The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 <Maschil. Of Asaph.> Give ear, O my people, to my law; let your ears be bent down to the words of my mouth.
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Listen, my people, to my teaching, and pay attention to what I say.
2 Opening my mouth I will give out a story, even the dark sayings of old times;
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I am going to use wise sayings and explain mysteries from the past,
3 Which have come to our hearing and our knowledge, as they were given to us by our fathers.
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things we have heard and known, things that our ancestors told us.
4 We will not keep them secret from our children; we will make clear to the coming generation the praises of the Lord and his strength, and the great works of wonder which he has done.
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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.
5 He put up a witness in Jacob, and made a law in Israel; which he gave to our fathers so that they might give knowledge of them to their children;
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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,
6 So that the generation to come might have knowledge of them, even the children of the future, who would give word of them to their children;
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so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should tell their children.
7 So that they might put their hope in God, and not let God's works go out of their minds, but keep his laws;
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In this way they also will put their trust in God and not forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments.
8 And not be like their fathers, a stiff-necked and uncontrolled generation; a generation whose heart was hard, whose spirit was not true to God.
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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.
9 The children of Ephraim, armed with bows, were turned back on the day of the fight.
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The Ephraimites, armed with bows and arrows, ran away on the day of battle.
10 They were not ruled by God's word, and they would not go in the way of his law;
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They did not keep their covenant with God; they refused to obey his law.
11 They let his works go out of their memory, and the wonders which he had made them see.
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They forgot what he had done, the miracles they had seen him perform.
12 He did great works before the eyes of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
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While their ancestors watched, God performed miracles in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
13 The sea was cut in two so that they might go through; the waters were massed together on this side and on that.
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He divided the sea and took them through it; he made the waters stand like walls.
14 In the daytime he was guiding them in the cloud, and all through the night with a light of fire.
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By day he led them with a cloud and all night long with the light of a fire.
15 The rocks of the waste land were broken by his power, and he gave them drink as out of the deep waters.
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He split rocks open in the desert and gave them water from the depths.
16 He made streams come out of the rock; and waters came flowing down like rivers.
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He caused a stream to come out of the rock and made water flow like a river.
17 And they went on sinning against him even more, turning away from the Most High in the waste land;
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But they continued to sin against God, and in the desert they rebelled against the Most High.
18 Testing God in their hearts, requesting meat for their desire.
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They deliberately put God to the test by demanding the food they wanted.
19 They said bitter words against God, saying, Is God able to make ready a table in the waste land?
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They spoke against God and said, "Can God supply food in the desert?
20 See, the rock was cut open by his power, so that the water came rushing out, and overflowing streams; is he able to give us bread? is he able to get meat for his people?
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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?"
21 So these things came to the Lord's ears, and he was angry; and a fire was lighted against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel;
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And so the Lord was angry when he heard them; he attacked his people with fire, and his anger against them grew,
22 Because they had no faith in God, and no hope in his salvation.
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because they had no faith in him and did not believe that he would save them.
23 And he gave orders to the clouds on high, and the doors of heaven were open;
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But he spoke to the sky above and commanded its doors to open;
24 And he sent down manna like rain for their food, and gave them the grain of heaven.
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he gave them grain from heaven, by sending down manna for them to eat.
25 Man took part in the food of strong ones; he sent them meat in full measure.
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So they ate the food of angels, and God gave them all they wanted.
26 He sent an east wind from heaven, driving on the south wind by his power.
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He also caused the east wind to blow, and by his power he stirred up the south wind;
27 He sent down meat on them like dust, and feathered birds like the sand of the sea,
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and to his people he sent down birds, as many as the grains of sand on the shore;
28 And he let it come down into their resting-place, round about their tents.
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they fell in the middle of the camp all around the tents.
29 So they had food and were full; for he gave them their desire;
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So the people ate and were satisfied; God gave them what they wanted.
30 But they were not turned from their desires; and while the food was still in their mouths,
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But they had not yet satisfied their craving and were still eating,
31 The wrath of God came on them, and put to death the fattest of them, and put an end to the young men of Israel.
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when God became angry with them and killed their strongest men, the best young men of Israel.
32 For all this they went on sinning even more, and had no faith in his great wonders.
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In spite of all this the people kept sinning; in spite of his miracles they did not trust him.
33 So their days were wasted like a breath, and their years in trouble.
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So he ended their days like a breath and their lives with sudden disaster.
34 When he sent death on them, then they made search for him; turning to him and looking for him with care;
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Whenever he killed some of them, the rest would turn to him; they would repent and pray earnestly to him.
35 In the memory that God was their Rock, and the Most High God their saviour.
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They remembered that God was their protector, that the Almighty came to their aid.
36 But their lips were false to him, and their tongues were untrue to him;
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But their words were all lies; nothing they said was sincere.
37 And their hearts were not right with him, and they did not keep their agreement with him.
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They were not loyal to him; they were not faithful to their covenant with him.
38 But he, being full of pity, has forgiveness for sin, and does not put an end to man: frequently turning back his wrath, and not being violently angry.
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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.
39 So he kept in mind that they were only flesh; a breath which is quickly gone, and will not come again.
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He remembered that they were only mortal beings, like a wind that blows by and is gone.
40 How frequently did they go against him in the waste land, and give him cause for grief in the dry places!
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How often they rebelled against him in the desert; how many times they made him sad!
41 Again they put God to the test, and gave pain to the Holy One of Israel.
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Again and again they put God to the test and brought pain to the Holy God of Israel.
42 They did not keep in mind the work of his hand, or the day when he took them from the power of their haters;
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They forgot his great power and the day when he saved them from their enemies
43 How he had done his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan;
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and performed his mighty acts and miracles in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
44 So that their rivers were turned to blood, and they were not able to get drink from their streams.
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He turned the rivers into blood, and the Egyptians had no water to drink.
45 He sent different sorts of flies among them, poisoning their flesh; and frogs for their destruction.
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He sent flies among them, that tormented them, and frogs that ruined their land.
46 He gave the increase of their fields to worms, the fruits of their industry to the locusts.
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He sent locusts to eat their crops and to destroy their fields.
47 He sent ice for the destruction of their vines; their trees were damaged by the bitter cold.
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He killed their grapevines with hail and their fig trees with frost.
48 Ice was rained down on their cattle; thunderstorms sent destruction among the flocks.
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He killed their cattle with hail and their flocks with lightning.
49 He sent on them the heat of his wrath, his bitter disgust, letting loose evil angels among them.
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He caused them great distress by pouring out his anger and fierce rage, which came as messengers of death.
50 He let his wrath have its way; he did not keep back their soul from death, but gave their life to disease.
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He did not restrain his anger or spare their lives, but killed them with a plague.
51 He gave to destruction all the first sons of Egypt; the first-fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham;
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He killed the first-born sons of all the families of Egypt.
52 But he took his people out like sheep, guiding them in the waste land like a flock.
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Then he led his people out like a shepherd and guided them through the desert.
53 He took them on safely so that they had no fear; but their haters were covered by the sea.
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He led them safely, and they were not afraid; but the sea came rolling over their enemies.
54 And he was their guide to his holy land, even to the mountain, which his right hand had made his;
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He brought them to his holy land, to the mountains which he himself conquered.
55 Driving out nations before them, marking out the line of their heritage, and giving the people of Israel their tents for a resting-place.
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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.
56 But they were bitter against the Most High God, testing him, and not keeping his laws;
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But they rebelled against Almighty God and put him to the test. They did not obey his commandments,
57 Their hearts were turned back and untrue like their fathers; they were turned to one side like a twisted bow.
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but were rebellious and disloyal like their ancestors, unreliable as a crooked arrow.
58 They made him angry with their high places; moving him to wrath with their images.
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They angered him with their heathen places of worship, and with their idols they made him furious.
59 When this came to God's ears he was very angry, and gave up Israel completely;
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God was angry when he saw it, so he rejected his people completely.
60 So that he went away from the holy place in Shiloh, the tent which he had put among men;
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He abandoned his tent in Shiloh, the home where he had lived among us.
61 And he let his strength be taken prisoner, and gave his glory into the hands of his hater.
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He allowed our enemies to capture the Covenant Box, the symbol of his power and glory.
62 He gave his people up to the sword, and was angry with his heritage.
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He was angry with his own people and let them be killed by their enemies.
63 Their young men were burned in the fire; and their virgins were not praised in the bride-song.
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Young men were killed in war, and young women had no one to marry.
64 Their priests were put to death by the sword, and their widows made no weeping for them.
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Priests died by violence, and their widows were not allowed to mourn.
65 Then was the Lord like one awaking from sleep, and like a strong man crying out because of wine.
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At last the Lord woke up as though from sleep; he was like a strong man excited by wine.
66 His haters were turned back by his blows and shamed for ever.
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He drove his enemies back in lasting and shameful defeat.
67 And he put the tent of Joseph on one side, and took not the tribe of Ephraim;
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But he rejected the descendants of Joseph; he did not select the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But he took the tribe of Judah for himself, and the mountain of Zion, in which he had pleasure.
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Instead he chose the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion, which he dearly loves.
69 And he made his holy place like the high heaven, like the earth which is fixed by him for ever.
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There he built his Temple like his home in heaven; he made it firm like the earth itself, secure for all time.
70 He took David to be his servant, taking him from the place of the flocks;
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He chose his servant David; he took him from the pastures,
71 From looking after the sheep which were giving milk, he took him to give food to Jacob his people, and to Israel his heritage.
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where he looked after his flocks, and he made him king of Israel, the shepherd of the people of God.
72 So he gave them food with an upright heart, guiding them by the wisdom of his hands.
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David took care of them with unselfish devotion and led them with skill.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.