Logos Bible Study

Psalm 78:43–68

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78:43when he performed his awesome deeds53 in Egypt,

and his acts of judgment54 in the region of Zoan.

78:44He turned their rivers into blood,

and they could not drink from their streams.

78:45He sent swarms of biting insects against them,55

as well as frogs that overran their land.56

78:46He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

the fruit of their labor to the locust.

78:47He destroyed their vines with hail,

and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.

78:48He rained hail down on their cattle,57

and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.58

78:49His raging anger lashed out against them,59

He sent fury, rage, and trouble

as messengers who bring disaster.60

78:50He sent his anger in full force;61

he did not spare them from death;

he handed their lives over to destruction.62

78:51He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power63 in the tents of Ham.

78:52Yet he brought out his people like sheep;

he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

78:53He guided them safely along,

while the sea covered their enemies.

78:54He brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this mountainous land64 which his right hand65 acquired.

78:55He drove the nations out from before them;

he assigned them their tribal allotments66

and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.67

78:56Yet they challenged and defied68 the sovereign God,69

and did not obey70 his commands.71

78:57They were unfaithful72 and acted as treacherously as73 their ancestors;

they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.74

78:58They made him angry with their pagan shrines,75

and made him jealous with their idols.

78:59God heard and was angry;

he completely rejected Israel.

78:60He abandoned76 the sanctuary at Shiloh,

the tent where he lived among men.

78:61He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured;77

he gave the symbol of his splendor78 into the hand of the enemy.79

78:62He delivered his people over to the sword,

and was angry with his chosen nation.80

78:63Fire consumed their81 young men,

and their82 virgins remained unmarried.83

78:64Their84 priests fell by the sword,

but their85 widows did not weep.86

78:65But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;87

he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.88

78:66He drove his enemies back;

he made them a permanent target for insults.89

78:67He rejected the tent of Joseph;

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

78:68He chose the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loves.

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Footnotes

  1. 53 Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
  2. 54 Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44–51).
  3. 55 Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”
  4. 56 Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”
  5. 57 Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”
  6. 58 Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.
  7. 59 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.
  8. 60 Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
  9. 61 Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.
  10. 62 Or perhaps “[the] plague.”
  11. 63 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).
  12. 64 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.”
  13. 65 The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
  14. 66 Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”
  15. 67 Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”
  16. 68 Or “tested and rebelled against.”
  17. 69 Heb “God, the Most High.”
  18. 70 Or “keep.”
  19. 71 Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).
  20. 72 Heb “they turned back.”
  21. 73 Or “acted treacherously like.”
  22. 74 Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
  23. 75 Traditionally, “high places.”
  24. 76 Or “rejected.”
  25. 77 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.
  26. 78 Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
  27. 79 Verses 60–61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1–11).
  28. 80 Heb “his inheritance.”
  29. 81 Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
  30. 82 Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
  31. 83 Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.
  32. 84 Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
  33. 85 Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
  34. 86 Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.
  35. 87 Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The Lord’s apparent inactivity during the time of judgment is compared to sleep.
  36. 88 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.
  37. 89 Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press