Psalms 78

Psalm 78 ESV

1An exhortation both to learn and to preach the law of God. 9The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient. 67The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David.
A Maskila of 1Asaph.
1 1Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 1I will open my mouth 2in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known, that our 1fathers have told us.
4 We will not 1hide them from their children, but 2tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and 3the wonders that he has done.
5 He established 1a testimony in 2Jacob and appointed a law in 3Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 that 1the 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 1the works of God, but 2keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be 1like their fathers, 2a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation 3whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed witha the bow, 1turned back on the day of battle.
10 They 1did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They 1forgot his works and 2the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers 1he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in 2the fields of Zoan.
13 He 1divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters 2stand like a heap.
14 1In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He 1split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of 1the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him, 1rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They 1tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying, 1“Can God 2spread a table in the wilderness?
20 1He 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; 1a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they 1did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above and 1opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he 1rained down on them manna to eat and gave them 2the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of 1the angels; he sent them food 2in abundance.
26 He 1caused 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 1dust, winged birds like 2the sand of the seas;
28 he 1let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
29 And they 1ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they 2craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving, 1while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them, and he killed 1the strongest of them and laid low 2the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they 1still sinned; 2despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made 1their days 2vanish likea a breath,b and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they 1sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their 1rock, the Most High God their 2redeemer.
36 But they 1flattered him with their mouths; they 2lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their 1heart was not 2steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being 1compassionate, 2atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He 1remembered that they were but 2flesh, 3a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they 1rebelled against him in the wilderness and 2grieved him in 3the desert!
41 They 1tested God again and again and provoked 2the Holy One of Israel.
42 They 1did not remember his powera or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 1when he performed his 2signs in Egypt and his 3marvels in 4the fields of Zoan.
44 He 1turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of 1flies, which devoured them, and 2frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to 1the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with 1hail and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their 1cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of 1destroying 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 1firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of 2Ham.
52 Then he led out his people 1like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 1He led them in safety, so that they 2were not afraid, but 3the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his 1holy land, 2to the mountain which his right hand had 3won.
55 He 1drove out nations before them; he 2apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they 1tested and 2rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like 1a deceitful bow.
58 For they 1provoked him to anger with their 2high places; they 3moved him to jealousy with their 4idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of 1wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He 1forsook his dwelling at 2Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his 1power to captivity, his 2glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He 1gave his people over to the sword and 2vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 1Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no 2marriage song.
64 Their 1priests fell by the sword, and their 2widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord 1awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he 1put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of 1Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he 1loves.
69 He 1built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He 1chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from 1following the nursing ewes he brought him to 2shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his 3inheritance.
72 With 1upright heart he shepherded them and 2guided them with his skillful hand.
Psalms 78

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