Psa 78 | NASB1995 | STEP | A Maskil of Asaph. Listen , O my people , to my instruction ; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth .

Psalms 78

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

A ^{▼▼ Possibly, Contemplative, or Didactic, or Skillful Psalm}Maskil of Asaph.

1 ^bListen, O my people, to my ^{▼▼ Or law, teaching}instruction;
^dIncline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will ^eopen my mouth in a parable;
I will utter ^fdark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And ^gour fathers have told us.
4 We will ^hnot conceal them from their children,
But ⁱtell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His ^jwondrous works that He has done.

5 For He established a ^ktestimony in Jacob
And appointed a ^llaw in Israel,
Which He ^mcommanded our fathers
That they should ^{▼▼ Lit make them known
,} ^oteach them to their children,
6 ^pThat the generation to come might know, even ^qthe children yet to be born,
That they may arise and ^rtell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And ^snot forget the works of God,
But ^tkeep His commandments,
8 And ^unot be like their fathers,
A ^vstubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that ^wdid not ^{▼▼ Or put right}prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not ^yfaithful to God.

9 The sons of Ephraim ^{▼▼ Or being}were ^aaarchers equipped with bows,
Yet ^abthey turned back in the day of battle.
10 They ^acdid not keep the covenant of God
And refused to ^adwalk in His law;
11 They ^aeforgot His deeds
And His ^{▼▼ Or wonderful works}miracles that He had shown them.
12 ^agHe wrought wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the ^ahfield of Zoan.
13 He ^aidivided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand ^ajup like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by ^akday
And all the night with a ^allight of fire.
15 He ^amsplit the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He ^anbrought forth streams also from the rock
And caused waters to run down like rivers.

17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To ^aorebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they ^apput God to the test
By asking ^aqfood according to their desire.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, ^ar“Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 “Behold, He ^asstruck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide ^{▼▼ Lit flesh
,} ^aumeat for His people?”

21 Therefore the Lord heard and ^{▼▼ Or became infuriated}was ^awfull of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they ^axdid not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And ^ayopened the doors of heaven;
24 He ^azrained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them ^{▼▼ Lit grain
,} ^bbfood from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of ^{▼▼ Lit mighty ones}angels;
He sent them ^{▼▼ Or provision}food ^{▼▼ Lit to satiation
,} ^bfin abundance.
26 He ^bgcaused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His ^{▼▼ Or strength}power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained ^{▼▼ Lit flesh}meat upon them like the dust,
Even ^bjwinged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 Then He let them fall in the midst of ^{▼▼ Lit His}their camp,
Round about their dwellings.
29 So they ^blate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.
30 ^{▼▼ Lit They were not estranged from}Before they had satisfied their desire,
^bnWhile their food was in their mouths,
31 The ^boanger of God rose against them
And killed ^{▼▼ Lit among their fat ones}some of their ^bqstoutest ones,
And ^{▼▼ Lit caused to bow down}subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they ^bsstill sinned
And ^btdid not believe in His wonderful works.
33 So He brought ^butheir days to an end in ^{▼▼ Lit vanity, a mere breath}futility
And their years in sudden terror.

34 When He killed them, then they ^bwsought Him,
And returned and searched ^bxdiligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their ^byrock,
And the Most High God their ^bzRedeemer.
36 But they ^cadeceived Him with their mouth
And ^cblied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not ^ccsteadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being ^cdcompassionate, ^{▼▼ Lit covered over, atoned for
,} ^cfforgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He ^{▼▼ Lit turned away
,} ^chrestrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus ^ciHe remembered that they were but ^cjflesh,
A ^{▼▼ Or breath
,} ^clwind that passes and does not return.

40 How often they ^cmrebelled against Him in the wilderness
And ^cngrieved Him in the ^codesert!
41 Again and again they ^{▼▼ Or put God to the test
,} ^cqtempted God,
And pained the ^crHoly One of Israel.
42 They ^csdid not remember ^ctHis ^{▼▼ Lit hand}power,
The day when He ^cvredeemed them from the adversary,
43 When He performed His ^cwsigns in Egypt
And His ^cxmarvels in the field of Zoan,
44 And ^cyturned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of ^czflies which devoured them,
And ^dafrogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crops to the ^dbgrasshopper
And the product of their labor to the ^dclocust.
47 He ^{▼▼ Lit was killing}destroyed their vines with ^dehailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their ^dfcattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He ^dgsent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
^{▼▼ Lit A deputation of angels of evil}A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But ^digave over their life to the plague,
51 And ^djsmote all the firstborn in Egypt,
The ^dkfirst issue of their virility in the tents of ^dlHam.
52 But He ^dmled forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness ^dnlike a flock;
53 He led them ^dosafely, so that they did not fear;
But ^dpthe sea engulfed their enemies.

54 So ^dqHe brought them to His holy ^{▼▼ Lit border, territory}land,
To this ^{▼▼ Or mountain
,} ^dthill country ^duwhich His right hand had gained.
55 He also ^dvdrove out the nations before them
And ^dwapportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they ^{▼▼ Or put to the test
,} ^dytempted and ^dzrebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and ^eaacted treacherously like their fathers;
They ^ebturned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they ^ecprovoked Him with their ^edhigh places
And ^eearoused His jealousy with their ^efgraven images.
59 When God heard, He ^{▼▼ Or became infuriated}was filled with ^ehwrath
And greatly ^eiabhorred Israel;
60 So that He ^ejabandoned the ^ekdwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent ^{▼▼ Some ancient versions read where He dwelt}which He had pitched among men,
61 And gave up His ^emstrength to captivity
And His glory ^eninto the hand of the adversary.
62 He also ^eodelivered His people to the sword,
And ^{▼▼ Or became infuriated}was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 ^eqFire devoured ^{▼▼ Or their}His young men,
And ^{▼▼ Or their}His ^etvirgins had no wedding songs.
64 ^{▼▼ Or their}His ^evpriests fell by the sword,
And ^{▼▼ Or their}His ^exwidows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord ^eyawoke as if from sleep,
Like a ^ezwarrior ^{▼▼ Or sobered up from}overcome by wine.
66 He ^{▼▼ Lit smote
,} ^fcdrove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
67 He also ^fdrejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount ^feZion which He loved.
69 And He ^ffbuilt His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.
70 He also ^fgchose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From ^{▼▼ Lit following
,} ^fithe care of the ^{▼▼ Lit ewes which gave suck, He...}ewes ^fkwith suckling lambs He brought him
To ^flshepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel ^fmHis inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the ^fnintegrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.

Psalms 78

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

A ▼▼ Possibly, Contemplative, or Didactic, or Skillful PsalmMaskil of Asaph.

A ^{▼▼ Possibly, Contemplative, or Didactic, or Skillful Psalm}Maskil of Asaph.