Psalm 78 is the 78th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give ear, O my people, to my law". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 77. In Latin, it is known as "Adtendite populus meus legem meam". It is one of the twelve Psalms of Asaph and is described as a "maskil" or "contemplation". It is the second-longest Psalm, with 72 verses (Psalm 119 has 176 verses), and the first of the three great history psalms (the others being Psalms 105 and 106). The New American Bible, Revised Edition entitles it "a new beginning in Zion and David". The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Uses

Judaism

New Testament

In the New Testament:

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the 15th day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 78 in a metred version in German, "Hör, mein Volk, mein Gesetz und Weis", SWV 176, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.