Psalms 78:1-8

1 ¹Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

2 ²I will open my mouth ³in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

3 things that we have heard and known, that our ⁴fathers have told us.

4 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.

5 He established ⁸a testimony in ⁹Jacob and appointed a law in ¹⁰Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

6 that ¹¹the 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 ¹²the works of God, but ¹³keep his commandments;

8 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.

Psalms 78:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:1-8 In-Context

1 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 that he has done.

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 Ephraimites, armed with 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 his works and the wonders that he had shown them.

12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.

Cross References

• 1. [Isaiah 51:4]; See Psalms 49:1; Psalms 50:7
• 2. Cited Matthew 13:35; See Psalms 49:4
• 3. [Numbers 21:27]
• 4. See Psalms 44:1
• 5. Job 15:18
• 6. [Exodus 12:26, 27; Exodus 13:8, 14; Deuteronomy 11:19; Joshua 4:6, 7; Joel 1:3]
• 7. ver. 11, 32
• 8. Psalms 19:7; [Psalms 81:5]
• 9. Psalms 147:19
• 10. Psalms 147:19
• 11. ver. 4; Psalms 102:18
• 12. Psalms 77:12
• 13. Psalms 105:45
• 14. 2 Kings 17:14; 2 Chronicles 30:7; Ezekiel 20:18
• 15. Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3; Deuteronomy 9:7, 24; Deuteronomy 31:27; Jeremiah 5:23
• 16. ver. 37; Job 11:13