Parallel Bible results for "psalms 78"

Psalms 78

English Standard Version ESV

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.

13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.

14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.

15 He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

16 He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?"

21 Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,

22 because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.

23 Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,

24 and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;

27 he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;

28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.

29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

30 But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,

31 the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.

34 When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.

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

36 But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.

37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.

38 Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.

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

41 They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

42 They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

43 when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

44 He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.

45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.

46 He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost.

48 He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.

49 He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.

50 He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.

51 He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

52 Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

54 And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.

55 He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,

57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.

58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.

60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.

62 He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.

63 Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.

64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.

66 And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.

67 He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.

69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.

70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;

71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.

72 With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

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.