Psalm 77:1-78:53 New International Version

Psalm 77^[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹I cried out to God^(A) for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
²When I was in distress,^(B) I sought the Lord;
    at night^(C) I stretched out untiring hands,^(D)
    and I would not be comforted.^(E)

³I remembered^(F) you, God, and I groaned;^(G)
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.^[b]^(H)
⁴You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.^(I)
⁵I thought about the former days,^(J)
    the years of long ago;
⁶I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷“Will the Lord reject forever?^(K)
    Will he never show his favor^(L) again?
⁸Has his unfailing love^(M) vanished forever?
    Has his promise^(N) failed for all time?
⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful?^(O)
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?^(P)”

¹⁰Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.^(Q)
¹¹I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles^(R) of long ago.
¹²I will consider^(S) all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”^(T)

¹³Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?^(U)
¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles;^(V)
    you display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,^(W)
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶The waters^(X) saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;^(Y)
    the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷The clouds poured down water,^(Z)
    the heavens resounded with thunder;^(AA)
    your arrows^(AB) flashed back and forth.
¹⁸Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,^(AC)
    your lightning^(AD) lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.^(AE)
¹⁹Your path^(AF) led through the sea,^(AG)
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰You led your people^(AH) like a flock^(AI)
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.^(AJ)

Psalm 78

A maskil^[c] of Asaph.

¹My people, hear my teaching;^(AK)
    listen to the words of my mouth.
²I will open my mouth with a parable;^(AL)
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.^(AM)
⁴We will not hide them from their descendants;^(AN)
    we will tell the next generation^(AO)
the praiseworthy deeds^(AP) of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders^(AQ) he has done.
⁵He decreed statutes^(AR) for Jacob^(AS)
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
⁶so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,^(AT)
    and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget^(AU) his deeds
    but would keep his commands.^(AV)
⁸They would not be like their ancestors^(AW)—
    a stubborn^(AX) and rebellious^(AY) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

⁹The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,^(AZ)
    turned back on the day of battle;^(BA)
¹⁰they did not keep God’s covenant^(BB)
    and refused to live by his law.^(BC)
¹¹They forgot what he had done,^(BD)
    the wonders he had shown them.
¹²He did miracles^(BE) in the sight of their ancestors
    in the land of Egypt,^(BF) in the region of Zoan.^(BG)
¹³He divided the sea^(BH) and led them through;
    he made the water stand up like a wall.^(BI)
¹⁴He guided them with the cloud by day
    and with light from the fire all night.^(BJ)
¹⁵He split the rocks^(BK) in the wilderness
    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
¹⁶he brought streams out of a rocky crag
    and made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷But they continued to sin^(BL) against him,
    rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
¹⁸They willfully put God to the test^(BM)
    by demanding the food they craved.^(BN)
¹⁹They spoke against God;^(BO)
    they said, “Can God really
    spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰True, he struck the rock,
    and water gushed out,^(BP)
    streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
    Can he supply meat^(BQ) for his people?”
²¹When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
    his fire broke out^(BR) against Jacob,
    and his wrath rose against Israel,
²²for they did not believe in God
    or trust^(BS) in his deliverance.
²³Yet he gave a command to the skies above
    and opened the doors of the heavens;^(BT)
²⁴he rained down manna^(BU) for the people to eat,
    he gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵Human beings ate the bread of angels;
    he sent them all the food they could eat.
²⁶He let loose the east wind^(BV) from the heavens
    and by his power made the south wind blow.
²⁷He rained meat down on them like dust,
    birds^(BW) like sand on the seashore.
²⁸He made them come down inside their camp,
    all around their tents.
²⁹They ate till they were gorged—^(BX)
    he had given them what they craved.
³⁰But before they turned from what they craved,
    even while the food was still in their mouths,^(BY)
³¹God’s anger rose against them;
    he put to death the sturdiest^(BZ) among them,
    cutting down the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;^(CA)
    in spite of his wonders,^(CB) they did not believe.^(CC)
³³So he ended their days in futility^(CD)
    and their years in terror.
³⁴Whenever God slew them, they would seek^(CE) him;
    they eagerly turned to him again.
³⁵They remembered that God was their Rock,^(CF)
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.^(CG)
³⁶But then they would flatter him with their mouths,^(CH)
    lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷their hearts were not loyal^(CI) to him,
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸Yet he was merciful;^(CJ)
    he forgave^(CK) their iniquities^(CL)
    and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger^(CM)
    and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,^(CN)
    a passing breeze^(CO) that does not return.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled^(CP) against him in the wilderness^(CQ)
    and grieved him^(CR) in the wasteland!
⁴¹Again and again they put God to the test;^(CS)
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.^(CT)
⁴²They did not remember^(CU) his power—
    the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,^(CV)
⁴³the day he displayed his signs^(CW) in Egypt,
    his wonders^(CX) in the region of Zoan.
⁴⁴He turned their river into blood;^(CY)
    they could not drink from their streams.
⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies^(CZ) that devoured them,
    and frogs^(DA) that devastated them.
⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper,^(DB)
    their produce to the locust.^(DC)
⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail^(DD)
    and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail,
    their livestock^(DE) to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹He unleashed against them his hot anger,^(DF)
    his wrath, indignation and hostility—
    a band of destroying angels.^(DG)
⁵⁰He prepared a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death
    but gave them over to the plague.
⁵¹He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,^(DH)
    the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.^(DI)
⁵²But he brought his people out like a flock;^(DJ)
    he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
⁵³He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
    but the sea engulfed^(DK) their enemies.^(DL)

Footnotes

Psalm 77:1 In Hebrew texts 77:1-20 is numbered 77:2-21.
Psalm 77:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 9 and 15.
Psalm 78:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term