English Standard Version ESV
New Living Translation NLT
1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
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O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying,
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
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for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.
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stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to 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.
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We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders.
5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
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For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,
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so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children.
7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
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So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.
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.
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Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
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The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.
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They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions.
11 They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.
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They forgot what he had done— the great wonders he had shown them,
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
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the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
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For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls!
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.
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In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
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He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring.
16 He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
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He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!
17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
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Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.
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They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
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They even spoke against God himself, saying, “God can’t give us food 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? ”
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Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat.”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,
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When the LORD heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.
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for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,
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But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven.
24 and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.
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He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.
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They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;
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He released the east wind in the heavens and guided the south wind by his mighty power.
27 he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;
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He rained down meat as thick as dust— birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!
28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.
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He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents.
29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.
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The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,
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But before they satisfied their craving, while the meat was yet 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.
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the anger of God rose against them, and he killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men.
32 In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.
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But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.
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So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
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When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously.
35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.
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Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.
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But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.
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Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep 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.
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Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury!
39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.
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For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!
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Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.
41 They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
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Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
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They did not remember his power and how he rescued them from their enemies.
43 when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
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They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders on the plain of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.
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For he turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.
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He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them and hordes of frogs to ruin them.
46 He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
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He gave their crops to caterpillars; their harvest was consumed by locusts.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost.
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He destroyed their grapevines with hail and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.
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He abandoned their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.
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He loosed on them his fierce anger— all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band 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.
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He turned his anger against them; he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives but ravaged them with the plague.
51 He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
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He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.
52 Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
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But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness.
53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
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He kept them safe so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.
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He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this land of hills he had won for them.
55 He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
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He drove out the nations before them; he gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,
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But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws.
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.
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They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
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They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
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When God heard them, he was very angry, and he completely rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
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Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.
61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.
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He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.
62 He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.
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He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession.
63 Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.
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Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
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Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.
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Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.
66 And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.
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He routed his enemies and sent them to eternal shame.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
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But he rejected Joseph’s descendants; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
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He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.
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There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth.
70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
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He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens.
71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.
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He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants— God’s own people, Israel.
72 With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.
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He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.