Text -- Psalms 78:31-72 (NET)

78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees. 78:32 Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things. 78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror. 78:34 When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. 78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 78:36 But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him. 78:37 They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant. 78:38 Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. 78:39 He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert! 78:41 They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel. 78:42 They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy, 78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan. 78:44 He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. 78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land. 78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust. 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain. 78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster. 78:50 He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction. 78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham. 78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock. 78:53 He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies. 78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired. 78:55 He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 78:56 Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands. 78:57 They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols. 78:59 God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel. 78:60 He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men. 78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy. 78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation. 78:63 Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried. 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep. 78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 78:66 He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults. 78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. 78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves. 78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 78:70 He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. 78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. 78:72 David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 78:32

¹ tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:33

¹ tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”

² tn Heb “and their years in terror.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:34

¹ tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.

² tn Heb “they sought him.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:35

¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

² tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:36

¹ tn Heb “with their mouth.”

² tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:37

¹ tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:38

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Psa 78:39

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.

² tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:40

¹ tn Or “caused him pain.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:41

¹ 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.

² tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.

³ 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.

NET Notes: Psa 78:42

¹ tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.

² tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:43

¹ tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).

² tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).

NET Notes: Psa 78:45

¹ tn Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”

² tn Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:48

¹ tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”

² tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.

NET Notes: Psa 78:49

¹ 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.

² tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:50

¹ tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.

² tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:51

¹ tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).

NET Notes: Psa 78:54

¹ 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.”

² tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).

NET Notes: Psa 78:55

¹ tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”

² tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:56

¹ tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”

² tn Heb “God, the Most High.”

³ tn Or “keep.”

⁴ tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).

NET Notes: Psa 78:57

¹ tn Heb “they turned back.”

² tn Or “acted treacherously like.”

³ tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:58

¹ tn Traditionally, “high places.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:60

¹ tn Or “rejected.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:61

¹ 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.

² tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.

³ sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).

NET Notes: Psa 78:62

¹ tn Heb “his inheritance.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:63

¹ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

² tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

³ tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.

NET Notes: Psa 78:64

¹ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

² tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

³ sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.

NET Notes: Psa 78:65

¹ tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The Lord’s apparent inactivity during the time of judgment is compared to sleep.

² 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.

NET Notes: Psa 78:66

¹ tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:69

¹ tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-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.

² 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.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:71

¹ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

² tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:72

¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

³ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”