Psalm 78

New English Translation

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 (nosh^eqey, “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 (nosh^eqe 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.”
50. Psalm 78:40 tn Or “caused him pain.”
51. Psalm 78:41 tn Heb “and they returned and tested God.” The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate that an earlier action was repeated.
52. Psalm 78:41 tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.
53. Psalm 78:41 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.
54. Psalm 78:42 tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.
55. Psalm 78:42 tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”
56. Psalm 78:43 tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
57. Psalm 78:43 tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).
58. Psalm 78:45 tn Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”
59. Psalm 78:45 tn Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”
60. Psalm 78:48 tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”
61. Psalm 78:48 tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.
62. Psalm 78:49 tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
63. Psalm 78:49 tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
64. Psalm 78:50 tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.
65. Psalm 78:50 tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”
66. Psalm 78:51 tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (ʾonim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (ʾonam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).
67. Psalm 78:54 tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”
68. Psalm 78:54 tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
69. Psalm 78:55 tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”
70. Psalm 78:55 tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”
71. Psalm 78:56 tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”
72. Psalm 78:56 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.
73. Psalm 78:56 tn Or “keep.”
74. Psalm 78:56 tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).
75. Psalm 78:57 tn Heb “they turned back.”
76. Psalm 78:57 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
77. Psalm 78:57 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
78. Psalm 78:58 tn Traditionally, “high places.”
79. Psalm 78:60 tn Or “rejected.”
80. Psalm 78:61 tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.
81. Psalm 78:61 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
82. Psalm 78:61 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
83. Psalm 78:62 tn Heb “his inheritance.”
84. Psalm 78:63 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
85. Psalm 78:63 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
86. Psalm 78:63 tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.
87. Psalm 78:64 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
88. Psalm 78:64 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
89. Psalm 78:64 sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.
90. Psalm 78:65 tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The Lord’s apparent inactivity during the time of judgment is compared to sleep.
91. Psalm 78:65 tn Heb “like a warrior overcome with wine.” The Hebrew verb רוּן (run, “overcome”) occurs only here in the OT. The phrase “overcome with wine” could picture a drunken warrior controlled by his emotions and passions (as in the present translation), or it could refer to a warrior who awakes from a drunken stupor.
92. Psalm 78:66 tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”
93. Psalm 78:69 tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (k^emo ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.
94. Psalm 78:69 tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”
95. Psalm 78:71 tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”
96. Psalm 78:71 tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”
97. Psalm 78:72 tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
98. Psalm 78:72 tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”
99. Psalm 78:72 tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”