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. 1
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 2 in the desert!
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 3
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 4
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 5 the sovereign God, 6
and did not obey 7 his commands. 8
1 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).
2 tn Or “caused him pain.”
3 tn 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.
4 tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
5 tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”
6 tn Heb “God, the Most High.”
7 tn Or “keep.”
8 tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).