Good News Translation GNT
New International Version NIV
1 Listen, my people, to my teaching, and pay attention to what I say.
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My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I am going to use wise sayings and explain mysteries from the past,
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I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known, things that our ancestors told us.
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things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about the Lord's power and his great deeds and the wonderful things he has done.
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We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He gave laws to the people of Israel and commandments to the descendants of Jacob. He instructed our ancestors to teach his laws to their children,
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He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
6 so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should tell their children.
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so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
7 In this way they also will put their trust in God and not forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments.
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Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
8 They will not be like their ancestors, a rebellious and disobedient people, whose trust in God was never firm and who did not remain faithful to him.
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They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with bows and arrows, ran away on the day of battle.
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The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;
10 They did not keep their covenant with God; they refused to obey his law.
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they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.
11 They forgot what he had done, the miracles they had seen him perform.
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They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
12 While their ancestors watched, God performed miracles in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
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He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and took them through it; he made the waters stand like walls.
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He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
14 By day he led them with a cloud and all night long with the light of a fire.
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He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
15 He split rocks open in the desert and gave them water from the depths.
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He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 He caused a stream to come out of the rock and made water flow like a river.
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he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against God, and in the desert they rebelled against the Most High.
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But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18 They deliberately put God to the test by demanding the food they wanted.
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They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God and said, "Can God supply food in the desert?
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They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?
20 It is true that he struck the rock, and water flowed out in a torrent; but can he also provide us with bread and give his people meat?"
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True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”
21 And so the Lord was angry when he heard them; he attacked his people with fire, and his anger against them grew,
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When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 because they had no faith in him and did not believe that he would save them.
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for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
23 But he spoke to the sky above and commanded its doors to open;
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Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
24 he gave them grain from heaven, by sending down manna for them to eat.
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he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 So they ate the food of angels, and God gave them all they wanted.
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Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He also caused the east wind to blow, and by his power he stirred up the south wind;
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He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow.
27 and to his people he sent down birds, as many as the grains of sand on the shore;
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He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.
28 they fell in the middle of the camp all around the tents.
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He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
29 So the people ate and were satisfied; God gave them what they wanted.
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They ate till they were gorged— he had given them what they craved.
30 But they had not yet satisfied their craving and were still eating,
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But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths,
31 when God became angry with them and killed their strongest men, the best young men of Israel.
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God’s anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this the people kept sinning; in spite of his miracles they did not trust him.
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In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he ended their days like a breath and their lives with sudden disaster.
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So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34 Whenever he killed some of them, the rest would turn to him; they would repent and pray earnestly to him.
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Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their protector, that the Almighty came to their aid.
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They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But their words were all lies; nothing they said was sincere.
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But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues;
37 They were not loyal to him; they were not faithful to their covenant with him.
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their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 But God was merciful to his people. He forgave their sin and did not destroy them. Many times he held back his anger and restrained his fury.
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Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were only mortal beings, like a wind that blows by and is gone.
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He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert; how many times they made him sad!
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How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test and brought pain to the Holy God of Israel.
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Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42 They forgot his great power and the day when he saved them from their enemies
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They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43 and performed his mighty acts and miracles in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
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the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned the rivers into blood, and the Egyptians had no water to drink.
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He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent flies among them, that tormented them, and frogs that ruined their land.
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He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 He sent locusts to eat their crops and to destroy their fields.
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He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.
47 He killed their grapevines with hail and their fig trees with frost.
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He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He killed their cattle with hail and their flocks with lightning.
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He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He caused them great distress by pouring out his anger and fierce rage, which came as messengers of death.
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He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels.
50 He did not restrain his anger or spare their lives, but killed them with a plague.
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He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
51 He killed the first-born sons of all the families of Egypt.
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He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led his people out like a shepherd and guided them through the desert.
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But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid; but the sea came rolling over their enemies.
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He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 He brought them to his holy land, to the mountains which he himself conquered.
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And so he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55 He drove out the inhabitants as his people advanced; he divided their land among the tribes of Israel and gave their homes to his people.
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He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56 But they rebelled against Almighty God and put him to the test. They did not obey his commandments,
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But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes.
57 but were rebellious and disloyal like their ancestors, unreliable as a crooked arrow.
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Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58 They angered him with their heathen places of worship, and with their idols they made him furious.
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They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59 God was angry when he saw it, so he rejected his people completely.
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When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.
60 He abandoned his tent in Shiloh, the home where he had lived among us.
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He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans.
61 He allowed our enemies to capture the Covenant Box, the symbol of his power and glory.
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He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He was angry with his own people and let them be killed by their enemies.
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He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.
63 Young men were killed in war, and young women had no one to marry.
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Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;
64 Priests died by violence, and their widows were not allowed to mourn.
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their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 At last the Lord woke up as though from sleep; he was like a strong man excited by wine.
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Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He drove his enemies back in lasting and shameful defeat.
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He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.
67 But he rejected the descendants of Joseph; he did not select the tribe of Ephraim.
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Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 Instead he chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion, which he dearly loves.
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but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 There he built his Temple like his home in heaven; he made it firm like the earth itself, secure for all time.
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He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose his servant David; he took him from the pastures,
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He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;
71 where he looked after his flocks, and he made him king of Israel, the shepherd of the people of God.
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from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.
72 David took care of them with unselfish devotion and led them with skill.
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And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.