A Maskil of Asaf. Give ear, O my people, to my Tora: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

A maskil of Asaf. Hear, my people, my Torah. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth with a parable: I will utter riddles concerning ancient times:

I shall open my mouth in parable [(words of Torah)]; I shall speak in riddles from [days of] yore,

of that which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

which we heard and we knew, and which our fathers related to us.

We will not hide them from their children, relating to the latter generation the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he has done.

We shall not hide it [(what they related to us)] from their sons, to the last generation relating the praises of the L rd, and His strength, and the wonders that He wrought.

For he established a Testimony in Ya῾aqov, and appointed a Tora in Yisra᾽el, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

He set up testimony in Jacob and placed Torah in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to make known to their sons.

that the generation to come might know them, the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

So that the latest generation know [to impart it to] the sons that they beget, [and these, in turn,] arise and relate it to their sons.

that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

So that they place their hope in G d, and not forget the deeds of the Almighty, and keep His mitzvoth.

and that they might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

And so that they not be as their ancestors [(the generation of Egypt and the desert)], a deviant and rebellious generation, with unreadied heart, and spirit not trusting to G d.

The children of Efrayim were as archers, carrying bows, who turned back in the day of battle.

[Though they saw that] the men of Efraim [(who left Egypt prematurely)], [fully] armed, [skilled] archers, turned [from the enemy] in the day of battle [(having trusted to their arms instead of to the L rd [viz. I Chronicles 7:20-21])],

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to follow his Tora;

they did not keep the covenant of G d and refused to walk in His Torah.

and forgot his works, and his wonders that he had shown them.

And they forgot His acts and the wonders that He showed them.

Marvellous things he did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Miżrayim, in the field of Żo῾an.

[And, when the time for the redemption from Egypt arrived,] before their fathers He wrought wonders, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tzoan. [(The patriarchs came to the Red Sea and G d showed them how He was redeeming their sons)].

He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand like a heap.

He split the sea and passed them through. He stood up the waters as a heap.

In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

He led them with a cloud by day, and all the night by the light of fire.

He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.

He split rocks in the desert [viz. Exodus 17:16] and gave them to drink out of great depths. [(Even when they walked in the midst of the salty sea, He sweetened fountains for them in the midst of the depths)].

He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

He brought forth liquid from rock and brought down water [from the well] like rivers [(separately, to each tribe)].

And they sinned yet more against him, rebelling against the most High in the wilderness.

But they sinned against Him even more, provoking G d on the dry land.

And they tempted God in their heart by asking food for their craving.

And they tried the L rd in their hearts, asking food for their souls.

And they spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

And they spoke against G d, saying: Can the Almighty set a table in the desert?

Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide meat for his people?

True, He smote a rock and water flowed, and streams flooded forth. But will He be able to give bread, too? Will He prepare flesh for His people?

Therefore the Lord heard this, and was angry: so a fire was kindled against Ya῾aqov, and anger also came up against Yisra᾽el;

Therefore, the L rd heard, and He burned [in wrath]; as fire did He burn against Jacob. And wrath, too, rose against Israel.

because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:

For they did not believe in G d, and they did not trust in His help.

though he commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,

But He had [already] commanded the skies and opened the doors of heaven.

and rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them of the corn of heaven.

And He had rained down upon them manna to eat, and He had given them the grain of heaven.

Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provision to the full.

The bread of the mighty [(of angels)] did each man eat; food did He send them to satiety.

He caused an east wind to blow in the sky: and by his power he brought on the south wind.

He moved the east wind in the skies [viz. Numbers 11:20], and He led the south wind in His strength.

And he rained meat upon them like dust, and feathered birds like the sand of the sea:

And He rained upon them flesh as the dust, and as the sands of the sea, wingèd birds.

and he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.

And He made them fall in the midst of their camp, around their dwellings.

So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;

And they ate and were exceedingly sated, and their lust was accorded them.

they were not yet sated with their lust: whilst their meat was still in their mouths,

They were not estranged from their lust [(all of it being satisfied)]. Their food was yet in their mouths

the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the young men of Yisra᾽el.

and the wrath of the L rd rose against them; and He killed their choice ones and bowed down the youths of Israel.

For all this they sinned still, and did not believe in his wondrous works.

With all this, they sinned yet again and did not believe in His wonders.

Therefore he ended their days with emptiness, and their years with trouble.

And He ended their days in vanity and their years in terror.

When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and earnestly inquired after God.

If He slew them, then they [the remainder] sought Him, and repented, and prayed to the Almighty.

And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.

They mentioned that G d is their Rock, and the Almighty G d, their Redeemer.

Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouths, and they lied to him with their tongues.

[In all this, however,] they appeased Him with their mouths, but with their tongues they lied to Him.

For their heart was not steadfast with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant.

Their hearts were not [(as their mouths)] attuned to Him, and they did not trust in His covenant, [in spite of which]

But he was full of compassion, forgiving iniquity, and he did not destroy them: often he turned away his anger, not stirring up all his wrath.

He was merciful [to them] and forgave [their] sin [always] and did not destroy [them]. And He acted often to turn back His anger, and [(even if He did exact punishment of them)], He did not stir up [against them] all of His wrath,

For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passes away, and comes not again.

for He remembered that they are flesh [and invested with an evil inclination], a spirit that departs [at their death] and does not return [with them at the resurrection].

How often did they rebel against him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

How many [times] did they rebel against Him in the desert, did they grieve Him in the wasteland!

They turned back also and tempted God, and pained the Holy One of Yisra᾽el.

They repeatedly tried the Almighty, asked for signs from the Holy One of Israel.

They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.

They did not remember His hand on the day He redeemed them from the foe [Egypt],

How he had wrought his signs in Miżrayim, and his wonders in the field of Żo῾an:

His signs that He sent against Egypt, His wonders in the field of Tzoan.

and had turned their canals into blood; and their floods, so that they could not drink.

Turning their rivers to blood so that their waters could not be drunk.

He sent swarms of gnats among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

Sending the mixed multitude against them, which devoured them; the frog, which destroyed them [(pulling off their testicles)].

He gave also their increase to the destroying locust, and their labour to the swarming locust.

Giving their produce to the locust and their toil to the [locust] swarm.

He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.

He broke their vines with hail, and their sycamores with chanamal [(locusts)].

He gave over their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

He delivered their beasts to the hail and their livestock to the brands.

He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, an embassy of evil messengers.

He sent against them His burning wrath, fury, scorn, and affliction, the deputation of evil angels.

He levelled a path for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

He paved a path for His wrath [(each plague performing its own mission)]. He spared not their souls from death and yielded up their bodies to the pestilence.

and smote all the firstborn in Miżrayim; the first of their strength in the tents of Ḥam:

And He smote all the first-born of Egypt, the first of their strength in the tents of Cham.

but made his own people to go out like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

And He took out His people as sheep, and led them as a flock in the desert.

And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

And He led them securely; they did not fear. And the sea covered their foes.

And he brought them to his holy border, to the mountain, which his right hand had purchased.

And He brought them to the bound of His holy [habitation], to this mount [(Zion)] that His right hand acquired.

He cast out nations before them, and apportioned to them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Yisra᾽el to dwell in their tents.

And He drove nations away before them, and He cast [(land) lots for each tribe], as an inheritance with the [measuring] line. And He made dwell in their [(the seven nations’)] tents the tribes of Israel.

Yet they tempted and rebelled against the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:

And [(in the days of the judges)] they tried [G d] and rebelled against the Almighty G d and did not keep His testimonies.

but turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

And they backslid and were as traitorous as their fathers. They turned [(from one direction to another)] as a deceiving bow [(which always misses the target)].

For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their carved idols.

And they angered Him with their bamoth [(sacrificial mounds)] and incited Him with their images.

When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Yisra᾽el:

The L rd heard and burned [in wrath] and He greatly despised Israel.

so that he forsook the tabernacle of Shilo, the tent where he made his dwelling among men;

And He forsook the sanctuary of Shiloh, the tent which He had inhabited among men.

and delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.

And He yielded His strength [(the ark and the tablets)] to captivity [(the Philistines)], and His glory to the hand of the foe.

He gave his people over also to the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.

And He delivered His people to the sword and burned against His inheritance.

The fire consumed their young men; and their virgins had no marriage song.

Fire [(the fire of His wrath)] devoured His youths, and His maidens knew not the bridal canopy [(their betrothed dying in battle)].

Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

His priests [Chofni and Pinchas] fell by the sword, and his [Pinchas’s] widow could not bewail [him (viz. I Samuel 4:19)].

Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouts by reason of wine.

And the L rd awoke as a sleeper, as a hero shouting [himself into wakefulness] from [his] wine.

And he smote his enemies backward: he put upon them a perpetual reproach.

And He smote His foes from behind [(with hemorrhoids)], branding them with perpetual disgrace.

And he rejected the tabernacle of Yosef, and chose not the tribe of Efrayim:

And He spurned the tent of Joseph [(the sanctuary of Shiloh in Joseph’s portion)], and He did not choose the tribe of Efraim.

but chose the tribe of Yehuda, the mount Żiyyon which he loved.

But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.

And he built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth which he has established for ever.

And He built His Temple as [He built] the heights [(heaven and earth, viz. Isaiah 48:13)]. He founded it forever as the earth.

And chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

And He chose David His servant [to be king] and took him from the sheep-folds.

from following the ewes that gave suck, he brought him to be shepherd of Ya῾aqov his people, and Yisra᾽el his inheritance.

From behind the suckling sheep He brought him to graze His people, Jacob; His inheritance, Israel.

So he tended them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

And he grazed them in the innocence of his heart and led them with understanding hands.