Psalms 78
78
Psalm 78
A maskil#Title: Probably a literary or musical term of Asaph.
1My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
8They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;
10they did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.
11They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.
12He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.
14He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God;
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?”
21When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
23Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
24he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like sand on the seashore.
28He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29They ate till they were gorged—
he had given them what they craved.
30But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
37their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the wasteland!
41Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44He turned their river into blood;
they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.
46He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their produce to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49He unleashed against them his hot anger,
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.
50He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
51He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59When God heard them, he was furious;
he rejected Israel completely.
60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent he had set up among humans.
61He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62He gave his people over to the sword;
he was furious with his inheritance.
63Fire consumed their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;
64their priests were put to the sword,
and their widows could not weep.
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.
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Psalms 78: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Psalms 78
78
God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel
A #Ps. 74:titleContemplation of Asaph.
1Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth in a #Matt. 13:34, 35parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
3Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4#Ex. 12:26, 27; Deut. 4:9; 6:7; Job 15:18; Is. 38:19; Joel 1:3We will not hide them from their children,
#Ex. 13:8, 14Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5For #Ps. 147:19He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That #Deut. 4:9; 11:19they should make them known to their children;
6#Ps. 102:18That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
8And #2 Kin. 17:14; 2 Chr. 30:7; Ezek. 20:18may not be like their fathers,
#Ex. 32:9; Deut. 9:7, 24; 31:27; Judg. 2:19; Is. 30:9A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation #Job 11:13; Ps. 78:37that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10#2 Kin. 17:15They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11And #Ps. 106:13forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.
12#Ex. 7—12Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, #Num. 13:22; Is. 19:11; 30:4; Ezek. 30:14in the field of Zoan.
13#Ex. 14:21He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And #Ex. 15:8He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14#Ex. 13:21In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15#Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Is. 48:21; (1 Cor. 10:4)He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16He also brought #Num. 20:8, 10, 11streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17But they sinned even more against Him
By #Deut. 9:22; Is. 63:10; Heb. 3:16rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18And #Ex. 16:2they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19#Ex. 16:3; Num. 11:4; 20:3; 21:5Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20#Num. 20:11Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
21Therefore the Lord heard this and #Num. 11:1was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22Because they #Deut. 1:32; 9:23; (Heb. 3:18)did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
#Gen. 7:11; (Mal. 3:10)And opened the doors of heaven,
24#Ex. 16:4Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of #John 6:31heaven.
25Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.
26#Num. 11:31He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29#Num. 11:19, 20So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30They were not deprived of their craving;
But #Num. 11:33while their food was still in their mouths,
31The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32In spite of this #Num. 14:16, 17they still sinned,
And #Num. 14:11; Ps. 78:11, 22did not believe in His wondrous works.
33#Num. 14:29, 35Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34#Num. 21:7; (Hos. 5:15)When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35Then they remembered that #(Deut. 32:4, 15)God was their rock,
And the Most High God #(Ex. 15:13); Deut. 7:8; Is. 41:14; 44:6; 63:9their Redeemer.
36Nevertheless they #Ex. 24:7, 8; Ezek. 33:31flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38#(Num. 14:18–20)But He, being full of #Ex. 34:6compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time #(Is. 48:9)He turned His anger away,
And #1 Kin. 21:29did not stir up all His wrath;
39For #Job 10:9; Ps. 103:14–16He remembered #John 3:6that they were but flesh,
#(Job 7:7, 16; James 4:14)A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40How often they #Ps. 95:8–10; (Eph. 4:30); Heb. 3:16provoked Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41Yes, #Num. 14:22; Deut. 6:16again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44#Ex. 7:20Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45#Ex. 8:24He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And #Ex. 8:6frogs, which destroyed them.
46He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the #Ex. 10:14locust.
47#Ex. 9:23–25He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48He also gave up their #Ex. 9:19cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery lightning.
49He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave their life over to the plague,
51And destroyed all the #Ex. 12:29, 30firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52But He #Ps. 77:20made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53And He #Ex. 14:19, 20led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea #Ex. 14:27, 28overwhelmed their enemies.
54And He brought them to His #Ex. 15:17holy border,
This mountain #Ps. 44:3which His right hand had acquired.
55#Josh. 11:16–23; Ps. 44:2He also drove out the nations before them,
#Josh. 13:7; 19:51; 23:4Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56#Judg. 2:11–13Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57But #Ezek. 20:27, 28turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside #Hos. 7:16like a deceitful bow.
58#Deut. 32:16, 21; Judg. 2:12; 1 Kin. 14:9; Is. 65:3For they provoked Him to anger with their #Deut. 12:2high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60#1 Sam. 4:11; Jer. 7:12–14; 26:6–9So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61#Judg. 18:30And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62#Judg. 20:21; 1 Sam. 4:10He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63The fire consumed their young men,
And #Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10their maidens were not given in marriage.
64#1 Sam. 4:17; 22:18Their priests fell by the sword,
And #Job 27:15; Ezek. 24:23their widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
#Is. 42:13Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66And #1 Sam. 5:6He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion #(Ps. 87:2)which He loved.
69And He built His #1 Kin. 6:1–38sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70#1 Sam. 16:11, 12; 2 Sam. 7:8He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71From following #2 Sam. 7:8; (Is. 40:11)the ewes that had young He brought him,
#2 Sam. 5:2; 1 Chr. 11:2To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72So he shepherded them according to the #1 Kin. 9:4integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.