Psalm 78
English Standard Version
Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil[a] of (A)Asaph.
78 (B)Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 (C)I will open my mouth (D)in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our (E)fathers have told us.
4 We will not (F)hide them from their children,
but (G)tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and (H)the wonders that he has done.
5 He established (I)a testimony in (J)Jacob
and appointed a law in (K)Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that (L)the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget (M)the works of God,
but (N)keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be (O)like their fathers,
(P)a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation (Q)whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with[b] the bow,
(R)turned back on the day of battle.
10 They (S)did not keep God's covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They (T)forgot his works
and (U)the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers (V)he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in (W)the fields of Zoan.
13 He (X)divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters (Y)stand like a heap.
14 (Z)In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He (AA)split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of (AB)the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
(AC)rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They (AD)tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
(AE)“Can God (AF)spread a table in the wilderness?
20 (AG)He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
(AH)a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they (AI)did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and (AJ)opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he (AK)rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them (AL)the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of (AM)the angels;
he sent them food (AN)in abundance.
26 He (AO)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained meat on them like (AP)dust,
winged birds like (AQ)the sand of the seas;
28 he (AR)let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they (AS)ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they (AT)craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
(AU)while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed (AV)the strongest of them
and laid low (AW)the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they (AX)still sinned;
(AY)despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made (AZ)their days (BA)vanish like[c] a breath,[d]
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they (BB)sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their (BC)rock,
the Most High God their (BD)redeemer.
36 But they (BE)flattered him with their mouths;
they (BF)lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their (BG)heart was not (BH)steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being (BI)compassionate,
(BJ)atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He (BK)remembered that they were but (BL)flesh,
(BM)a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they (BN)rebelled against him in the wilderness
and (BO)grieved him in (BP)the desert!
41 They (BQ)tested God again and again
and provoked (BR)the Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BS)did not remember his power[e]
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 (BT)when he performed his (BU)signs in Egypt
and his (BV)marvels in (BW)the fields of Zoan.
44 He (BX)turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of (BY)flies, which devoured them,
and (BZ)frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to (CA)the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with (CB)hail
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their (CC)cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of (CD)destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck down every (CE)firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of (CF)Ham.
52 Then he led out his people (CG)like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 (CH)He led them in safety, so that they (CI)were not afraid,
but (CJ)the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his (CK)holy land,
(CL)to the mountain which his right hand had (CM)won.
55 He (CN)drove out nations before them;
he (CO)apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they (CP)tested and (CQ)rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like (CR)a deceitful bow.
58 For they (CS)provoked him to anger with their (CT)high places;
they (CU)moved him to jealousy with their (CV)idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of (CW)wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He (CX)forsook his dwelling at (CY)Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his (CZ)power to captivity,
his (DA)glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He (DB)gave his people over to the sword
and (DC)vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 (DD)Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no (DE)marriage song.
64 Their (DF)priests fell by the sword,
and their (DG)widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord (DH)awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he (DI)put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of (DJ)Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he (DK)loves.
69 He (DL)built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He (DM)chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from (DN)following the nursing ewes he brought him
to (DO)shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his (DP)inheritance.
72 With (DQ)upright heart he shepherded them
and (DR)guided them with his skillful hand.
Footnotes
- Psalm 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting
- Psalm 78:33 Hebrew in
- Psalm 78:33 Or vapor
- Psalm 78:42 Hebrew hand
Psalm 78
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 78
Lessons from Israel’s Past
A Maskil of Asaph.(A)
1 My people, hear my instruction;
listen to the words from my mouth.(B)
2 I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past(C)—
3 things we have heard and known
and that our ancestors have passed down to us.(D)
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
his might, and the wondrous works
he has performed.(E)
5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children(F)
6 so that a future generation—
children yet to be born—might know.
They were to rise and tell their children(G)
7 so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God’s works,
but keep his commands.(H)
8 Then they would not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.(I)
9 The Ephraimite archers turned back
on the day of battle.(J)
10 They did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.(K)
11 They forgot what he had done,
the wondrous works he had shown them.(L)
12 He worked wonders in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, the territory of Zoan.(M)
13 He split the sea and brought them across;
the water stood firm like a wall.(N)
14 He led them with a cloud by day
and with a fiery light throughout the night.(O)
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.(P)
16 He brought streams out of the stone
and made water flow down like rivers.(Q)
17 But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.(R)
18 They deliberately[a] tested God,
demanding the food they craved.(S)
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
20 Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out;
torrents overflowed.(T)
But can he also provide bread
or furnish meat for his people?” (U)
21 Therefore, the Lord heard and became furious;
then fire broke out against Jacob,
and anger flared up against Israel(V)
22 because they did not believe God
or rely on his salvation.(W)
23 He gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.(X)
24 He rained manna for them to eat;
he gave them grain from heaven.(Y)
25 People[b] ate the bread of angels.[c]
He sent them an abundant supply of food.(Z)
26 He made the east wind blow in the skies
and drove the south wind by his might.(AA)
27 He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the seas.
28 He made them fall in the camp,
all around the tents.(AB)
29 The people ate and were completely satisfied,
for he gave them what they craved.(AC)
30 Before they had turned from what they craved,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 God’s anger flared up against them,
and he killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel’s fit young men.(AD)
32 Despite all this, they kept sinning
and did not believe his wondrous works.(AE)
33 He made their days end in futility,
their years in sudden disaster.(AF)
34 When he killed some of them,
the rest began to seek him;
they repented and searched for God.(AG)
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God, their Redeemer.(AH)
36 But they deceived him with their mouths,
they lied to him with their tongues,(AI)
37 their hearts were insincere toward him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.(AJ)
38 Yet he was compassionate;
he atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them.
He often turned his anger aside
and did not unleash[d] all his wrath.(AK)
39 He remembered that they were only flesh,
a wind that passes and does not return.(AL)
40 How often they rebelled against him
in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert.
41 They constantly tested God(AM)
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.(AN)
42 They did not remember his power shown
on the day he redeemed them from the foe,(AO)
43 when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the territory of Zoan.(AP)
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.(AQ)
45 He sent among them swarms of flies,(AR)
which fed on them,
and frogs, which devastated them.(AS)
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.(AT)
47 He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48 He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts.(AU)
49 He sent his burning anger against them:
fury, indignation, and calamity—
a band of deadly messengers.[e](AV)
50 He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.(AW)
51 He struck all the firstborn(AX) in Egypt,
the first progeny of the tents of Ham.(AY)
52 He led his people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.(AZ)
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.(BA)
54 He brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain his right hand acquired.(BB)
55 He drove out nations before them.(BC)
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.(BD)
56 But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep his decrees.(BE)
57 They treacherously turned away like their ancestors;
they became warped like a faulty bow.(BF)
58 They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.(BG)
59 God heard and became furious;
he completely rejected Israel.(BH)
60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where he resided among mankind.(BI)
61 He gave up his strength to captivity
and his splendor to the hand of a foe.(BJ)
62 He surrendered his people to the sword
because he was enraged with his heritage.(BK)
63 Fire consumed his chosen young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.[f](BL)
64 His priests fell by the sword,
and the widows could not lament.(BM)
65 The Lord awoke as if from sleep,
like a warrior from the effects of wine.(BN)
66 He beat back his foes;
he gave them lasting disgrace.(BO)
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.(BP)
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.(BQ)
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;(BR)
71 he brought him from tending ewes
to be shepherd over his people Jacob—
over Israel, his inheritance.(BS)
72 He shepherded them with a pure heart
and guided them with his skillful hands.(BT)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.