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78:1  A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12]. My people, ·listen [give ear] to my ·teaching [instruction; law]; ·listen [L incline your ear] to ·what I say [L the words of my mouth].
78:2  I will ·speak [L open my mouth] ·using stories [L with a proverb/parable]; I will ·tell [expound] ·secret things [L riddles] from long ago [C the past contains lessons for the present generation].
78:3  We have heard them and known them by what our ·ancestors [fathers] have ·told [recounted to] us.
78:4  We will not ·keep [hide] them from our children; we will ·tell [recount them to] ·those who come later [a later generation] about the praises of the Lord. We will tell about his power and the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he has done.
78:5  The Lord ·made an agreement [established a decree/testimony] with Jacob and gave the ·teachings [instructions; laws] to Israel [Ex. 19–24], which he commanded our ·ancestors [fathers] to ·teach [make known] to their children [Deut. 6:6–9, 20–22].
78:6  Then ·their children [L the later generation] would know them, even their children not yet born. And they would ·tell [L rise up and recount them to] their children.
78:7  So they would ·all trust [L place their trust/confidence in] God and would not forget what he had done but would ·obey [protect] his commands.
78:8  They would not be like their ·ancestors [fathers] who were ·stubborn and disobedient [L a stubborn and rebellious generation]. Their hearts were not ·loyal [steadfast; L set] to God, and they were not ·true [faithful] to him [Deut. 9:6–7, 13, 24; 31:27; 32:5; Acts 2:40].
78:9  The men of Ephraim ·had bows for weapons [L were armed for shooting the bow], but they ·ran away [turned back] on the day of battle [C perhaps 1 Sam. 4:1–4 or 1 Sam. 28–31].
78:10  They didn’t ·keep [observe; guard] their ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with God and refused to ·live [L walk] by his ·teachings [instructions; laws].
78:11  They forgot what he had done and the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he had shown them.
78:12  He did ·miracles [wonderful acts] while their ·ancestors [fathers] watched, in the fields of Zoan [C a city in the Nile Delta also known as Tanis] in Egypt [C the plagues; Ex. 7–12].
78:13  He divided the ·Red Sea [L Sea; C probably a lake north of the Gulf of Suez] and led them through [Ex. 14–15]. He made the water stand up like a ·wall [or heap; Ex. 15:8].
78:14  He led them with a cloud by day and by the light of a fire by night [105:39; Ex. 13:21; Num. 10:34].
78:15  He split the rocks in the ·desert [wilderness] and gave them more ·than enough water, as if from the deep ocean [L water, as much as the deeps].
78:16  He brought streams out of the rock and caused water to flow down like rivers [Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:8; 1 Cor. 10:4].
78:17  But the people continued to sin against him; in the ·desert [wasteland; wilderness] they ·turned [rebelled] against God Most High.
78:18  They ·decided to test God [L tested God in their hearts] by asking for the food ·they wanted [L for their appetite].
78:19  Then they spoke against God, saying, “Can God prepare ·food [L a table] in the ·desert [wilderness]?
78:20  When he ·hit [L struck] the rock, water ·poured out [gushed] and rivers flowed down. But can he give us bread also? Will he provide his people with meat [Ex. 16]?”
78:21  When the Lord heard them, he was very angry. ·His anger was like fire to the people of [L A fire was ignited against] Jacob; his anger ·grew against the people of [L rose up against] Israel [Num. 11].
78:22  They had not ·believed [trusted; been faithful to] God and had not ·trusted [put confidence in] him to ·save them [give them victory].
78:23  But he gave a command to the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven.
78:24  He rained manna down on them to eat; he gave them grain from heaven.
78:25  So they ate the bread of ·angels [L strong ones]. He sent them all the food they could eat.
78:26  He sent the east wind from heaven and ·led [guided] the south wind by his power.
78:27  He rained meat on them like dust. The birds were as many as the sand of the sea.
78:28  He made the birds fall inside the camp, all around the ·tents [L residences].
78:29  So the people ate and became very ·full [satisfied; satiated]. God had given them what they ·wanted [desired].
78:30  While ·they were still eating [L their desire had not turned aside], and while the food was still in their mouths,
78:31  ·God became angry with them [L the anger of God came up on them]. He killed some of the ·healthiest [most robust; sturdiest] of them; he ·struck down [laid low] the best young men of Israel.
78:32  But they kept on sinning; they did not believe even with the ·miracles [wonderful acts].
78:33  So he ended their days without ·meaning [purpose; Eccl. 1:2] and their years in terror.
78:34  Anytime he killed them, they would ·look to him for help [seek him]; they would ·come back to God [repent] and ·follow [be intent on] him.
78:35  They would remember that God was their Rock [C the one who protected them], that God Most High had ·saved [redeemed] them.
78:36  But ·their words were false [L they deceived/or flattered him with their mouths], and with their tongues they lied to him.
78:37  Their hearts were not really ·loyal to [steadfast toward] God; they ·did not keep [were not faithful to] his ·agreement [covenant].
78:38  Still God was ·merciful [compassionate]. He ·forgave their sins [made atonement for their guilt] and did not destroy them. Many times he held back his anger and did not stir up all his ·anger [wrath].
78:39  He remembered that they were ·only human [flesh; 38:3; 56:4; 103:14–15; Gen. 6:3; Is. 2:22], like a wind that blows and does not come back.
78:40  They ·turned [rebelled] against God so often in the ·desert [wilderness] and grieved him ·there [L in the wasteland].
78:41  Again and again they tested God and ·brought pain to [provoked] the Holy One of Israel.
78:42  They did not remember his ·power [L hand] or the ·time [L day] he ·saved [ransomed] them from the ·enemy [foe].
78:43  They forgot the signs he did in Egypt and his wonders in the fields of Zoan [v. 12].
78:44  He turned their rivers to blood so no one could drink ·the water [L from their streams; 105:29; Ex. 7:17–20; Rev. 16:4].
78:45  He sent flies that ·bit [L consumed] the people [Ex. 8:20–32]. He sent frogs that destroyed them [Ex. 7:25—8:15].
78:46  He gave their crops to grasshoppers and ·what they worked for [L their labor] to locusts [Ex. 10:1–20].
78:47  He ·destroyed [L killed] their vines with hail and their ·sycamore [or fig] trees with ·sleet [or frost; or floods; Ex. 9:13–35].
78:48  He ·killed their animals with [L handed over their beasts to the] hail and their cattle with lightning [Ex. 9:1–7].
78:49  He ·showed [L sent against] them his hot anger. He sent his strong anger against them, his ·destroying angels [or messengers of evil/harm].
78:50  He ·found a way to show [L made a path for] his anger. He did not ·keep them from dying [L hold back their lives from death] but ·let them die by a terrible disease [L handed their lives over to plague].
78:51  God ·killed [L struck] all the firstborn sons in Egypt [Ex. 12], the ·oldest son of each family [L first of their virility in the tents] of Ham [C the ancestor of the Egyptians; Gen. 10:6].
78:52  But God led his people out like sheep and he guided them like a flock through the ·desert [wilderness].
78:53  He led them to safety so they had nothing to fear, but ·their enemies drowned in the sea [L the sea covered their enemies].
78:54  So God brought them to his holy ·land [L boundary], to the mountain country ·he took with his own power [L his hand acquired].
78:55  He ·forced out [dispossessed before them] the other nations, and he ·had his people inherit the land [L alloted the land as an inheritance]. He let the tribes of Israel settle there in tents.
78:56  But they tested God and ·turned [rebelled] against God Most High; they did not ·keep [observe; guard] his ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
78:57  They ·turned away [recoiled] and were disloyal just like their ·ancestors [fathers]. They ·were like [turned into] a ·crooked bow that does not shoot straight [slack bow; C unreliable and ineffective].
78:58  They made God angry ·by building places to worship gods [L with their high places; C worship sites associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God; Deut. 12:2–3]; they made him jealous with their idols.
78:59  When God heard them, he became very angry and rejected the people of Israel completely.
78:60  He ·left [cast off] his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tent where he lived among the people.
78:61  He let his ·Power [Strength; C the Ark] be captured; he let his ·glory [beauty; C the Ark] be taken by ·enemies [L the hand of the foe; 1 Sam. 4–5].
78:62  He ·let his people be killed [L handed his people over to the sword]; he was very angry with his ·children [L inheritance].
78:63  The young men ·died [L were consumed] by fire, and the young women ·had no one to marry [had no wedding songs; or could not sing a lament for them].
78:64  Their priests fell by the sword [1 Sam. 4:12–22], but their widows were not allowed to cry.
78:65  Then the Lord ·got up [awoke] as if he had been asleep; ·he awoke like a man [L like a soldier] who had been ·drunk with [shouting/singing because of] wine.
78:66  He struck ·down [L back] his enemies and ·disgraced them forever [L placed on them eternal scorn/reproach].
78:67  But God rejected the ·family [L tent] of Joseph [C the tribe of Ephraim]; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim [C the most important northern tribe, here representing the house of Saul].
78:68  Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple], which he loves.
78:69  And he built his ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place] ·high like the mountains [or like the high heavens]. Like the earth, ·he built it to last [L its foundations are] forever.
78:70  He chose David to be his servant and took him from the sheep pens.
78:71  He brought him from tending the ·sheep [L ewes] so he could ·lead the flock, [shepherd] the people of Jacob, his ·own people [inheritance], the people of Israel.
78:72  And David ·led [shepherded] them with an ·innocent [blameless] heart and guided them with skillful hands.