Psalms 78
78
Psalm 78
A maskil by Asaph.
1Open your ears to my teachings, my people.
Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
3things that we have heard and known about,
things that our parents have told us.
4We will not hide them from our children.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s power and great deeds
and the miraculous things he has done.
5He established written instructions for Jacob’s people.
He gave his teachings to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
6so that the next generation would know them.
Children yet to be born ⌞would learn them⌟.
They will grow up and tell their children
7to trust God, to remember what he has done,
and to obey his commands.
8Then they will not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation.
Their hearts were not loyal.
Their spirits were not faithful to God.
9The men of Ephraim, well-equipped with bows ⌞and arrows⌟,
turned ⌞and ran⌟ on the day of battle.
10They had not been faithful to God’s promise.#78:10 Or “covenant.”
They refused to follow his teachings.
11They forgot what he had done—
the miracles that he had shown them.
12In front of their ancestors he performed miracles
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through it.
He made the waters stand up like a wall.
14He guided them by a cloud during the day
and by a fiery light throughout the night.
15He split rocks in the desert.
He gave them plenty to drink, an ocean of water.
16He made streams come out of a rock.
He made the water flow like rivers.
17They continued to sin against him,
to rebel in the desert against the Most High.
18They deliberately tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God by saying,
“Can God prepare a banquet in the desert?
20True, he did strike a rock,
and water did gush out,
and the streams did overflow.
But can he also give us bread or provide us, his people, with meat?”
21When the Lord heard this, he became furious.
His fire burned against Jacob
and his anger flared up at Israel
22because they did not believe God
or trust him to save them.
23In spite of that, he commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24He rained manna down on them to eat
and gave them grain from heaven.
25Humans ate the bread of the mighty ones,
and God sent them plenty of food.
26He made the east wind blow in the heavens
and guided the south wind with his might.
27He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like the sand on the seashore.
28He made the birds fall in the middle of his camp,
all around his dwelling place.
29They ate more than enough.
He gave them what they wanted,
30but they still wanted more.
While the food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed their strongest men and slaughtered the best young men in Israel.
32In spite of all this, they continued to sin,
and they no longer believed in his miracles.
33He brought their days to an end like a whisper in the wind.
He brought their years to an end in terror.
34When he killed ⌞some of⌟ them, ⌞the rest⌟ searched for him.
They turned from their sins and eagerly looked for God.
35They remembered that God was their rock,
that the Most High was their defender.
36They flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues.
37Their hearts were not loyal to him.
They were not faithful to his promise.
38But he is compassionate.
He forgave their sin.
He did not destroy them.
He restrained his anger many times.
He did not display all of his fury.
39He remembered that they were only flesh and blood,
a breeze that blows and does not return.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness!
How often they caused him grief in the desert!
41Again and again they tested God,
and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit.
42They did not remember his power—
the day he freed them from their oppressor,
43when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44He turned their rivers into blood
so that they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent a swarm of flies that bit them
and frogs that ruined them.
46He gave their crops to grasshoppers
and their produce to locusts.
47He killed their vines with hail
and their fig trees with frost.
48He let the hail strike their cattle
and bolts of lightning strike their livestock.
49He sent his burning anger, rage, fury, and hostility against them.
He sent an army of destroying angels.
50He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them.
He let the plague take their lives.
51He slaughtered every firstborn in Egypt,
the ones born in the tents of Ham when their fathers were young.
52But he led his own people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock through the wilderness.
53He led them safely.
They had no fear while the sea covered their enemies.
54He brought them into his holy land,
to this mountain that his power had won.
55He forced nations out of their way
and gave them the land of the nations as their inheritance.
He settled the tribes of Israel in their own tents.
56They tested God Most High and rebelled against him.
They did not obey his written instructions.
57They were disloyal and treacherous like their ancestors.
They were like arrows shot from a defective bow.
58They made him angry because of their illegal worship sites.
They made him furious because they worshiped idols.
59When God heard, he became furious.
He completely rejected Israel.
60He abandoned his dwelling place in Shiloh,
the tent where he had lived among humans.
61He allowed his power to be taken captive
and handed his glory over to an oppressor.
62He let swords kill his people.
He was furious with those who belonged to him.
63Fire consumed his best young men,
so his virgins heard no wedding songs.
64His priests were cut down with swords.
The widows ⌞of his priests⌟ could not even weep ⌞for them⌟.
65Then the Lord woke up like one who had been sleeping,
like a warrior sobering up from ⌞too much⌟ wine.
66He struck his enemies from behind
and disgraced them forever.
67He rejected the tent 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 holy place to be like the high heavens,
like the earth which he made to last for a long time.
70He chose his servant David.
He took him from the sheep pens.
71He brought him from tending the ewes that had lambs
so that David could be the shepherd of the people of Jacob,
of Israel, the people who belonged to the Lord.
72With unselfish devotion David became their shepherd.
With skill he guided them.
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Psalms 78: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Psalms 78
78
Lessons from Israel’s Past
A Maskil of Asaph. # 1Ch 16:5,7
1My people, hear my instruction;
listen to what I say. # Pr 5:7; 7:24; Is 55:3
2I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past # Ps 49:4; Pr 1:6; Mt 13:35 —
3things we have heard and known
and that our fathers have passed down to us. # Ps 44:1
4We must not hide them from their children,
but must tell a future generation
the praises of the Lord,
His might, and the wonderful works
He has performed. # Dt 6:7; 11:19; Ps 145:4
5He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children # Ps 19:7; 81:5; 147:19
6so that a future generation —
children yet to be born — might know.
They were to rise and tell their children # Dt 11:19; Ps 22:31; 102:18
7so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God’s works,
but keep His commands. # Dt 6:12; Ps 103:2; Pr 3:1
8Then they would not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God. # Dt 31:27; 2Kg 17:14; 2Ch 30:7
9The Ephraimite archers turned back
on the day of battle. # Ps 44:10
10They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by His law. # 1Kg 11:11; 2Kg 17:15; Jr 32:23
11They forgot what He had done,
the wonderful works He had shown them. # Ps 106:13
12He worked wonders in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, the region of Zoan. # Ex 7–12; Ps 78:43
13He split the sea and brought them across;
the water stood firm like a wall. # Ex 14:21; 15:8; Ps 136:13
14He led them with a cloud by day
and with a fiery light throughout the night. # Ex 13:21; Nm 14:14; Ps 105:39
15He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the depths. # Ex 17:6; Nm 20:8-13; Is 48:21
16He brought streams out of the stone
and made water flow down like rivers. # Ps 105:41; 114:8
17But they continued to sin against Him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High. # Dt 9:22; Is 63:10; Heb 3:16
18They deliberately # Lit in their heart tested God,
demanding the food they craved. # Ex 17:2,7; Ps 106:14; 1Co 10:5-10
19They spoke against God, saying,
“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
20Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out;
torrents overflowed. # Nm 20:11
But can He also provide bread
or furnish meat for His people? ” # Ex 16:3; Nm 11:4; 21:5
21Therefore, the Lord heard and became furious;
then fire broke out against Jacob,
and anger flared up against Israel # Nm 11:1
22because they did not believe God
or rely on His salvation. # Dt 1:23; 9:23; Heb 3:18
23He gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven. # Gn 7:11; Mal 3:10
24He rained manna for them to eat;
He gave them grain from heaven. # Ex 16:4,31; Jn 6:31
25People # Lit Man ate the bread of angels. # Lit mighty ones
He sent them an abundant supply of food. # Ex 16:3
26He made the east wind blow in the skies
and drove the south wind by His might. # Nm 11:31
27He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the seas.
28He made them fall in His camp,
all around His tent. # LXX, Syr read in their camp, all around their tents # Or in its camp, all around its tents # Ex 16:13; Ps 105:40
29They ate and were completely satisfied,
for He gave them what they craved. # Nm 11:4,34
30Before they had satisfied their desire,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger flared up against them,
and He killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel’s choice young men. # Nm 11:33-34; Jb 20:23
32Despite all this, they kept sinning
and did not believe His wonderful works. # Nm 14:16-17
33He made their days end in futility,
their years in sudden disaster. # Nm 14:29,35
34When He killed some of them,
the rest began to seek Him;
they repented and searched for God. # Nm 21:7; Ps 63:1; Hs 5:15
35They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God, their Redeemer. # Is 44:6,8
36But they deceived Him with their mouths,
they lied to Him with their tongues, # Is 29:13; 57:11; Ezk 33:31
37their hearts were insincere toward Him,
and they were unfaithful to His covenant. # Ps 51:10; 78:8; Ac 8:21
38Yet He was compassionate;
He atoned for # Or He wiped out, or He forgave their guilt
and did not destroy them.
He often turned His anger aside
and did not unleash # Or stir up all His wrath. # Nm 14:18-20; Dt 4:31; Is 12:1
39He remembered that they were only flesh,
a wind that passes and does not return. # Dt 31:27; Ps 107:11
40How often they rebelled against Him
in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert.
41They constantly tested God # Ps 95:8-9
and provoked the Holy One of Israel. # Dt 9:7-8,22; Ps 106:29; Zch 8:14
42They did not remember His power shown
on the day He redeemed them from the foe, # Jdg 8:34; Ps 44:3; 106:10
43when He performed His miraculous signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the region of Zoan. # Ex 4:21; 7:3; Ps 105:27
44He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams. # Ex 7:14-25; Ps 105:29
45He sent among them swarms of flies, # Ex 8:17; Ps 105:31
which fed on them,
and frogs, which devastated them. # Ex 8:3-6; Ps 105:30
46He gave their crops to the caterpillar
and the fruit of their labor to the locust. # Ex 10:14-15; Ps 105:34
47He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts. # Ex 9:23-24; Ps 105:32
49He sent His burning anger against them:
fury, indignation, and calamity —
a band of deadly messengers. # Or angels # Ex 12:13,23; 2Sm 24:16
50He cleared a path for His anger.
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague. # Ex 12:29-30
51He struck all the firstborn # Ex 13:15; Ps 105:36 in Egypt,
the first progeny of the tents of Ham. # Ham’s descendants who settled in Egypt # Ps 105:23,27
52He led His people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness. # Ex 15:22; Ps 77:20
53He led them safely, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies. # Ex 14; 15:19; Jos 24:7; Ps 106:11
54He brought them to His holy land,
to the mountain His right hand acquired. # Ex 15:17; Ps 74:2
55He drove out nations before them. # Jos 11:16-23; Ps 44:2
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. # Jos 13:7; 23:4; Ps 135:12
56But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep His decrees. # Jdg 2:11-13
57They treacherously turned away like their fathers;
they became warped like a faulty bow. # Ezk 20:27-28; Hs 7:16
58They enraged Him with their high places
and provoked His jealousy with their carved images. # Jdg 2:12; 1Kg 3:2; Ezk 20:28
59God heard and became furious;
He completely rejected Israel. # Dt 32:19; Ps 106:40; Am 6:8
60He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where He resided among men. # Hb adam # Jr 7:12,14; 26:6
61He gave up His strength # = the ark of the covenant to captivity
and His splendor to the hand of a foe. # 1Sm 4:17
62He surrendered His people to the sword
because He was enraged with His heritage. # Jdg 20:21; 1Sm 4:10
63Fire consumed His chosen young men,
and His young women had no wedding songs. # Lit virgins were not praised # Jr 7:34; 16:9; Lm 2:21
64His priests fell by the sword,
but the # Lit His widows could not lament. # War probably prevented customary funerals. # Jb 27:15; Ezk 24:23
65Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep,
like a warrior from the effects of wine. # Ps 73:20; 121:4; Is 42:13
66He beat back His foes;
He gave them lasting shame. # 1Sm 5:6; Ps 40:14
67He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which He loved. # Ps 87:2
69He built His sanctuary like the heights, # Either the heights of heaven or the mountain heights
like the earth that He established forever. # 1Kg 6
70He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds; # 1Sm 16:11-13
71He brought him from tending ewes
to be shepherd over His people Jacob —
over Israel, His inheritance. # Ps 28:9; Is 40:11
72He shepherded them with a pure heart
and guided them with his skillful hands. # 1Kg 9:4; Ps 101:2
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