Passage
Psalms 78.2
Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV (ASV)
"1. Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth."
"2. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,"
"3. Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4. 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." (Psalms 78:1-4, ASV)
WEB (WEB)
"1. A contemplation by Asaph. Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth."
"2. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old,"
"3. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done." (Psalms 78:1-4, WEB)
KJV (KJV)
"1. Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. Maschil: or, A Psalm for Asaph to give instruction"
"2. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:"
"3. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done." (Psalms 78:1-4, KJV)
YLT (YLT)
"1. An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth."
"2. I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,"
"3. That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us. 4. We do not hide from their sons, To a later generation recounting praises of Jehovah, And His strength, and His wonders that He hath done." (Psalms 78:1-4, YLT)
Setting
- Speaker: various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
- Audience: worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
- Location: Israel, various periods
- Time period: composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC
Theological reading
Key words
No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.