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Psalm 78-80
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 78-80
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 78
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
A Maskil of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.(A)
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,(B)
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.(C)
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might
and the wonders that he has done.(D)
5 He established a decree in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children,(E)
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,(F)
7 so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;(G)
8 and that they should not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.(H)
9 The Ephraimites, armed with[a] the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.(I)
10 They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to walk according to his law.(J)
11 They forgot what he had done
and the miracles that he had shown them.(K)
12 In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.(L)
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it
and made the waters stand like a heap.(M)
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud
and all night long with a fiery light.(N)
15 He split rocks open in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.(O)
16 He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.(P)
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.(Q)
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?(R)
20 Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out
and torrents overflowed,
can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”(S)
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel,(T)
22 because they had no faith in God
and did not trust his saving power.(U)
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;(V)
24 he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.(W)
25 Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;(X)
27 he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;(Y)
28 he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.(Z)
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the flower of Israel.(AA)
32 In spite of all this they still sinned;
they did not believe in his wonders.(AB)
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath
and their years in terror.(AC)
34 When he killed them, they searched for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.(AD)
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.(AE)
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.(AF)
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not true to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger
and did not stir up all his wrath.(AG)
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and does not come again.(AH)
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!(AI)
41 They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.(AJ)
42 They did not keep in mind his power
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 when he displayed his signs in Egypt
and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.(AK)
45 He sent among them swarms of flies that devoured them
and frogs that destroyed them.(AL)
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamores with frost.(AM)
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.(AN)
49 He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.(AO)
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.(AP)
52 Then he led out his people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.(AQ)
53 He led them in safety so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.(AR)
54 And he brought them to his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had won.(AS)
55 He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.(AT)
56 Yet they tested the Most High God
and rebelled against him.
They did not observe his decrees(AU)
57 but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;
they twisted like a treacherous bow.(AV)
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.(AW)
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mortals,(AX)
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.(AY)
62 He gave his people to the sword
and vented his wrath on his heritage.(AZ)
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no marriage song.(BA)
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.(BB)
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting because of wine.(BC)
66 He put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting disgrace.(BD)
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.(BE)
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.(BF)
70 He chose his servant David
and took him from the sheepfolds;(BG)
71 from tending the nursing ewes he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his inheritance.(BH)
72 With upright heart he tended them
and guided them with skillful hand.(BI)
Psalm 79
Plea for Mercy for Jerusalem
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.(BJ)
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the air for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.(BK)
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.(BL)
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.(BM)
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?(BN)
6 Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name.(BO)
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors;
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.(BP)
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins,
for your name’s sake.(BQ)
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes.(BR)
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die.(BS)
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors
the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!(BT)
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.(BU)
Psalm 80
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth(BV)
2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!(BW)
3 Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.(BX)
4 O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?(BY)
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.(BZ)
6 You make us the scorn[b] of our neighbors;
our enemies laugh among themselves.(CA)
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.(CB)
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.(CC)
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
11 it sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?(CD)
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.(CE)
14 Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,(CF)
15 the stock that your right hand planted.[c]
16 It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.(CG)
17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.(CH)
18 Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.(CI)
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Psalm 78-80
New International Version
Psalm 78-80
New International Version
Psalm 78
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 My people, hear my teaching;(A)
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;(B)
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.(C)
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;(D)
we will tell the next generation(E)
the praiseworthy deeds(F) of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders(G) he has done.
5 He decreed statutes(H) for Jacob(I)
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,(J)
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget(K) his deeds
but would keep his commands.(L)
8 They would not be like their ancestors(M)—
a stubborn(N) and rebellious(O) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,(P)
turned back on the day of battle;(Q)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant(R)
and refused to live by his law.(S)
11 They forgot what he had done,(T)
the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles(U) in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt,(V) in the region of Zoan.(W)
13 He divided the sea(X) and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.(Y)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.(Z)
15 He split the rocks(AA) 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(AB) against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18 They willfully put God to the test(AC)
by demanding the food they craved.(AD)
19 They spoke against God;(AE)
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20 True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,(AF)
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat(AG) for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out(AH) against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God
or trust(AI) in his deliverance.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;(AJ)
24 he rained down manna(AK) 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(AL) from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds(AM) 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—(AN)
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,(AO)
31 God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest(AP) among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;(AQ)
in spite of his wonders,(AR) they did not believe.(AS)
33 So he ended their days in futility(AT)
and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek(AU) him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,(AV)
that God Most High was their Redeemer.(AW)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,(AX)
lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal(AY) to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful;(AZ)
he forgave(BA) their iniquities(BB)
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger(BC)
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,(BD)
a passing breeze(BE) that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled(BF) against him in the wilderness(BG)
and grieved him(BH) in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test;(BI)
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.(BJ)
42 They did not remember(BK) his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,(BL)
43 the day he displayed his signs(BM) in Egypt,
his wonders(BN) in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their river into blood;(BO)
they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of flies(BP) that devoured them,
and frogs(BQ) that devastated them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,(BR)
their produce to the locust.(BS)
47 He destroyed their vines with hail(BT)
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock(BU) to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,(BV)
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.(BW)
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,(BX)
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.(BY)
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;(BZ)
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed(CA) their enemies.(CB)
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand(CC) had taken.
55 He drove out nations(CD) before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;(CE)
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(CF) they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.(CG)
58 They angered him(CH) with their high places;(CI)
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.(CJ)
59 When God heard(CK) them, he was furious;(CL)
he rejected Israel(CM) completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,(CN)
the tent he had set up among humans.(CO)
61 He sent the ark of his might(CP) into captivity,(CQ)
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over to the sword;(CR)
he was furious with his inheritance.(CS)
63 Fire consumed(CT) their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;(CU)
64 their priests were put to the sword,(CV)
and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,(CW)
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.(CX)
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;(CY)
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,(CZ)
Mount Zion,(DA) which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary(DB) like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David(DC) his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep(DD) he brought him
to be the shepherd(DE) of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;(DF)
with skillful hands he led them.
Psalm 79
A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;(DG)
they have defiled(DH) your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.(DI)
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,(DJ)
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.(DK)
3 They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury(DL) the dead.(DM)
4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn(DN) and derision to those around us.(DO)
5 How long,(DP) Lord? Will you be angry(DQ) forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?(DR)
6 Pour out your wrath(DS) on the nations
that do not acknowledge(DT) you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;(DU)
7 for they have devoured(DV) Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;(DW)
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.(DX)
9 Help us,(DY) God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.(DZ)
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(EA)
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge(EB) the outpoured blood(EC) of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps(ED) of our neighbors seven times(EE)
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,(EF)
will praise you forever;(EG)
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
Psalm 80[b]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.(EH)
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,(EI)
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.(EJ)
Awaken(EK) your might;
come and save us.(EL)
4 How long,(EP) Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolder(EQ)
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;(ER)
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.(ES)
6 You have made us an object of derision[c] to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.(ET)
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.(EU)
8 You transplanted a vine(EV) from Egypt;
you drove out(EW) the nations and planted(EX) it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[d]
its shoots as far as the River.[e](EY)
12 Why have you broken down its walls(EZ)
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage(FA) it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!(FB)
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son[f] you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;(FC)
at your rebuke(FD) your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man(FE) you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive(FF) us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
Footnotes
- Psalm 78:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 80:1 In Hebrew texts 80:1-19 is numbered 80:2-20.
- Psalm 80:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text contention
- Psalm 80:11 Probably the Mediterranean
- Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
- Psalm 80:15 Or branch
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