Psalms 78
1Hear my teaching, my people, 1 listen to the words of my mouth. 1
2I will open my mouth in parables; 1 I will sing about hidden things about the past. 1
3These are things that we have heard and learned, 1 things that our ancestors have told us. 1
4We will not keep them from their descendants. 1 We will tell the next generation about the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh, 1 his strength, and the wonders that he has done. 1
5For he established covenant decrees in Jacob 1 and appointed a law in Israel. 1 He commanded our ancestors 1 that they were to teach them to their children. 1
6He commanded this so that the generation to come might know his decrees, the children not yet born, 1 who should tell them in turn to their own children. 1
7Then they would place their hope in God 1 and not forget his deeds 1 but keep his commandments. 1
8Then they would not be like their ancestors, 1 who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, 1 a generation whose hearts were not right, 1 and whose spirits were not committed and faithful to God. 1
9The Ephraimites were armed with bows, 1 but they turned back on the day of battle. 1
10They did not keep the covenant with God, 1 and they refused to obey his law. 1
11They forgot his deeds, 1 the wonderful things that he had shown them. 1
12They forgot the marvelous things he did in the sight of their ancestors 1 in the land of Egypt, in the land of Zoan. 1
13He divided the sea and led them across it; 1 he made the waters to stand like walls. 1
14In the daytime he led them with a cloud 1 and all the night with the light of fire. 1
15He split the rocks in the wilderness, 1 and he gave them water abundantly, enough to fill the depths of the sea. 1
16He made streams flow out of the rock 1 and made the water flow like rivers. 1
17Yet they continued to sin against him, 1 rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. 1
18They challenged God in their hearts 1 by asking for food to satisfy their appetites. 1
19They spoke against God; 1 they said, “Can God really lay out a table for us in the wilderness? 1
20See, when he struck the rock, waters gushed out 1 and streams overflowed. 1 But can he give bread also? 1 Will he provide meat for his people?” 1
21When Yahweh heard this, he was angry; 1 so his fire burned against Jacob, 1 and his anger attacked Israel, 1
22because they did not believe in God 1 and did not trust in his salvation. 1
23Yet he commanded the skies above 1 and opened the doors of the sky. 1
24He rained down manna for them to eat, 1 and gave them the grain from heaven. 1
25People ate the bread of angels. 1 He sent them food in abundance. 1
26He caused the east wind to blow in the sky, 1 and by his power he guided the south wind. 1
27He rained down meat on them like dust, 1 birds as numerous as the sands of the sea. 1
28They fell in the middle of their camp, 1 all around their tents. 1
29So they ate and were full. 1 He gave them what they craved. 1
30But they had not yet filled up; 1 their food was still in their mouths. 1
31Then God's anger attacked them 1 and killed the strongest of them. 1 He brought down the young men of Israel. 1
32Despite this, they continued to sin 1 and did not believe his wonderful deeds. 1
33Therefore God cut short their days; 1 their years were filled with terror. 1
34Whenever God afflicted them, they would start to seek him, 1 and they would return and look earnestly for him. 1
35They would call to mind that God was their rock 1 and that the Most High God was their rescuer. 1
36But they would flatter him with their mouth 1 and lie to him with their words. 1
37For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him, 1 and they were not faithful to his covenant. 1
38Yet he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. 1 Yes, many times he held back his anger 1 and did not stir up all his wrath. 1
39He called to mind that they were made of flesh, 1 a wind that passes away and does not return. 1
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness 1 and grieved him in the barren regions! 1
41Again and again they challenged God 1 and offended the Holy One of Israel. 1
42They did not think about his power, 1 how he had rescued them from the enemy 1
43when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt 1 and his wonders in the region of Zoan. 1
44He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood 1 so that they could not drink from their streams. 1
45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them 1 and frogs that overran their land. 1
46He gave their crops to the grasshopper 1 and their labor to the locust. 1
47He destroyed their vines with hail 1 and their sycamore trees with more hail. 1
48He rained hail on their cattle 1 and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock. 1
49The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them. 1 He sent wrath, fury, and trouble 1 like agents who bring disaster. 1
50He leveled a path for his anger; 1 he did not spare them from death 1 but gave them over to the plague. 1
51He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, 1 the firstborn of their strength in the tents of Ham. 1
52He led his own people out like sheep 1 and guided them through the wilderness like a flock. 1
53He led them secure and unafraid, 1 but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 1
54Then he brought them to the border of his holy land, 1 to this mountain that his right hand acquired. 1
55He drove out the nations from before them 1 and assigned them their inheritance. 1 He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 1
56Yet they challenged and defied the Most High God 1 and did not keep his solemn commands. 1
57They were unfaithful and acted treacherously like their fathers; 1 they were as undependable as a faulty bow. 1
58For they made him angry with their high places 1 and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols. 1
59When God heard this, he was angry 1 and completely rejected Israel. 1
60He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh, 1 the tent where he had lived among people. 1
61He allowed his strength to be captured 1 and gave his glory into the enemy's hand. 1
62He handed his people over to the sword, 1 and he was angry with his heritage. 1
63Fire devoured their young men, 1 and their young women had no wedding songs. 1
64Their priests fell by the sword, 1 and their widows could not weep. 1
65Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep, 1 like a warrior who shouts because of wine. 1
66He drove his adversaries back; 1 he put them to everlasting shame. 1
67He rejected the tent of Joseph, 1 and he did not chose the tribe of Ephraim. 1
68He chose the tribe of Judah 1 and Mount Zion that he loved. 1
69He built his sanctuary like the heavens, 1 like the earth that he has established forever. 1
70He chose David, his servant, 1 and took him from the sheepfolds. 1
71He took him from following the ewes with their young, and he brought him 1 to be shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his heritage. 1
72David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, 1 and he guided them with the skill of his hands.