78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 1
78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. 2
78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the sovereign One 3 in the desert.
78:18 They willfully challenged God 4
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 5
“Is God really able to give us food 6 in the wilderness?
78:20 Yes, 7 he struck a rock and water flowed out,
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
78:21 When 8 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 9 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 10
78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven. 11
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 12
He sent them more than enough to eat. 13
78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. 14
78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; 15
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 16
their food was still in their mouths,
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. 17
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 18
and filled with terror. 19
78:34 When he struck them down, 20 they sought his favor; 21
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 22
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 23
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 24
and lied to him. 25
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 26
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. 27
78:39 He remembered 28 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 29
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 30 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 31
and offended 32 the Holy One of Israel. 33
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 34
how he delivered them from the enemy, 35
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 36 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 37 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, 38
as well as frogs that overran their land. 39
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, 40
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 41
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 42
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 43
78:50 He sent his anger in full force; 44
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction. 45
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 46 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 47 which his right hand 48 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 49
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 50
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 51 the sovereign God, 52
and did not obey 53 his commands. 54
78:57 They were unfaithful 55 and acted as treacherously as 56 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 57
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 58
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 59 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 60
he gave the symbol of his splendor 61 into the hand of the enemy. 62
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 63
78:63 Fire consumed their 64 young men,
and their 65 virgins remained unmarried. 66
78:64 Their 67 priests fell by the sword,
but their 68 widows did not weep. 69
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 70
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 71
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 72
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; 73
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 74
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 75
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 76
78:72 David 77 cared for them with pure motives; 78
he led them with skill. 79
105:27 They executed his miraculous signs among them, 80
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
105:28 He made it dark; 81
they did not disobey his orders. 82
105:29 He turned their water into blood,
and killed their fish.
105:30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
105:31 He ordered flies to come; 83
gnats invaded their whole territory.
105:32 He sent hail along with the rain; 84
there was lightning in their land. 85
105:33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
105:34 He ordered locusts to come, 86
innumerable grasshoppers.
105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields. 87
105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power. 88
105:37 He brought his people 89 out enriched 90 with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
105:38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them. 91
105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, 92
and provided a fire to light up the night.
105:40 They asked for food, 93 and he sent quails;
he satisfied them with food from the sky. 94
105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
105:42 Yes, 95 he remembered the sacred promise 96
he made to Abraham his servant.
105:43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy. 97
105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, 98
105:45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey 99 his laws.
Praise the Lord!
4:32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind 100 on the earth, and ask 101 from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it. 4:33 Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it? 4:34 Or has God 102 ever before tried to deliver 103 a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments, 104 signs, wonders, war, strength, power, 105 and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 4:35 You have been taught that the Lord alone is God – there is no other besides him. 4:36 From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words. 106 4:37 Moreover, because he loved 107 your ancestors, he chose their 108 descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power 4:38 to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you and brought you here this day to give you their land as your property. 109
3:14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went 110 ahead of them. 3:15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface 111 of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) 112 – 3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. 113 It piled up far upstream 114 at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea). 115 The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. 116 3:17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side. 117
6:20 The rams’ horns sounded 118 and when the army 119 heard the signal, 120 they gave a loud battle cry. 121 The wall collapsed 122 and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 123
10:13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. 124 The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. 125 10:14 There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed 126 a man, for the Lord fought for Israel!
1 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).
2 tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”
3 tn Heb “rebelling [against] the Most High.”
4 tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
5 tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”
6 tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”
7 tn Heb “look.”
8 tn Heb “therefore.”
9 tn Heb “and also anger went up.”
10 tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”
11 sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.
12 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).
13 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
14 tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”
15 tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”
16 tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”
17 tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”
18 tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”
19 tn Heb “and their years in terror.”
20 tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.
21 tn Heb “they sought him.”
22 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
23 tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”
24 tn Heb “with their mouth.”
25 tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”
26 tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”
27 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.
28 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.
29 tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”
30 tn Or “caused him pain.”
31 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.
32 tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.
33 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
34 tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.
35 tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”
36 tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
37 tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).
38 tn Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”
39 tn Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”
40 tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”
41 tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.
42 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.
43 tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
44 tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.
45 tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”
46 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).
47 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.”
48 tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
49 tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”
50 tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”
51 tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”
52 tn Heb “God, the Most High.”
53 tn Or “keep.”
54 tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).
55 tn Heb “they turned back.”
56 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
57 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
58 tn Traditionally, “high places.”
59 tn Or “rejected.”
60 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.
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.
62 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
63 tn Heb “his inheritance.”
64 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
65 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
66 tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.
67 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
68 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
69 sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.
70 tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The
71 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.
72 tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”
73 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.
74 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.”
75 tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”
76 tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”
77 tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78 tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”
79 tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”
80 tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).
81 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”
82 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
83 tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
84 tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
85 tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
86 tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
87 tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
88 tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).
89 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the
90 tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
91 tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”
92 tn Or “curtain.”
93 tn Heb “he [i.e., his people] asked.” The singular form should probably be emended to a plural שָׁאֲלוּ (sha’alu, “they asked”), the vav (ו) having fallen off by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the following form).
94 tn Or “bread of heaven.” The reference is to manna (see Exod 16:4, 13-15).
95 tn Or “for.”
96 tn Heb “his holy word.”
97 tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
98 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
99 tn Heb “guard.”
100 tn The Hebrew term אָדָם (’adam) may refer either to Adam or, more likely, to “man” in the sense of the human race (“mankind,” “humankind”). The idea here seems more universal in scope than reference to Adam alone would suggest.
101 tn The verb is not present in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification. The challenge has both temporal and geographical dimensions. The people are challenged to (1) inquire about the entire scope of past history and (2) conduct their investigation on a worldwide scale.
102 tn The translation assumes the reference is to Israel’s God in which case the point is this: God’s intervention in Israel’s experience is unique in the sense that he has never intervened in such power for any other people on earth. The focus is on the uniqueness of Israel’s experience. Some understand the divine name here in a generic sense, “a god,” or “any god.” In this case God’s incomparability is the focus (cf. v. 35, where this theme is expressed).
103 tn Heb “tried to go to take for himself.”
104 tn Heb “by testings.” The reference here is the judgments upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues. See Deut 7:19 (cf. v. 18) and 29:3 (cf. v. 2).
105 tn Heb “by strong hand and by outstretched arm.”
106 tn Heb “and his words you heard from the midst of the fire.”
107 tn The concept of love here is not primarily that of emotional affection but of commitment or devotion. This verse suggests that God chose Israel to be his special people because he loved the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and had promised to bless their descendants. See as well Deut 7:7-9.
108 tc The LXX, Smr, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read a third person masculine plural suffix for the MT’s 3rd person masculine singular, “his descendants.” Cf. Deut 10:15. Quite likely the MT should be emended in this instance.
109 tn Heb “(as) an inheritance,” that is, landed property that one can pass on to one’s descendants.
110 tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.
111 tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”
112 tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”
113 tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”
114 tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”
115 tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”
116 map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
117 tn Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
118 tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.
119 tn Heb “the people.”
120 tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”
121 tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”
122 tn Heb “fell in its place.”
123 tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”
124 tn Heb “Is it not written down in the Scroll of the Upright One.” Many modern translations render, “the Scroll [or Book] of Jashar,” leaving the Hebrew name “Jashar” (which means “Upright One”) untranslated.
125 tn Heb “and did not hurry to set [for] about a full day.”
126 tn Heb “listened to the voice of.”