78:5 He established a rule 1 in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants, 2
78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God. 3
78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 4
78:57 They were unfaithful 5 and acted as treacherously as 6 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 7
1 tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).
2 tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the
3 tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).
4 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).
5 tn Heb “they turned back.”
6 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
7 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”