The Message Bible MSG
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 Listen, dear friends, to God's truth, bend your ears to what I tell you.
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An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.
2 I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb; I'll let you in on the sweet old truths,
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I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,
3 Stories we heard from our fathers, counsel we learned at our mother's knee.
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That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
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.
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We do not hide from their sons, To a later generation recounting praises of Jehovah, And His strength, and His wonders that He hath done.
5 He planted a witness in Jacob, set his Word firmly in Israel, Then commanded our parents to teach it to their children
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And He raiseth up a testimony in Jacob, And a law hath placed in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.
6 So the next generation would know, and all the generations to come - Know the truth and tell the stories
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So that a later generation doth know, Sons who are born, do rise and recount to their sons,
7 can trust in God, Never forget the works of God but keep his commands to the letter.
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And place in God their confidence, And forget not the doings of God, But keep His commands.
8 Heaven forbid they should be like their parents, bullheaded and bad, A fickle and faithless bunch who never stayed true to God.
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And they are not like their fathers, A generation apostate and rebellious, A generation! it hath not prepared its heart, Nor stedfast with God [is] its spirit.
9 The Ephraimites, armed to the teeth, ran off when the battle began.
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Sons of Ephraim -- armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
10 They were cowards to God's Covenant, refused to walk by his Word.
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They have not kept the covenant of God, And in His law they have refused to walk,
11 They forgot what he had done - marvels he'd done right before their eyes.
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And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He shewed them.
12 He performed miracles in plain sight of their parents in Egypt, out on the fields of Zoan.
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Before their fathers He hath done wonders, In the land of Egypt -- the field of Zoan.
13 He split the Sea and they walked right through it; he piled the waters to the right and the left.
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He cleft a sea, and causeth them to pass over, Yea, He causeth waters to stand as a heap.
14 He led them by day with a cloud, led them all the night long with a fiery torch.
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And leadeth them with a cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness, gave them all they could drink from underground springs;
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He cleaveth rocks in a wilderness, And giveth drink -- as the great deep.
16 He made creeks flow out from sheer rock, and water pour out like a river.
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And bringeth out streams from a rock, And causeth waters to come down as rivers.
17 All they did was sin even more, rebel in the desert against the High God.
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And they add still to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
18 They tried to get their own way with God, clamored for favors, for special attention.
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And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
19 They whined like spoiled children, "Why can't God give us a decent meal in this desert?
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And they speak against God -- they said: `Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?'
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?"
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Lo, He hath smitten a rock, And waters flow, yea, streams overflow. `Also -- bread [is] He able to give? Doth He prepare flesh for His people?'
21 When God heard that, he was furious - his anger flared against Jacob, he lost his temper with Israel.
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Therefore hath Jehovah heard, And He sheweth Himself wroth, And fire hath been kindled against Jacob, And anger also hath gone up against Israel,
22 It was clear they didn't believe God, had no intention of trusting in his help.
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For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
23 But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven.
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And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened.
24 He rained down showers of manna to eat, he gave them the Bread of Heaven.
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And He raineth on them manna to eat, Yea, corn of heaven He hath given to them.
25 They ate the bread of the mighty angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
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Food of the mighty hath each eaten, Venison He sent to them to satiety.
26 He let East Wind break loose from the skies, gave a strong push to South Wind.
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He causeth an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leadeth by His strength a south wind,
27 This time it was birds that rained down - succulent birds, an abundance of birds.
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And He raineth on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas -- winged fowl,
28 He aimed them right for the center of their camp; all round their tents there were birds.
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And causeth [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Round about His tabernacles.
29 They ate and had their fill; he handed them everything they craved on a platter.
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And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And their desire He bringeth to them.
30 But their greed knew no bounds; they stuffed their mouths with more and more.
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They have not been estranged from their desire, Yet [is] their food in their mouth,
31 Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted - he cut down their brightest and best, he laid low Israel's finest young men.
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And the anger of God hath gone up against them, And He slayeth among their fat ones, And youths of Israel He caused to bend.
32 And - can you believe it? - they kept right on sinning; all those wonders and they still wouldn't believe!
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With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
33 So their lives dribbled off to nothing - nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town.
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And He consumeth in vanity their days, And their years in trouble.
34 When he cut them down, they came running for help; they turned and pled for mercy.
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If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and sought God earnestly,
35 They gave witness that God was their rock, that High God was their redeemer,
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And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
36 But they didn't mean a word of it; they lied through their teeth the whole time.
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And -- they deceive Him with their mouth, And with their tongue do lie to Him,
37 They could not have cared less about him, wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.
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And their heart hath not been right with Him, And they have not been stedfast in His covenant.
38 And God? Compassionate! Forgave the sin! Didn't destroy! Over and over he reined in his anger, restrained his considerable wrath.
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And He -- the Merciful One, Pardoneth iniquity, and destroyeth not, And hath often turned back His anger, And waketh not up all His fury.
39 He knew what they were made of; he knew there wasn't much to them,
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And He remembereth that they [are] flesh, A wind going on -- and it returneth not.
40 How often in the desert they had spurned him, tried his patience in those wilderness years.
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How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
41 Time and again they pushed him to the limit, provoked Israel's Holy God.
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Yea, they turn back, and try God, And the Holy One of Israel have limited.
42 How quickly they forgot what he'd done, forgot their day of rescue from the enemy,
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They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
43 When he did miracles in Egypt, wonders on the plain of Zoan.
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When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
44 He turned the River and its streams to blood - not a drop of water fit to drink.
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And He turneth to blood their streams, And their floods they drink not.
45 He sent flies, which ate them alive, and frogs, which bedeviled them.
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He sendeth among them the beetle, and it consumeth them, And the frog, and it destroyeth them,
46 He turned their harvest over to caterpillars, everything they had worked for to the locusts.
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And giveth to the caterpillar their increase, And their labour to the locust.
47 He flattened their grapevines with hail; a killing frost ruined their orchards.
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He destroyeth with hail their vine, And their sycamores with frost,
48 He pounded their cattle with hail, let thunderbolts loose on their herds.
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And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames.
49 His anger flared, a wild firestorm of havoc, An advance guard of disease-carrying angels
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He sendeth on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress -- A discharge of evil messengers.
50 to clear the ground, preparing the way before him. He didn't spare those people, he let the plague rage through their lives.
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He pondereth a path for His anger, He kept not back their soul from death, Yea, their life to the pestilence He delivered up.
51 He killed all the Egyptian firstborns, lusty infants, offspring of Ham's virility.
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And He smiteth every first-born in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
52 Then he led his people out like sheep, took his flock safely through the wilderness.
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And causeth His people to journey as a flock, And guideth them as a drove in a wilderness,
53 He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear. The Sea took care of their enemies for good.
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And He leadeth them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And their enemies hath the sea covered.
54 He brought them into his holy land, this mountain he claimed for his own.
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And He bringeth them in unto the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had got,
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.
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And casteth out nations from before them, And causeth them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causeth the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,
56 But they kept on giving him a hard time, rebelled against God, the High God, refused to do anything he told them.
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And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And His testimonies have not kept.
57 They were worse, if that's possible, than their parents: traitors - crooked as a corkscrew.
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And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,
58 Their pagan orgies provoked God's anger, their obscene idolatries broke his heart.
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And make Him angry with their high places, And with their graven images make Him zealous,
59 When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious; he posted a huge No over Israel.
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God hath heard, and sheweth Himself wroth. And kicketh exceedingly against Israel.
60 He walked off and left Shiloh empty, abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel.
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And He leaveth the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
61 He let his pride and joy go to the dogs, turned his back on the pride of his life.
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And He giveth His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
62 He turned them loose on fields of battle; angry, he let them fend for themselves.
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And delivereth up to the sword His people, And with His inheritance shewed Himself angry.
63 Their young men went to war and never came back; their young women waited in vain.
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His young men hath fire consumed, And His virgins have not been praised.
64 Their priests were massacred, and their widows never shed a tear.
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His priests by the sword have fallen, And their widows weep not.
65 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet like someone roused from deep sleep, shouting like a drunken warrior.
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And the Lord waketh as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
66 He hit his enemies hard, sent them running, yelping, not daring to look back.
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And He smiteth His adversaries backward, A reproach age-during He hath put on them,
67 He disqualified Joseph as leader, told Ephraim he didn't have what it takes,
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And He kicketh against the tent of Joseph, And on the tribe of Ephraim hath not fixed.
68 And chose the Tribe of Judah instead, Mount Zion, which he loves so much.
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And He chooseth the tribe of Judah, With mount Zion that He loved,
69 He built his sanctuary there, resplendent, solid and lasting as the earth itself.
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And buildeth His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it to the age.
70 Then he chose David, his servant, handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.
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And He fixeth on David His servant, And taketh him from the folds of a flock,
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.
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From behind suckling ones He hath brought him in, To rule over Jacob His people, And over Israel His inheritance.
72 His good heart made him a good shepherd; he guided the people wisely and well.
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And he ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.