Parallel Bible results for "psalms 78"

Psalm 78

Common English Bible CEB

1 Listen, my people, to my teaching; tilt your ears toward the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth with a proverb. I'll declare riddles from days long gone—

3 ones that we've heard and learned about, ones that our ancestors told us.

4 We won't hide them from their descendants; we'll tell the next generation all about the praise due the LORD and his strength— the wondrous works God has done.

5 He established a law for Jacob and set up Instruction for Israel, ordering our ancestors to teach them to their children.

6 This is so that the next generation and children not yet born will know these things, and so they can rise up and tell their children

7 to put their hope in God— never forgetting God's deeds, but keeping God's commandments—

8 and so that they won't become like their ancestors: a rebellious, stubborn generation, a generation whose heart wasn't set firm and whose spirit wasn't faithful to God.

9 The children of Ephraim, armed with bows, retreated on the day of battle.

10 They didn't keep God's covenant; they refused to walk in his Instruction.

11 They forgot God's deeds as well as the wondrous works he showed them.

12 But God performed wonders in their ancestors' presence— in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13 God split the sea and led them through, making the waters stand up like a wall.

14 God led them with the cloud by day; by the lightning all through the night.

15 God split rocks open in the wilderness, gave them plenty to drink— as if from the deep itself!

16 God made streams flow from the rock, made water run like rivers.

17 But they continued to sin against God, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18 They tested God in their hearts, demanded food for their stomachs.

19 They spoke against God! "Can God set a dinner table in the wilderness?" they asked.

20 "True, God struck the rock and water gushed and streams flowed, but can he give bread too? Can he provide meat for his people?"

21 When the LORD heard this, he became furious. A fire was ignited against Jacob; wrath also burned against Israel

22 because they had no faith in God, because they didn't trust his saving power.

23 God gave orders to the skies above, opened heaven's doors,

24 and rained manna on them so they could eat. He gave them the very grain of heaven!

25 Each person ate the bread of the powerful ones; God sent provisions to satisfy them.

26 God set the east wind moving across the skies and drove the south wind by his strength.

27 He rained meat on them as if it were dust in the air; he rained as many birds as the sand on the seashore!

28 God brought the birds down in the center of their camp, all around their dwellings.

29 So they ate and were completely satisfied; God gave them exactly what they had craved.

30 But they didn't stop craving— even with the food still in their mouths!

31 So God's anger came up against them: he killed the most hearty of them; he cut down Israel's youth in their prime.

32 But in spite of all that, they kept sinning and had no faith in God's wondrous works.

33 So God brought their days to an end, like a puff of air, and their years in total ruin.

34 But whenever God killed them, they went after him! They would turn and earnestly search for God.

35 They would remember that God was their rock, that the Most High was their redeemer.

36 But they were just flattering him with lip service. They were lying to him with their tongues.

37 Their hearts weren't firmly set on him; they weren't faithful to his covenant.

38 But God, being compassionate, kept forgiving their sins, kept avoiding destruction; he took back his anger so many times, wouldn't stir up all his wrath!

39 God kept remembering that they were just flesh, just breath that passes and doesn't come back.

40 How often they rebelled against God in the wilderness and distressed him in the desert!

41 Time and time again they tested God, provoking the holy one of Israel.

42 They didn't remember God's power— the day when he saved them from the enemy;

43 how God performed his signs in Egypt, his marvelous works in the field of Zoan.

44 God turned their rivers into blood; they couldn't drink from their own streams.

45 God sent swarms against them to eat them up, frogs to destroy them.

46 God handed over their crops to caterpillars, their land's produce to locusts.

47 God killed their vines with hail, their sycamore trees with frost.

48 God delivered their cattle over to disease, their herds to plagues.

49 God unleashed his burning anger against them— fury, indignation, distress, a troop of evil messengers.

50 God blazed a path for his wrath. He didn't save them from death, but delivered their lives over to disease.

51 God struck down all of Egypt's oldest males; in Ham's tents, he struck their pride and joy.

52 God led his own people out like sheep, guiding them like a flock in the wilderness.

53 God led them in safety—they were not afraid! But the sea engulfed their enemies!

54 God brought them to his holy territory, to the mountain that his own strong hand had acquired.

55 God drove out the nations before them and apportioned property for them; he settled Israel's tribes in their tents.

56 But they tested and defied the Most High God; they didn't pay attention to his warnings.

57 They turned away, became faithless just like their ancestors; they twisted away like a defective bow.

58 They angered God with their many shrines; they angered him with their idols.

59 God heard and became enraged; he rejected Israel utterly.

60 God abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he had lived with humans.

61 God let his power be held captive, let his glory go to the enemy's hand.

62 God delivered his people up to the sword; he was enraged at his own possession.

63 Fire devoured his young men, and his young women had no wedding songs.

64 God's priests were killed by the sword, and his widows couldn't even cry.

65 But then my Lord woke up— as if he'd been sleeping! Like a warrior shaking off wine,

66 God beat back his foes; he made them an everlasting disgrace.

67 God rejected the tent of Joseph and didn't choose the tribe of Ephraim.

68 Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah, the mountain of Zion, which he loves.

69 God built his sanctuary like the highest heaven and like the earth, which he established forever.

70 And God chose David, his servant, taking him from the sheepfolds.

71 God brought him from shepherding nursing ewes to shepherd his people Jacob, to shepherd his inheritance, Israel.

72 David shepherded them with a heart of integrity; he led them with the skill of his hands.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Listen, dear friends, to God's truth, bend your ears to what I tell you.

2 I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb; I'll let you in on the sweet old truths,

3 Stories we heard from our fathers, counsel we learned at our mother's knee.

4 We're not keeping this to ourselves, we're passing it along to the next generation - God's fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done.

5 He planted a witness in Jacob, set his Word firmly in Israel, Then commanded our parents to teach it to their children

6 So the next generation would know, and all the generations to come - Know the truth and tell the stories

7 can trust in God, Never forget the works of God but keep his commands to the letter.

8 Heaven forbid they should be like their parents, bullheaded and bad, A fickle and faithless bunch who never stayed true to God.

9 The Ephraimites, armed to the teeth, ran off when the battle began.

10 They were cowards to God's Covenant, refused to walk by his Word.

11 They forgot what he had done - marvels he'd done right before their eyes.

12 He performed miracles in plain sight of their parents in Egypt, out on the fields of Zoan.

13 He split the Sea and they walked right through it; he piled the waters to the right and the left.

14 He led them by day with a cloud, led them all the night long with a fiery torch.

15 He split rocks in the wilderness, gave them all they could drink from underground springs;

16 He made creeks flow out from sheer rock, and water pour out like a river.

17 All they did was sin even more, rebel in the desert against the High God.

18 They tried to get their own way with God, clamored for favors, for special attention.

19 They whined like spoiled children, "Why can't God give us a decent meal in this desert?

20 Sure, he struck the rock and the water flowed, creeks cascaded from the rock. But how about some fresh-baked bread? How about a nice cut of meat?"

21 When God heard that, he was furious - his anger flared against Jacob, he lost his temper with Israel.

22 It was clear they didn't believe God, had no intention of trusting in his help.

23 But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven.

24 He rained down showers of manna to eat, he gave them the Bread of Heaven.

25 They ate the bread of the mighty angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.

26 He let East Wind break loose from the skies, gave a strong push to South Wind.

27 This time it was birds that rained down - succulent birds, an abundance of birds.

28 He aimed them right for the center of their camp; all round their tents there were birds.

29 They ate and had their fill; he handed them everything they craved on a platter.

30 But their greed knew no bounds; they stuffed their mouths with more and more.

31 Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted - he cut down their brightest and best, he laid low Israel's finest young men.

32 And - can you believe it? - they kept right on sinning; all those wonders and they still wouldn't believe!

33 So their lives dribbled off to nothing - nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town.

34 When he cut them down, they came running for help; they turned and pled for mercy.

35 They gave witness that God was their rock, that High God was their redeemer,

36 But they didn't mean a word of it; they lied through their teeth the whole time.

37 They could not have cared less about him, wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.

38 And God? Compassionate! Forgave the sin! Didn't destroy! Over and over he reined in his anger, restrained his considerable wrath.

39 He knew what they were made of; he knew there wasn't much to them,

40 How often in the desert they had spurned him, tried his patience in those wilderness years.

41 Time and again they pushed him to the limit, provoked Israel's Holy God.

42 How quickly they forgot what he'd done, forgot their day of rescue from the enemy,

43 When he did miracles in Egypt, wonders on the plain of Zoan.

44 He turned the River and its streams to blood - not a drop of water fit to drink.

45 He sent flies, which ate them alive, and frogs, which bedeviled them.

46 He turned their harvest over to caterpillars, everything they had worked for to the locusts.

47 He flattened their grapevines with hail; a killing frost ruined their orchards.

48 He pounded their cattle with hail, let thunderbolts loose on their herds.

49 His anger flared, a wild firestorm of havoc, An advance guard of disease-carrying angels

50 to clear the ground, preparing the way before him. He didn't spare those people, he let the plague rage through their lives.

51 He killed all the Egyptian firstborns, lusty infants, offspring of Ham's virility.

52 Then he led his people out like sheep, took his flock safely through the wilderness.

53 He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear. The Sea took care of their enemies for good.

54 He brought them into his holy land, this mountain he claimed for his own.

55 He scattered everyone who got in their way; he staked out an inheritance for them - the tribes of Israel all had their own places.

56 But they kept on giving him a hard time, rebelled against God, the High God, refused to do anything he told them.

57 They were worse, if that's possible, than their parents: traitors - crooked as a corkscrew.

58 Their pagan orgies provoked God's anger, their obscene idolatries broke his heart.

59 When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious; he posted a huge No over Israel.

60 He walked off and left Shiloh empty, abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel.

61 He let his pride and joy go to the dogs, turned his back on the pride of his life.

62 He turned them loose on fields of battle; angry, he let them fend for themselves.

63 Their young men went to war and never came back; their young women waited in vain.

64 Their priests were massacred, and their widows never shed a tear.

65 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet like someone roused from deep sleep, shouting like a drunken warrior.

66 He hit his enemies hard, sent them running, yelping, not daring to look back.

67 He disqualified Joseph as leader, told Ephraim he didn't have what it takes,

68 And chose the Tribe of Judah instead, Mount Zion, which he loves so much.

69 He built his sanctuary there, resplendent, solid and lasting as the earth itself.

70 Then he chose David, his servant, handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.

71 One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs, the next day God had him shepherding Jacob, his people Israel, his prize possession.

72 His good heart made him a good shepherd; he guided the people wisely and well.