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
Israel from Moses to David
1A contemplative song of Asaph. Listen, my people, to my teaching. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth with a parable. I will utter perplexing sayings from of old,
3which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4We will not hide them from their children, telling to the next generation the praises of Adonai and His strength and the wonders He has done.
5For He established a testimony in Jacob and ordained Torah in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach their children,
6so that the next generation might know, even the children yet to be born: they will arise and tell their children.
7Then they will put their trust in God, not forgetting the works of God, but keeping His mitzvot.
8So they will not be like their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart, whose spirit was not loyal to God.
9The sons of Ephraim were archers armed with bows, yet they turned back in the day of battle.
10They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to walk in His Torah.
11They forgot His deeds and His wonders that He had shown them.
12He did miracles in front of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the plain of Zoan.
13He split the sea and led them through, and He made the water stand like a wall.
14By day He led them with a cloud and all night with a light of fire.
15He split apart rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.
16So He brought streams out of a rock, and made waters flow down like rivers.
17Yet they added more sinning against Him, rebelling against Elyon in the desert.
18They put God to the test in their heart by demanding food for their craving.
19Then they spoke against God, saying, “Can God set a table in the wilderness?
20See, He struck the rock, waters gushed out, streams overflowed. But can He give bread? Will He provide meat for His people?”
21When Adonai heard, He was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, and fury also rose against Israel.
22For they did not believe in God or trust in His salvation.
23Yet He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,
24and rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them grain of heaven.
25Man did eat the bread of angels. He sent them abundant provision.
26He loosed the east wind in the skies, and by His power He drove the south wind.
27He rained meat upon them like dust, and winged fowl like sand of the seas.
28And He let it fall amidst their camp, all around their tents.
29So they ate and were very full— for He gave them their desire.
30No longer a stranger from their desire, while their food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God rose against them and slew the stoutest of them, and struck down young men of Israel.
32Despite all this they sinned still more, and did not trust in His wonders.
33So He ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34But when He slew them, then they sought Him, and turned back, and desired God eagerly.
35Then they remembered that God was their Rock and El Elyon their Redeemer.
36But they flattered Him with their mouth and kept lying to Him with their tongue.
37For their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful to His covenant.
38But He is compassionate, forgives iniquity and does not destroy. Yes, many times He restrains His anger, and does not stir up all His wrath.
39For He remembered that they are but flesh, a passing breath that never returns.
40How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert!
41Again and again they tested God, and pained the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember His hand— the day He redeemed them from the foe,
43when He displayed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the plain of Zoan.
44He turned their rivers into blood, so they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent on them flies to devour them, and frogs to devastate them,
46and gave their crops to the grasshopper, and their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost,
48and gave over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to fiery bolts.
49He sent on them the fury of His anger —wrath and indignation and trouble— a band of evil angels.
50He cleared a path for His anger. He spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the plague.
51He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52But He brought His people out like sheep, and led them in the wilderness like a flock.
53He led them to safety, so they did not fear, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54Then He brought them to His holy territory, to the mountain His right hand had gotten.
55He drove out nations before them, and allotted them an inheritance. He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56Yet they tested and rebelled against El Elyon, and did not keep His decrees.
57Like their fathers they turned and were treacherous. They turned aside like a faulty bow.
58For they provoked Him with their high places, so they aroused His jealousy with their graven images.
59God heard and was furious, and He greatly detested Israel.
60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He pitched among men.
61He gave up His strength into captivity, and His glory into the adversary’s hand.
62He gave His people over to the sword, when He was angry at His inheritance.
63Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins had no wedding songs.
64Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior shaking off wine.
66He beat back His foes, putting them to lasting scorn.
67Then He detested Joseph’s tent and chose not the tribe of Ephraim.
68Instead 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 also chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds,
71from following nursing ewes. He brought him to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance.
72So He shepherded them with the integrity of His heart, and led them with His skillful hands.
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