New International Version NIV
New King James Version NKJV
1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
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A Contemplation of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
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I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.
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Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
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We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
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For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;
6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
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That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
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That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;
8 They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
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And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;
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The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.
10 they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.
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They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,
11 They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
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And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.
12 He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
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Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
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He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
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In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
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He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
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He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
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But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
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And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?
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Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”
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Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?"
21 When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,
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Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
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Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
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Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,
24 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
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Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.
25 Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
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Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full.
26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow.
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He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.
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He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
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And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.
29 They ate till they were gorged— he had given them what they craved.
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So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.
30 But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths,
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They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 God’s anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.
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The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
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In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
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Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
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When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
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Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues;
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Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
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For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
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But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath;
39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
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For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!
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How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
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Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
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They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan.
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When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams.
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Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
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He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.
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He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
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He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
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He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels.
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He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
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He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
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And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
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But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.
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And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken.
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And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
55 He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
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He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes.
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Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies,
57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.
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But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
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For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.
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When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans.
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So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
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And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy's hand.
62 He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.
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He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance.
63 Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;
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The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.
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Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
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Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.
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And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
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Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.
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But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
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And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;
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He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.
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From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
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So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.