God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.

A [a]Maskil of Asaph.

78 (A)Listen, my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell (D)riddles of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But we will (G)tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.

For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they were to [c](L)teach them to their children,
(M)So that the generation to come would know, (N)the children yet to be born,
That they would arise and (O)tell them to their children,
So that they would put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)comply with His commandments,
And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.

The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back on the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His Law;
11 They (Z)forgot His deeds
And His [f]miracles that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He performed wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He (AG)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams from the rock
And made waters run down like rivers.

17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking for (AK)food [g]that suited their taste.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He also provide bread?
Will He prepare (AN)meat for His people?”

21 Therefore the Lord heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them [i](AS)food from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)made the east wind blow in the sky
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He let them fall in the midst of [n]their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And He [o]satisfied their longing.
30 [p]Yet before they had abandoned their longing,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)strongest ones,
And [r]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (BA)still sinned
And (BB)did not believe in His wonderful works.
33 So He brought (BC)their days to an end in futility,
And their years to an end in sudden terror.

34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And they returned and searched (BE)diligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (BF)rock,
And the Most High God their (BG)Redeemer.
36 But they (BH)flattered Him with their mouth
And (BI)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (BJ)steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful with His covenant.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 78 Title Possibly, Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
  2. Psalm 78:1 Or law, teaching
  3. Psalm 78:5 Lit make them known
  4. Psalm 78:8 Or put right
  5. Psalm 78:9 Or being
  6. Psalm 78:11 Or wonderful works
  7. Psalm 78:18 Lit to their soul
  8. Psalm 78:21 Or became infuriated
  9. Psalm 78:24 Lit grain
  10. Psalm 78:25 Lit mighty ones
  11. Psalm 78:25 Or provision
  12. Psalm 78:25 Lit to satiation
  13. Psalm 78:26 Or strength
  14. Psalm 78:28 Lit His
  15. Psalm 78:29 Lit brought to them their
  16. Psalm 78:30 Lit They did not turn away from their
  17. Psalm 78:31 Lit among their fat ones
  18. Psalm 78:31 Lit caused to bow down

Psalm 78

A maskil[a] of Asaph.

My people, hear my teaching;(A)
    listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;(B)
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.(C)
We will not hide them from their descendants;(D)
    we will tell the next generation(E)
the praiseworthy deeds(F) of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders(G) he has done.
He decreed statutes(H) for Jacob(I)
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,(J)
    and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget(K) his deeds
    but would keep his commands.(L)
They would not be like their ancestors(M)
    a stubborn(N) and rebellious(O) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,(P)
    turned back on the day of battle;(Q)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant(R)
    and refused to live by his law.(S)
11 They forgot what he had done,(T)
    the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles(U) in the sight of their ancestors
    in the land of Egypt,(V) in the region of Zoan.(W)
13 He divided the sea(X) and led them through;
    he made the water stand up like a wall.(Y)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
    and with light from the fire all night.(Z)
15 He split the rocks(AA) in the wilderness
    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
    and made water flow down like rivers.

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

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;(AQ)
    in spite of his wonders,(AR) they did not believe.(AS)
33 So he ended their days in futility(AT)
    and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek(AU) him;
    they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,(AV)
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.(AW)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,(AX)
    lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal(AY) to him,
    they were not faithful to his covenant.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 78:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term