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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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Psalms 78
78
Psalm 78
A maskil#78.0 Perhaps instruction of Asaph.
1Listen, my people, to my teaching;
tilt your ears toward the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth with a proverb.
I’ll declare riddles from days long gone—
3ones that we’ve heard and learned about,
ones that our ancestors told us.
4We won’t hide them from their descendants;
we’ll tell the next generation
all about the praise due the LORD and his strength—
the wondrous works God has done.
5He established a law for Jacob
and set up Instruction for Israel,
ordering our ancestors
to teach them to their children.
6This is so that the next generation
and children not yet born will know these things,
and so they can rise up and tell their children
7to put their hope in God—
never forgetting God’s deeds,
but keeping God’s commandments—
8and so that they won’t become like their ancestors:
a rebellious, stubborn generation,
a generation whose heart wasn’t set firm
and whose spirit wasn’t faithful to God.
9The children of Ephraim, armed with bows,
retreated on the day of battle.
10They didn’t keep God’s covenant;
they refused to walk in his Instruction.
11They forgot God’s deeds
as well as the wondrous works he showed them.
12But God performed wonders in their ancestors’ presence—
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13God split the sea and led them through,
making the waters stand up like a wall.
14God led them with the cloud by day;
by the lightning all through the night.
15God split rocks open in the wilderness,
gave them plenty to drink—
as if from the deep itself!
16God made streams flow from the rock,
made water run like rivers.
17But they continued to sin against God,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18They tested God in their hearts,
demanded food for their stomachs.
19They spoke against God!
“Can God set a dinner table in the wilderness?” they asked.
20“True, God struck the rock
and water gushed and streams flowed,
but can he give bread too?
Can he provide meat for his people?”
21When the LORD heard this, he became furious.
A fire was ignited against Jacob;
wrath also burned against Israel
22because they had no faith in God,
because they didn’t trust his saving power.
23God gave orders to the skies above,
opened heaven’s doors,
24and rained manna on them so they could eat.
He gave them the very grain of heaven!
25Each person ate the bread of the powerful ones;#78.25 Or everyone ate the bread from heaven; Heb uncertain
God sent provisions to satisfy them.
26God set the east wind moving across the skies
and drove the south wind by his strength.
27He rained meat on them as if it were dust in the air;
he rained as many birds as the sand on the seashore!
28God brought the birds down in the center of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29So they ate and were completely satisfied;
God gave them exactly what they had craved.
30But they didn’t stop craving—
even with the food still in their mouths!
31So God’s anger came up against them:
he killed the most hearty of them;
he cut down Israel’s youth in their prime.
32But in spite of all that, they kept sinning
and had no faith in God’s wondrous works.
33So God brought their days to an end,
like a puff of air,
and their years in total ruin.
34But whenever God killed them, they went after him!
They would turn and earnestly search for God.
35They would remember that God was their rock,
that the Most High was their redeemer.
36But they were just flattering him with lip service.
They were lying to him with their tongues.
37Their hearts weren’t firmly set on him;
they weren’t faithful to his covenant.
38But God, being compassionate,
kept forgiving their sins,
kept avoiding destruction;
he took back his anger so many times,
wouldn’t stir up all his wrath!
39God kept remembering that they were just flesh,
just breath that passes and doesn’t come back.
40How often they rebelled against God in the wilderness
and distressed him in the desert!
41Time and time again they tested God,
provoking the holy one of Israel.
42They didn’t remember God’s power—
the day when he saved them from the enemy;
43how God performed his signs in Egypt,
his marvelous works in the field of Zoan.
44God turned their rivers into blood;
they couldn’t drink from their own streams.
45God sent swarms against them to eat them up,
frogs to destroy them.
46God handed over their crops to caterpillars,
their land’s produce to locusts.
47God killed their vines with hail,
their sycamore trees with frost.
48God delivered their cattle over to disease,#78.48 Correction; MT to hailstones
their herds to plagues.
49God unleashed his burning anger against them—
fury, indignation, distress,
a troop of evil messengers.
50God blazed a path for his wrath.
He didn’t save them from death,
but delivered their lives over to disease.
51God struck down all of Egypt’s oldest males;
in Ham’s tents, he struck their pride and joy.
52God led his own people out like sheep,
guiding them like a flock in the wilderness.
53God led them in safety—they were not afraid!
But the sea engulfed their enemies!
54God brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain that his own strong hand had acquired.
55God drove out the nations before them
and apportioned property for them;
he settled Israel’s tribes in their tents.
56But they tested and defied the Most High God;
they didn’t pay attention to his warnings.
57They turned away, became faithless just like their ancestors;
they twisted away like a defective bow.
58They angered God with their many shrines;
they angered him with their idols.
59God heard and became enraged;
he rejected Israel utterly.
60God abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he had lived with humans.
61God let his power be held captive,
let his glory go to the enemy’s hand.
62God delivered his people up to the sword;
he was enraged at his own possession.
63Fire devoured his young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.
64God’s priests were killed by the sword,
and his widows couldn’t even cry.
65But then my Lord woke up—
as if he’d been sleeping!
Like a warrior shaking off wine,
66God beat back his foes;
he made them an everlasting disgrace.
67God rejected the tent of Joseph
and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah,
the mountain of Zion, which he loves.
69God built his sanctuary like the highest heaven
and like the earth, which he established forever.
70And God chose David, his servant,
taking him from the sheepfolds.
71God brought him from shepherding nursing ewes
to shepherd his people Jacob,
to shepherd his inheritance, Israel.
72David shepherded them with a heart of integrity;
he led them with the skill of his hands.
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