Psalms 78:65-68

78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; ¹ 

he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. ² 

78:66 He drove his enemies back;

he made them a permanent target for insults. ³ 

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.

[78:65]  ¹ tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The Lord’s apparent inactivity during the time of judgment is compared to sleep.

[78:65]  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.

[78:66]  ³ tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”