1 Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. | |
2 Listen, O my people, to mya Or law, teachinginstruction; | |
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old, | |
3 Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us. | |
4 We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. | |
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they shouldb Lit make them knownteach them to their children, | |
6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and tell them to their children, | |
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments, | |
8 And not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did notc Or put rightprepare its heart
And whose spirit was not faithful to God. | |
9 The sons of Ephraimd Or beingwere archers equipped with bows,
Yet they turned back in the day of battle. | |
10 They did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to walk in His law; | |
11 They forgot His deeds
And Hise Or wonderful worksmiracles that He had shown them. | |
12 He wrought wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. | |
13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand up like a heap. | |
14 Then He led them with the cloud by day
And all the night with a light of fire. | |
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. | |
16 He brought forth streams also from the rock
And caused waters to run down like rivers. | |
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To rebel against the Most High in the desert. | |
18 And in their heart they put God to the test
By asking food according to their desire. | |
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? | |
20 “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He providef Lit fleshmeat for His people?” | |
21 Therefore the LORD heard andg Or became infuriatedwas full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel, | |
22 Because they did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation. | |
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And opened the doors of heaven; | |
24 He rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave themh Lit grainfood from heaven. | |
25 Man did eat the bread ofi Lit mighty onesangels;
He sent themj Or provisionfoodk Lit to satiationin abundance. | |
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by Hisl Or strengthpower He directed the south wind. | |
27 When He rainedm Lit fleshmeat upon them like the dust,
Even winged fowl like the sand of the seas, | |
28 Then He let them fall in the midst ofn Lit Histheir camp,
Round about their dwellings. | |
29 So they ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them. | |
30 o Lit They were not estranged fromBefore they had satisfied their desire,
While their food was in their mouths, | |
31 The anger of God rose against them
And killedp Lit among their fat onessome of their stoutest ones,
Andq Lit caused to bow downsubdued the choice men of Israel. | |
32 In spite of all this they still sinned
And did not believe in His wonderful works. | |
33 So He brought their days to an end inr Lit vanity, a mere breathfutility
And their years in sudden terror. | |
34 When He killed them, then they sought Him,
And returned and searched diligently for God; | |
35 And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer. | |
36 But they deceived Him with their mouth
And lied to Him with their tongue. | |
37 For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant. | |
38 But He, being compassionate,s Lit covered over, atoned forforgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often Het Lit turned awayrestrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath. | |
39 Thus He remembered that they were but flesh,
Au Or breathwind that passes and does not return. | |
40 How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And grieved Him in the desert! | |
41 Again and again theyv Or put God to the testtempted God,
And pained the Holy One of Israel. | |
42 They did not remember Hisw Lit handpower,
The day when He redeemed them from the adversary, | |
43 When He performed His signs in Egypt
And His marvels in the field of Zoan, | |
44 And turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, they could not drink. | |
45 He sent among them swarms of flies which devoured them,
And frogs which destroyed them. | |
46 He gave also their crops to the grasshopper
And the product of their labor to the locust. | |
47 Hex Lit was killingdestroyed their vines with hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost. | |
48 He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning. | |
49 He sent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
y Lit A deputation of angels of evilA band of destroying angels. | |
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave over their life to the plague, | |
51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first issue of their virility in the tents of Ham. | |
52 But He led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; | |
53 He led them safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea engulfed their enemies. | |
54 So He brought them to His holyz Lit border, territoryland,
To thisaa Or mountainhill country which His right hand had gained. | |
55 He also drove out the nations before them
And apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. | |
56 Yet theyab Or put to the testtempted and rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies, | |
57 But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers;
They turned aside like a treacherous bow. | |
58 For they provoked Him with their high places
And aroused His jealousy with their graven images. | |
59 When God heard, Heac Or became infuriatedwas filled with wrath
And greatly abhorred Israel; | |
60 So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tentad Some ancient versions read where He dweltwhich He had pitched among men, | |
61 And gave up His strength to captivity
And His glory into the hand of the adversary. | |
62 He also delivered His people to the sword,
Andae Or became infuriatedwas filled with wrath at His inheritance. | |
63 Fire devouredaf Or theirHis young men,
Andag Or theirHis virgins had no wedding songs. | |
64 ah Or theirHis priests fell by the sword,
Andai Or theirHis widows could not weep. | |
65 Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep,
Like a warrioraj Or sobered up fromovercome by wine. | |
66 Heak Lit smotedrove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach. | |
67 He also rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, | |
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved. | |
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever. | |
70 He also chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds; | |
71 Fromal Lit followingthe care of theam Lit ewes which gave suck, He...ewes with suckling lambs He brought him
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance. | |
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands. | |
