American Standard Version ASV
New International Version NIV
1 Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
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My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
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I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
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things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath 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 For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, That they should make them known 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 That the generation to come might know [them], even the children that should be born; Who should arise and tell [them] to 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 That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep 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 And might not be as their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that set not their heart aright, And whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
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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 children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in 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 kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law;
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they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.
11 And they forgat his doings, And his wondrous works that he had showed them.
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They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
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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 clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; And he made the waters to stand as a heap.
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He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
14 In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.
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He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
15 He clave rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
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He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 He brought streams also out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.
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he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
17 Yet went they on still to sin against him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert.
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But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18 And they tempted God in their heart By asking food according to their desire.
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They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
19 Yea, they spake against God; They said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
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They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out, And streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?
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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 Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also went up against Israel;
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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 believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation.
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for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven;
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Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven.
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he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of the mighty: He sent them food to the full.
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Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens; And by his power he guided 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 He rained flesh also upon them as the dust, And winged birds as the sand of the seas:
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He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.
28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations.
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He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
29 So they did eat, and were well filled; And he gave them their own desire.
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They ate till they were gorged— he had given them what they craved.
30 They were not estranged from that which they desired, Their food was yet in their mouths,
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But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths,
31 When the anger of God went up against them, And slew of the fattest of them, And smote down the 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 For all this they sinned still, And believed not in his wondrous works.
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In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, And their years in terror.
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So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34 When he slew them, then they inquired after him; And they returned and sought God earnestly.
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Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their redeemer.
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They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouth, And lied unto him with their tongue.
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But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues;
37 For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they faithful in his covenant.
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their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 But he, being merciful, forgave [their] iniquity, and destroyed [them] not: Yea, many a time turned he his anger away, And did not stir up all his wrath.
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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 And he remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
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He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness, And grieve him in the desert!
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How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!
41 And they turned again and tempted God, And provoked the Holy One of Israel.
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Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remember not his hand, Nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
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They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43 How he set his signs in Egypt, And his wonders in the field of Zoan,
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the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 And turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, so that they could not drink.
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He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; And frogs, which destroyed them.
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He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, And their labor unto the locust.
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He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycomore-trees with frost.
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He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle also to the hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
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He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, and indignation, and trouble, A band of angels of evil.
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He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger; He spared not their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence,
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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 And smote all the first-born in Egypt, The chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
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He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52 But he led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
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But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 And he led them safely, so that they feared not; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
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He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, To this mountain, which his right hand had gotten.
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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 nations also before them, And allotted them for an inheritance by line, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
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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 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, And kept not his testimonies;
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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 turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
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Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
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They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard [this], he was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;
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When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.
60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent which he placed among men;
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He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans.
61 And delivered his strength into captivity, And his glory into the adversary's hand.
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He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over also unto the sword, And was wroth with his inheritance.
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He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.
63 Fire devoured their young men; And their virgins had no marriage-song.
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Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;
64 Their priests fell by the sword; And their widows made no lamentation.
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their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
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Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 And he smote his adversaries backward: He put them to a perpetual reproach.
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He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.
67 Moreover he refused the tent of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
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Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, The mount Zion which he loved.
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but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 And he built his sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which he hath established for ever.
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He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David also his servant, And took him from the sheepfolds:
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He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;
71 From following the ewes that have their young he brought him, To be the shepherd of Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
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from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.
72 So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
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And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.
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.