Discovery BoxPsalms 78:38 
Context78:38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury. 1
Psalms 78:57
Context78:57 They were unfaithful 2 and acted as treacherously as 3 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 4
1 tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.
2 tn Heb “they turned back.”
3 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
4 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
