Psalms 78:41,57 - Compare All Versions

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Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.

They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.

Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.

They constantly tested God  and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

They treacherously turned away like their ancestors; they became warped like a faulty bow.

Yea, they turned back and tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

And God? Compassionate! Forgave the sin! Didn’t destroy! Over and over he reined in his anger, restrained his considerable wrath. He knew what they were made of; he knew there wasn’t much to them, How often in the desert they had spurned him, tried his patience in those wilderness years. Time and again they pushed him to the limit, provoked Israel’s Holy God. How quickly they forgot what he’d done, forgot their day of rescue from the enemy, When he did miracles in Egypt, wonders on the plain of Zoan. He turned the River and its streams to blood— not a drop of water fit to drink. He sent flies, which ate them alive, and frogs, which drove them crazy. He turned their harvest over to caterpillars, everything they had worked for to the locusts. He flattened their grapevines with hail; a killing frost ruined their orchards. He pounded their cattle with hail, let thunderbolts loose on their herds. His anger flared, a wild firestorm of havoc, An advance guard of disease-carrying angels to clear the ground, preparing the way before him. He didn’t spare those people, he let the plague rage through their lives. He killed all the Egyptian firstborns, lusty infants, offspring of Ham’s virility. Then he led his people out like sheep, took his flock safely through the wilderness. He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear. The Sea took care of their enemies for good. He brought them into his holy land, this mountain he claimed for his own. He scattered everyone who got in their way; he staked out an inheritance for them— the tribes of Israel all had their own places.

But they kept on giving him a hard time, rebelled against God, the High God, refused to do anything he told them. They were worse, if that’s possible, than their parents: traitors—crooked as a corkscrew. Their pagan orgies provoked God’s anger, their obscene idolatries broke his heart. When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious; he posted a huge No over Israel. He walked off and left Shiloh empty, abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel. He let his pride and joy go to the dogs, turned his back on the pride of his life. He turned them loose on fields of battle; angry, he let them fend for themselves. Their young men went to war and never came back; their young women waited in vain. Their priests were massacred, and their widows never shed a tear.

Again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel.

But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers; They turned aside like a treacherous bow.

Again and again they tempted God, And distressed the Holy One of Israel.

They turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were twisted like a warped bow [that will not respond to the archer’s aim].

They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.

They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.