Psalm 78

1 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.

5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;

6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born; Who should arise and tell them to their children,

7 That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments,

8 And might not be as their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that set not their heart aright, And whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

10 They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law;

11 And they forgat his doings, And his wondrous works that he had showed them.

12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13 He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; And he made the waters to stand as a heap.

14 In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.

15 He clave rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.

16 He brought streams also out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.

17 Yet went they on still to sin against him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert.

18 And they tempted God in their heart By asking food according to their desire.

19 Yea, they spake against God; They said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

20 Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out, And streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?

21 Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also went up against Israel;

22 Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation.

23 Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven;

24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven.

25 Man did eat the bread of the mighty: He sent them food to the full.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens; And by his power he guided the south wind.

27 He rained flesh also upon them as the dust, And winged birds as the sand of the seas:

28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations.

29 So they did eat, and were well filled; And he gave them their own desire.

30 They were not estranged from that which they desired, Their food was yet in their mouths,

31 When the anger of God went up against them, And slew of the fattest of them, And smote down the young men of Israel.

32 For all this they sinned still, And believed not in his wondrous works.

33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, And their years in terror.

34 When he slew them, then they inquired after him; And they returned and sought God earnestly.

35 And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their redeemer.

36 But they flattered him with their mouth, And lied unto him with their tongue.

37 For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they faithful in his covenant.

38 But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: Yea, many a time turned he his anger away, And did not stir up all his wrath.

39 And he remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

40 How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness, And grieve him in the desert!

41 And they turned again and tempted God, And provoked the Holy One of Israel.

42 They remember not his hand, Nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;

43 How he set his signs in Egypt, And his wonders in the field of Zoan,

44 And turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, so that they could not drink.

45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; And frogs, which destroyed them.

46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, And their labor unto the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycomore-trees with frost.

48 He gave over their cattle also to the hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, and indignation, and trouble, A band of angels of evil.

50 He made a path for his anger; He spared not their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence,

51 And smote all the first-born in Egypt, The chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.

52 But he led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

53 And he led them safely, so that they feared not; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, To this mountain, which his right hand had gotten.

55 He drove out the nations also before them, And allotted them for an inheritance by line, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, And kept not his testimonies;

57 But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

59 When God heard this, he was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;

60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent which he placed among men;

61 And delivered his strength into captivity, And his glory into the adversary’s hand.

62 He gave his people over also unto the sword, And was wroth with his inheritance.

63 Fire devoured their young men; And their virgins had no marriage-song.

64 Their priests fell by the sword; And their widows made no lamentation.

65 Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.

66 And he smote his adversaries backward: He put them to a perpetual reproach.

67 Moreover he refused the tent of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim,

68 But chose the tribe of Judah, The mount Zion which he loved.

69 And he built his sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which he hath established for ever.

70 He chose David also his servant, And took him from the sheepfolds:

71 From following the ewes that have their young he brought him, To be the shepherd of Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

72 So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

Psalm 78

A well-written song by Asaph.

1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!
Listen to the words I speak!

2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past.

3 What we have heard and learned –
that which our ancestors have told us –

4 we will not hide from their descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

5 He established a rule in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants,

6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.

7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey his commands.

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.

9 The Ephraimites were armed with bows,
but they retreated in the day of battle.

10 They did not keep their covenant with God,
and they refused to obey his law.

11 They forgot what he had done,
the amazing things he had shown them.

12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.

14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.

15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.

16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.

17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert.

18 They willfully challenged God
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.

19 They insulted God, saying,
“Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness?

20 Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out,
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”

21 When the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up against Israel,

22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them.

23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.

24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.
He sent them more than enough to eat.

26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.

27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.

28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.

29 They ate until they were stuffed;
he gave them what they desired.

30 They were not yet filled up,
their food was still in their mouths,

31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.

32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things.

33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied
and filled with terror.

34 When he struck them down, they sought his favor;
they turned back and longed for God.

35 They remembered that God was their protector,
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer.

36 But they deceived him with their words,
and lied to him.

37 They were not really committed to him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.

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.

39 He remembered that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him in the desert!

41 They again challenged God,
and offended the Holy One of Israel.

42 They did not remember what he had done,
how he delivered them from the enemy,

43 when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan.

44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.

45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them,
as well as frogs that overran their land.

46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.

48 He rained hail down on their cattle,
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.

49 His raging anger lashed out against them,
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster.

50 He sent his anger in full force;
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction.

51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham.

52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

53 He guided them safely along,
while the sea covered their enemies.

54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.

55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.

56 Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God,
and did not obey his commands.

57 They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.

58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines,
and made him jealous with their idols.

59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.

60 He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.

61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured;
he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy.

62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation.

63 Fire consumed their young men,
and their virgins remained unmarried.

64 Their priests fell by the sword,
but their widows did not weep.

65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.

66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults.

67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.

69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above;
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.

70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.

71 He took him away from following the mother sheep,
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation.

72 David cared for them with pure motives;
he led them with skill.