Psalms 78
78
A Contemplative Maskil of Asaph.
1Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2#Ps 63:1; 84:2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter insightful sayings of old,
3#Ps 79:10; 80:5 which we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
4#Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8 We will not hide them from their children,
but will tell the coming generation
the praises of the Lord,
and His strength, and the wonderful works that He has done.
5#Ps 42:11; 43:5 For He established a rule in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
that they should make them known to their children,
6#2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8–9 that the generation to come might know them,
even the children who are not yet born,
who will arise and declare them to their children:
7#Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3 that they might set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep His commandments,
8#Job 35:10; Ps 63:6 and they might not be as their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that did not set their heart steadfast,
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9#Ps 38:6; 18:2 The people of Ephraim, being armed with bows,
turned back in the day of battle.
10#Ps 42:3; Joel 2:17 They did not keep the covenant of God
and refused to walk in His law;
11#Ps 42:5; 43:5 and they forgot His works
and the wonders that He had shown them.
12In the sight of their ancestors He did marvelous wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
and He made the waters to stand as a heap.
14In the daytime He led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a light of fire.
15He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them abundance to drink as out of the great depths.
16He brought streams out of the rock
and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17They sinned yet more against Him
by provoking the Most High in the wilderness.
18They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food that they craved.
19They spoke against God by saying,
“Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
20Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out
and the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread
or provide meat for His people?”
21Therefore the Lord heard this and was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and anger also came up against Israel,
22because they did not believe in God
nor trust in His deliverance.
23Yet He had commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
24and He rained down manna upon them to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25Man ate the food of mighty angels;
He sent them bread in abundance.
26He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by His power He brought out a south wind.
27He rained meat on them as dust,
and winged birds as the sand of the sea;
28and He let them fall in the midst of their camp
all around their habitations.
29So they ate and were satisfied,
for He gave them their own desire;
30while they were not yet filled up,
and while the meat was still in their mouths,
31the wrath of God came upon them,
and He killed the strongest of them
and struck down the young men of Israel.
32For all this they sinned still,
and did not believe despite His wondrous works.
33Therefore He made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in trouble.
34When He killed them, then they sought Him;
they turned back and longed for God.
35They remembered that God was their rock,
and the Most High God their redeemer.
36Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
and they lied to Him with their tongues;
37for their heart was not devoted to Him,
neither were they committed to His covenant.
38But He being full of compassion
forgave their iniquity
and did not destroy them.
He constantly restrained His anger,
and did not stir up all His wrath;
39for He remembered that they were but flesh,
like a wind that passes away and does not return.
40How often they provoked Him in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert!
41Yes, they tested God over and over,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember His power,
nor the day when He delivered them from the enemy,
43how He had performed His signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the fields of Zoan:
44and He turned their rivers into blood,
so that they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave also their crops to the grasshopper
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore trees with frost.
48He gave up their cattle also to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger,
wrath, indignation, and trouble,
by sending angels bringing disaster.
50He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague,
51And struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52Then He led out His own people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54He brought them to the border of His holy land,
to the mountain that His right hand had acquired.
55He cast out the nations also before them,
and divided for them their tribal allotments,
and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
and did not keep His commands,
57but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
they turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58For they provoked Him to anger with their high places
and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.
59When God heard this, He was full of wrath
and greatly rejected Israel
60so that He left the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where He lived among people,
61and delivered His strength to captivity
and His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62He gave His people over also to the sword;
He was enraged with His inheritance.
63The fire consumed their young men,
and their maidens were not given to marriage in song.
64Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep,
and like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66He routed His enemies back,
and He made them a perpetual reproach.
67Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph,
and He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68but chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loves.
69He built His sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth that He has established perpetually.
70He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71from following the nursing ewes He brought him
to shepherd Jacob His people,
and Israel His inheritance.
72So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart
and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
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Psalms 78: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Psalm 78
78
Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil#78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of #Ps. 50, title Asaph.
1 # [Isa. 51:4]; See Ps. 49:1; 50:7 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 # Cited Matt. 13:35; See Ps. 49:4 I will open my mouth #[Num. 21:27]in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3things that we have heard and known,
that our #See Ps. 44:1fathers have told us.
4We will not #Job 15:18 hide them from their children,
but #[Ex. 12:26, 27; 13:8, 14; Deut. 11:19; Josh. 4:6, 7; Joel 1:3] tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and #ver. 11, 32the wonders that he has done.
5He established #Ps. 19:7; [Ps. 81:5] a testimony in #Ps. 147:19Jacob
and appointed a law in #Ps. 147:19Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6that #ver. 4; Ps. 102:18the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget #Ps. 77:12 the works of God,
but #Ps. 105:45keep his commandments;
8and that they should not be #2 Kgs. 17:14; 2 Chr. 30:7; Ezek. 20:18 like their fathers,
#
Ex. 32:9; 33:3; Deut. 9:7, 24; 31:27; Jer. 5:23 a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation #ver. 37; Job 11:13whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The Ephraimites, armed with#78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting the bow,
# ver. 57 turned back on the day of battle.
10They #[2 Kgs. 17:15]did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11They #See Ps. 106:13 forgot his works
and #ver. 4the wonders that he had shown them.
12In the sight of their fathers #ver. 43; See Ex. 7-12; Ps. 72:18 he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in #ver. 43; Num. 13:22; Isa. 19:11, 13; Ezek. 30:14the fields of Zoan.
13He #Ps. 136:13; Ex. 14:21 divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters #Ex. 15:8stand like a heap.
14 # See Ps. 105:39 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15He #ver. 20; Ps. 105:41; 114:8; Ex. 17:6; Isa. 48:21split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16He made streams come out of #Num. 20:8, 10, 11the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17Yet they sinned still more against him,
# ver. 40, 56; Deut. 9:22; Isa. 63:10 rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18They #ver. 41, 56; Ps. 95:9; 106:14; Deut. 6:16; 1 Cor. 10:9tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God, saying,
# [Ex. 16:3; Num. 11:4; 20:3; 21:5] “Can God #See Ps. 23:5spread a table in the wilderness?
20 # ver. 15, 16 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”
21Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
#
Num. 11:1
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22because they #ver. 8, 32, 37did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23Yet he commanded the skies above
and #Gen. 7:11; [Mal. 3:10]opened the doors of heaven,
24and he #Ex. 16:4 rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them #Ps. 105:40; [John 6:31]the grain of heaven.
25Man ate of the bread of #Ps. 103:20 the angels;
he sent them food #[ver. 29]in abundance.
26He #Num. 11:31caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27he rained meat on them like #[Gen. 13:16] dust,
winged birds like #[Gen. 22:17]the sand of the seas;
28he #Ex. 16:13; Num. 11:31let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29And they #Num. 11:19, 20 ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they #Num. 11:4, 34craved.
30But before they had satisfied their craving,
#
Num. 11:33; [Job 20:23] while the food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed #Isa. 10:16 the strongest of them
and laid low #ver. 63the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they #See Num. 14; 16; 17 still sinned;
# ver. 22; Num. 14:11 despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he made #Num. 14:29, 35; 26:64, 65 their days #Ps. 39:5vanish like#78:33 Hebrew in a breath,#78:33 Or vapor
and their years in terror.
34When he killed them, they #Hos. 5:15sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35They remembered that God was their #Deut. 32:4, 15, 31 rock,
the Most High God their #Ex. 15:13; See Ps. 74:2redeemer.
36But they #Isa. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31 flattered him with their mouths;
they #Isa. 57:11lied to him with their tongues.
37Their #ver. 8 heart was not #Ps. 51:10steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he, being #Ex. 34:6 compassionate,
#
Num. 14:20
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39He #[Ps. 103:14; Job 10:9] remembered that they were but #Gen. 6:3 flesh,
#
Job 7:7
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40How often they #ver. 17, 56; Ps. 107:11 rebelled against him in the wilderness
and #[Eph. 4:30] grieved him in #Ps. 106:14the desert!
41They #See ver. 18 tested God again and again
and provoked #See Ps. 71:22the Holy One of Israel.
42They #Judg. 8:34did not remember his power#78:42 Hebrew hand
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 # For ver. 43-51, see Ps. 105:27-36 when he performed his #Ex. 7:3; [Ps. 106:22]; Acts 7:36 signs in Egypt
and his #Ex. 4:21; 11:9, 10 marvels in #See ver. 12the fields of Zoan.
44He #See Ex. 7:17-24turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45He sent among them swarms of #See Ex. 8:21-24 flies, which devoured them,
and #See Ex. 8:2-14frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave their crops to #See Ex. 10:12-15the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with #See Ex. 9:23-25hail
and their sycamores with frost.
48He gave over their #See Ex. 9:19-21cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of #Ex. 12:13, 23; [2 Sam. 24:16]destroying angels.
50He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51He struck down every #Ex. 12:29; [Ps. 105:36; 135:8; 136:10] firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of #Ps. 105:23, 27; 106:22Ham.
52Then he led out his people #See Ps. 77:20like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 # [Ex. 14:19, 20] He led them in safety, so that they #[Ex. 14:13] were not afraid,
but #Ex. 14:27, 28; 15:10the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54And he brought them to his #Ex. 15:17 holy land,
#
Isa. 11:9; 57:13; [Ps. 68:16] to the mountain which his right hand had #Ps. 74:2won.
55He #See Ps. 44:2 drove out nations before them;
he #Josh. 23:4; [Ps. 135:12; 136:21, 22; Acts 13:19]apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56Yet they #ver. 18; Judg. 2:11, 12 tested and #ver. 40rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like #Hos. 7:16; [ver. 9]a deceitful bow.
58For they #Deut. 31:29 provoked him to anger with their #Lev. 26:30; Deut. 12:2; 1 Kgs. 11:7; 12:31; Ezek. 20:28 high places;
they #Num. 25:11; Deut. 32:16, 21; Judg. 2:12 moved him to jealousy with their #Deut. 7:5, 25; 12:3idols.
59When God heard, he was full of #ver. 62; Ps. 106:40; Deut. 3:26wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60He #1 Sam. 4:11; Jer. 7:12, 14; 26:6 forsook his dwelling at #Josh. 18:1Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61and delivered his #Ps. 132:8; [Ps. 63:2; 96:6] power to captivity,
his #[1 Sam. 4:21]glory to the hand of the foe.
62He #[1 Sam. 4:10] gave his people over to the sword
and #ver. 59vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 # [Ps. 79:5; 89:46] Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no #[Jer. 7:34]marriage song.
64Their #1 Sam. 4:11 priests fell by the sword,
and their #Job 27:15widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord #Ps. 73:20; See Ps. 35:23awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66And he #[Ps. 40:14]put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67He rejected the tent of #Ps. 80:1; 81:5Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he #Ps. 87:2loves.
69He #See 1 Kgs. 6built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70He #1 Sam. 16:12, 13chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71from #2 Sam. 7:8 following the nursing ewes he brought him
to #2 Sam. 5:2; [Ps. 28:9] shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his #1 Sam. 10:1inheritance.
72With #Ps. 101:2; 1 Kgs. 9:4 upright heart he shepherded them
and #[Ps. 77:20]guided them with his skillful hand.
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