountain His right hand acquired.(CX)
55 He drove out nations before them.(CY)
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.(CZ)
56 But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep His decrees.(DA)
57 They treacherously turned away like their fathers;
they became warped like a faulty bow.(DB)
58 They enraged Him with their high places
and provoked His jealousy with their carved images.(DC)
59 God heard and became furious;
He completely rejected Israel.(DD)
60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where He resided among men.[p](DE)
61 He gave up His strength[q] to captivity
and His splendor to the hand of a foe.(DF)
62 He surrendered His people to the sword
because He was enraged with His heritage.(DG)
63 Fire consumed His chosen young men,
and His young women had no wedding songs.[r](DH)
64 His priests fell by the sword,
but the[s] widows could not lament.[t](DI)
65 Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep,
like a warrior from the effects of wine.(DJ)
66 He beat back His foes;
He gave them lasting shame.(DK)
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which He loved.(DL)
69 He built His sanctuary like the heights,[u]
like the earth that He established forever.(DM)
70 He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;(DN)
71 He brought him from tending ewes
to be shepherd over His people Jacob—
over Israel, His inheritance.(DO)
72 He shepherded them with a pure heart
and guided them with his skillful hands.(DP)
Footnotes
- Psalm 75:1 Possibly a tune
- Psalm 76:2 = Jerusalem
- Psalm 76:7 Or are awe-inspiring
- Psalm 76:10 Hb obscure
- Psalm 76:11 Or tribute with awe
- Psalm 77:10 Lit “My piercing
- Psalm 78:18 Lit in their heart
- Psalm 78:25 Lit Man
- Psalm 78:25 Lit mighty ones
- Psalm 78:28 LXX, Syr read in their camp, all around their tents
- Psalm 78:28 Or in its camp, all around its tents
- Psalm 78:38 Or He wiped out, or He forgave
- Psalm 78:38 Or stir up
- Psalm 78:49 Or angels
- Psalm 78:51 Ham’s descendants who settled in Egypt
- Psalm 78:60 Hb adam
- Psalm 78:61 = the ark of the covenant
- Psalm 78:63 Lit virgins were not praised
- Psalm 78:64 Lit His
- Psalm 78:64 War probably prevented customary funerals.
- Psalm 78:69 Either the heights of heaven or the mountain heights
Psalm 75-78
New International Version
Psalm 75-78
New International Version
Psalm 75[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;(A)
people tell of your wonderful deeds.(B)
2 You say, “I choose the appointed time;(C)
it is I who judge with equity.(D)
3 When the earth and all its people quake,(E)
it is I who hold its pillars(F) firm.[b]
4 To the arrogant(G) I say, ‘Boast no more,’(H)
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.[c](I)
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak so defiantly.(J)’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.
7 It is God who judges:(K)
He brings one down, he exalts another.(L)
8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed(M) with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.(N)
9 As for me, I will declare(O) this forever;
I will sing(P) praise to the God of Jacob,(Q)
10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(R)
Psalm 76[d]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 God is renowned in Judah;
in Israel his name is great.(S)
2 His tent is in Salem,(T)
his dwelling place in Zion.(U)
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,(V)
the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.[e](W)
4 You are radiant with light,(X)
more majestic than mountains rich with game.
5 The valiant(Y) lie plundered,
they sleep their last sleep;(Z)
not one of the warriors
can lift his hands.
6 At your rebuke,(AA) God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot(AB) lie still.
7 It is you alone who are to be feared.(AC)
Who can stand(AD) before you when you are angry?(AE)
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,
and the land feared(AF) and was quiet—
9 when you, God, rose up to judge,(AG)
to save all the afflicted(AH) of the land.
10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,(AI)
and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[f]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;(AJ)
let all the neighboring lands
bring gifts(AK) to the One to be feared.
12 He breaks the spirit of rulers;
he is feared by the kings of the earth.
Psalm 77[g]
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 I cried out to God(AL) for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress,(AM) I sought the Lord;
at night(AN) I stretched out untiring hands,(AO)
and I would not be comforted.(AP)
3 I remembered(AQ) you, God, and I groaned;(AR)
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.[h](AS)
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.(AT)
5 I thought about the former days,(AU)
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever?(AV)
Will he never show his favor(AW) again?
8 Has his unfailing love(AX) vanished forever?
Has his promise(AY) failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?(AZ)
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?(BA)”
10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.(BB)
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles(BC) of long ago.
12 I will consider(BD) all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”(BE)
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?(BF)
14 You are the God who performs miracles;(BG)
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,(BH)
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters(BI) saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;(BJ)
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,(BK)
the heavens resounded with thunder;(BL)
your arrows(BM) flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,(BN)
your lightning(BO) lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.(BP)
19 Your path(BQ) led through the sea,(BR)
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
Psalm 78
A maskil[i] of Asaph.
1 My people, hear my teaching;(BV)
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;(BW)
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.(BX)
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;(BY)
we will tell the next generation(BZ)
the praiseworthy deeds(CA) of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders(CB) he has done.
5 He decreed statutes(CC) for Jacob(CD)
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,(CE)
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget(CF) his deeds
but would keep his commands.(CG)
8 They would not be like their ancestors(CH)—
a stubborn(CI) and rebellious(CJ) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,(CK)
turned back on the day of battle;(CL)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant(CM)
and refused to live by his law.(CN)
11 They forgot what he had done,(CO)
the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles(CP) in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt,(CQ) in the region of Zoan.(CR)
13 He divided the sea(CS) and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.(CT)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.(CU)
15 He split the rocks(CV) in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin(CW) against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18 They willfully put God to the test(CX)
by demanding the food they craved.(CY)
19 They spoke against God;(CZ)
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20 True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,(DA)
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat(DB) for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out(DC) against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God
or trust(DD) in his deliverance.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;(DE)
24 he rained down manna(DF) for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He let loose the east wind(DG) from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds(DH) like sand on the seashore.
28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29 They ate till they were gorged—(DI)
he had given them what they craved.
30 But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,(DJ)
31 God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest(DK) among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;(DL)
in spite of his wonders,(DM) they did not believe.(DN)
33 So he ended their days in futility(DO)
and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek(DP) him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,(DQ)
that God Most High was their Redeemer.(DR)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,(DS)
lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal(DT) to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful;(DU)
he forgave(DV) their iniquities(DW)
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger(DX)
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,(DY)
a passing breeze(DZ) that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled(EA) against him in the wilderness(EB)
and grieved him(EC) in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test;(ED)
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.(EE)
42 They did not remember(EF) his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,(EG)
43 the day he displayed his signs(EH) in Egypt,
his wonders(EI) in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their river into blood;(EJ)
they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of flies(EK) that devoured them,
and frogs(EL) that devastated them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,(EM)
their produce to the locust.(EN)
47 He destroyed their vines with hail(EO)
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock(EP) to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,(EQ)
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.(ER)
50 He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,(ES)
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.(ET)
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;(EU)
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed(EV) their enemies.(EW)
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand(EX) had taken.
55 He drove out nations(EY) before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;(EZ)
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their ancestors(FA) they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.(FB)
58 They angered him(FC) with their high places;(FD)
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.(FE)
59 When God heard(FF) them, he was furious;(FG)
he rejected Israel(FH) completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,(FI)
the tent he had set up among humans.(FJ)
61 He sent the ark of his might(FK) into captivity,(FL)
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over to the sword;(FM)
he was furious with his inheritance.(FN)
63 Fire consumed(FO) their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;(FP)
64 their priests were put to the sword,(FQ)
and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,(FR)
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.(FS)
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;(FT)
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,(FU)
Mount Zion,(FV) which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary(FW) like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David(FX) his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep(FY) he brought him
to be the shepherd(FZ) of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;(GA)
with skillful hands he led them.
Footnotes
- Psalm 75:1 In Hebrew texts 75:1-10 is numbered 75:2-11.
- Psalm 75:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 75:4 Horns here symbolize strength; also in verses 5 and 10.
- Psalm 76:1 In Hebrew texts 76:1-12 is numbered 76:2-13.
- Psalm 76:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 9.
- Psalm 76:10 Or Surely the wrath of mankind brings you praise, / and with the remainder of wrath you arm yourself
- Psalm 77:1 In Hebrew texts 77:1-20 is numbered 77:2-21.
- Psalm 77:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 9 and 15.
- Psalm 78:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
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