Psalm 78
Legacy Standard Bible
That the Generation to Come Might Know
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Give ear, O my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will pour forth (D)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have recounted to us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But (G)recount to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous deeds that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob
And set a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)recount them to their children,
7 That they should set their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the deeds of God,
But (Q)observe His commandments,
8 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.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back in the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His law;
11 So they (Z)forgot His acts
And His [f]wondrous deeds that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He did wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)split 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 was (AG)splitting the rocks in the wilderness
And so gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams also from the cliff face
And caused waters to 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 according to their desire.
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 give bread also?
Will He prepare [g](AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore Yahweh 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 skies above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them (AS)grain from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [i]angels;
He sent them provision (AT)to satisfy.
26 He (AU)led forth the east wind in the heavens
And by His strength He guided the south wind.
27 Then He rained [j]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He caused them to fall in the midst of His camp,
All around His dwelling places.
29 So they (AW)ate and were very satisfied,
And their desire He brought to them.
30 [k]Before they had satisfied their desire,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [l]some of their (AZ)stoutest ones,
And [m]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (BA)still sinned
And (BB)did not believe in His wondrous deeds.
33 So He brought (BC)their days to an end in [n]futility
And their years in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And returned and sought (BE)earnestly for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (BF)rock,
And the Most High God their (BG)Redeemer.
36 But they (BH)deceived Him with their mouth
And (BI)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (BJ)prepared to remain with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being (BK)compassionate, (BL)atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And He abounded in (BM)turning back His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus (BN)He remembered that they were but (BO)flesh,
A [o](BP)wind that goes and does not return.
40 How often they (BQ)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And (BR)grieved Him in the (BS)wasteland!
41 Again and again they [p](BT)tested God,
And pained the (BU)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BV)did not remember (BW)His [q]power,
The day when He (BX)redeemed them from the adversary,
43 When He performed His (BY)signs in Egypt
And His (BZ)miracles in the field of Zoan,
44 And (CA)turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of (CB)flies which devoured them,
And (CC)frogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crops to the (CD)grasshopper
And the fruit of their labor to the (CE)locust.
47 He killed their vines with (CF)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their (CG)cattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (CH)sent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and [r]distress,
[s]A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not hold back their soul from death,
But (CI)gave over their life to the plague,
51 So He (CJ)struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (CK)first of their vigor in the tents of (CL)Ham.
52 But He (CM)led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness (CN)like a flock;
53 He led them (CO)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (CP)the sea covered their enemies.
54 So (CQ)He brought them to His holy [t]land,
To this [u](CR)hill country (CS)which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also (CT)drove out the nations before them
And (CU)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [v](CV)tested and (CW)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (CX)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (CY)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (CZ)provoked Him with their (DA)high places
And (DB)aroused His jealousy with their (DC)graven images.
59 God heard and [w]was filled with (DD)wrath
And greatly (DE)rejected Israel;
60 So that He (DF)abandoned the (DG)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [x]which He caused to dwell among men,
61 And gave up His (DH)strength to captivity
And His beauty (DI)into the hand of the adversary.
62 He also (DJ)gave over His people to the sword,
And [y]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (DK)Fire devoured [z]His choice men,
And [aa]His (DL)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ab]His (DM)priests fell by the sword,
And [ac]His (DN)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (DO)awoke as if from sleep,
As if He were a (DP)warrior [ad]overcome by wine.
66 He (DQ)struck His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
67 He also (DR)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (DS)Zion which He loved.
69 And He (DT)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.
70 He also (DU)chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From (DV)following the [ae](DW)nursing ewes He brought him
To (DX)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (DY)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (DZ)integrity of his heart,
And led them with his skillful hands.
Footnotes
- Psalm 78 Title Possibly Contemplative, Didactic, Skillful Psalm
- Psalm 78:1 Or law
- Psalm 78:5 Lit make them known
- Psalm 78:8 Or put right
- Psalm 78:9 Or being
- Psalm 78:11 Or miracles
- Psalm 78:20 Lit flesh
- Psalm 78:21 Or became infuriated
- Psalm 78:25 Lit mighty ones
- Psalm 78:27 Lit flesh
- Psalm 78:30 Lit They were not estranged from
- Psalm 78:31 Lit among their fat ones
- Psalm 78:31 Lit caused to bow down
- Psalm 78:33 Lit vanity, a mere breath
- Psalm 78:39 Or breath
- Psalm 78:41 Or put God to the test
- Psalm 78:42 Lit hand
- Psalm 78:49 Or trouble
- Psalm 78:49 Lit A deputation of angels of evil
- Psalm 78:54 Lit border, territory
- Psalm 78:54 Or mountain
- Psalm 78:56 Or put to the test
- Psalm 78:59 Or became infuriated
- Psalm 78:60 Some ancient versions where He dwelt
- Psalm 78:62 Or became infuriated
- Psalm 78:63 Or their
- Psalm 78:63 Or their
- Psalm 78:64 Or Their
- Psalm 78:64 Or their
- Psalm 78:65 Or sobered up from
- Psalm 78:71 Lit ewes which gave suck
Psalm 78
Revised Standard Version
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
A Maskil of Asaph.
78 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders which he has wrought.
5 He established a testimony in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children;
6 that 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 the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The E′phraimites, armed with[a] the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,
and the miracles that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he wrought marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zo′an.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He cleft rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock,
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He smote 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;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel;
22 because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24 and he rained down upon them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their habitations.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had sated their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them
and he slew the strongest of them,
and laid low the picked men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they still sinned;
despite his wonders they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34 When he slew them, they sought for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not true to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41 They tested him again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43 when he wrought his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zo′an.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of 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 smote all the first-born in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led forth his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
55 He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God,
and did not observe his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among men,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their maidens had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of E′phraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded for ever.
70 He chose David his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from tending the ewes that had young he brought him
to be the shepherd of Jacob his people,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skilful hand.
Footnotes
- Psalm 78:9 Heb armed with shooting
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Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.