Maschil of Asaph.
Give ear, O my people, to my {Or, teaching}law:
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah,
And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done.
For he established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which he commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born;
Who should arise and tell them to their children,
That they might set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep his commandments,
And might not be as their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation {Or, that prepared not their hearts}that set not their heart aright,
And whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
They kept not the covenant of God,
And refused to walk in his law;
And they forgat his doings,
And his wondrous works that he had showed them.
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through;
And he made the waters to stand as a heap.
In the day-time also he led them with a cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
He clave rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
He brought streams also out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
Yet went they on still to sin against him,
To rebel against the Most High in {Or, a dry land}the desert.
And they tempted God in their heart
By asking food {Or, for themselves}according to their desire.
Yea, they spake against God;
They said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out,
And streams overflowed;
Can he give bread also?
Will he provide flesh for his people?
Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also went up against Israel;
Because they believed not in God,
And trusted not in his salvation.
Yet he commanded the skies above,
And opened the doors of heaven;
And he rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them {Hebrew: grain.}food from heaven.
{Or, Every one}Man did eat the bread of the mighty:
He sent them food to the full.
He {Hebrew: led forth the east wind.}caused the east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by his power he guided the south wind.
He rained flesh also upon them as the dust,
And winged birds as the sand of the seas:
And he let it fall in the midst of their camp,
Round about their habitations.
So they did eat, and were well filled;
And he gave them their own desire.
They were not estranged from that which they desired,
Their food was yet in their mouths,
When the anger of God went up against them,
And slew of the fattest of them,
And smote down the young men of Israel.
For all this they sinned still,
And believed not in his wondrous works.
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity,
And their years in terror.
When he slew them, then they inquired after him;
And they returned and sought God earnestly.
And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouth,
And lied unto him with their tongue.
For their heart was not {Or, stedfast}right with him,
Neither were they faithful in his covenant.
But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not:
Yea, many a time turned he his anger away,
And did not stir up all his wrath.
And he remembered that they were but flesh,
A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness,
And grieve him in the desert!
And they turned again and tempted God,
And {Or, limited}provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They remembered not his hand,
Nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
How he set his signs in Egypt,
And his wonders in the field of Zoan,
And turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, so that they could not drink.
He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them;
And frogs, which destroyed them.
He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar,
And their labor unto the locust.
He {Hebrew: killed.}destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycomore-trees with {Or, great hailstones}frost.
He gave over their cattle also to the hail,
And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger,
Wrath, and indignation, and trouble,
{Hebrew: A sending.}A band of angels of evil.
He {Hebrew: levelled.}made a path for his anger;
He spared not their soul from death,
But gave {Or, their beasts to the murrain}their life over to the pestilence,
And smote all the first-born in Egypt,
The {Hebrew: beginning. See Deuteronomy 21:17.}chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
But he led forth his own people like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
And he led them safely, so that they feared not;
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
And he brought them to {Or, his holy border}the border of his sanctuary,
To this {Or, mountain land}mountain, which his right hand had gotten.
He drove out the nations also before them,
And allotted them for an inheritance by line,
And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God,
And kept not his testimonies;
But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers:
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
For they provoked him to anger with their high places,
And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
When God heard this, he was wroth,
And greatly abhorred Israel;
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent which he placed among men;
And delivered his strength into captivity,
And his glory into the adversary's hand.
He gave his people over also unto the sword,
And was wroth with his inheritance.
Fire devoured their young men;
And their virgins had no marriage-song.
Their priests fell by the sword;
And their widows made no lamentation.
Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep,
Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
And he smote his adversaries backward:
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
Moreover he refused the tent of Joseph,
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
But chose the tribe of Judah,
The mount Zion which he loved.
And he built his sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which he hath established for ever.
He chose David also his servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds:
From following the ewes that have their young he brought him,
To be the shepherd of Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Querverweise zu Psalm 78,70 Ps 78,70
Then thou spakest in vision to thy {Or, as otherwise read, saint.}saints,And saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty;I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb.
I have found David my servant;With my holy oil have I anointed him:
Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit {Hebrew: around.}down till he come hither.
Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;
and bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, {Or, are}were in the vale of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the {Or, barricade}place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the {Or, battle ground}fight shouted for the battle.
And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to {Or, reproach}defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should {Or, reproach}defy the armies of the living God?
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
And David said, What have I now done? {Or, Was it not but a word?}Is there not a cause?
And he turned away from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail {Or, within him}because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father's sheep; {Or, and therecome a lion and a bear…and I went out &c.}and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,
I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath {Or, reproached}defied the armies of the living God.
And David said, Jehovah that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and Jehovah shall be with thee.
And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the {Or, torrent bed}brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance.
And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast {Or, reproached}defied.
This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand.
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their {Or, mighty man}champion was dead, they fled.
And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to {The Syriac and some editions of the Septuagint Version have, Gath.}Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to {Or, the two gates}Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal {Hebrew: fair of eyes.}of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.
Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the {Or, pasture}sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be {Or, leader}prince over my people, over Israel;
now then do it; for Jehovah hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him.
And David said unto Michal, It was before Jehovah, who chose me above thy father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of Jehovah, over Israel: therefore will I play before Jehovah.
And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee?
And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; to whom also he bare witness and said, {1 Samuel 13:14; Psalm 89:20.}I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my {Greek: wills.}will.
Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I {Or, am}was no prophet, neither {Or, am}was I {Or, one of the sons of the prophets See 1 Kings 20:35.}a prophet's son; but I {Or, am}was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore-trees:
and Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers.
And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.
And going on from thence he saw two other brethren, {Or, Jacob}James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him.