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Open your ears to my teachings, my people. Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
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I will open my mouth to illustrate points. I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
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things that we have heard and known about, things that our parents have told us.
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We will not hide them from our children. We will tell the next generation about the LORD's power and great deeds and the miraculous things he has done.
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He established written instructions for Jacob's people. He gave his teachings to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
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so that the next generation would know them. Children yet to be born [would learn them]. They will grow up and tell their children
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to trust God, to remember what he has done, and to obey his commands.
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Then they will not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation. Their hearts were not loyal. Their spirits were not faithful to God.
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The men of Ephraim, well-equipped with bows [and arrows], turned [and ran] on the day of battle.
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They had not been faithful to God's promise. They refused to follow his teachings.
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They forgot what he had done-- the miracles that he had shown them.
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In front of their ancestors he performed miracles in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
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He divided the sea and led them through it. He made the waters stand up like a wall.
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He guided them by a cloud during the day and by a fiery light throughout the night.
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He split rocks in the desert. He gave them plenty to drink, an ocean of water.
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He made streams come out of a rock. He made the water flow like rivers.
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They continued to sin against him, to rebel in the desert against the Most High.
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They deliberately tested God by demanding the food they craved.
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They spoke against God by saying, "Can God prepare a banquet in the desert?
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True, he did strike a rock, and water did gush out, and the streams did overflow. But can he also give us bread or provide us, his people, with meat?"