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1Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
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2I will open my mouth
3in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
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things that we have heard and known, that our
4fathers have told us.
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We will not
5hide them from their children, but
6tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and
7the wonders that he has done.
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He established
8a testimony in
9Jacob and appointed a law in
10Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
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that
11the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,
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so that they should set their hope in God and not forget
12the works of God, but
13keep his commandments;
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and that they should not be
14like their fathers,
15a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation
16whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
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The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
17turned back on the day of battle.
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They
18did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.
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They
19forgot his works and
20the wonders that he had shown them.
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In the sight of their fathers
21he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in
22the fields of Zoan.
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He
23divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters
24stand like a heap.
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25In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.
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He
26split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
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He made streams come out of
27the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
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Yet they sinned still more against him,
28rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
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They
29tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.
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They spoke against God, saying,
30"Can God
31spread a table in the wilderness?
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32He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?"
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Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
33a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,
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because they
34did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.
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Yet he commanded the skies above and
35opened the doors of heaven,
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and he
36rained down on them manna to eat and gave them
37the grain of heaven.
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Man ate of the bread of
38the angels; he sent them food
39in abundance.
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He
40caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;
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he rained meat on them like
41dust, winged birds like
42the sand of the seas;
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he
43let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
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And they
44ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they
45craved.
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But before they had satisfied their craving,
46while the food was still in their mouths,
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the anger of God rose against them, and he killed
47the strongest of them and laid low
48the young men of Israel.
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In spite of all this, they
49still sinned;
50despite his wonders, they did not believe.
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So he made
51their days
52vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.
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When he killed them, they
53sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
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They remembered that God was their
54rock, the Most High God their
55redeemer.
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But they
56flattered him with their mouths; they
57lied to him with their tongues.
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Their
58heart was not
59steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.