| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1A well-written song by Asaph. Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak! | 1A maskil of Asaph. My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. |
| 2I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past. | 2I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old-- |
| 3What we have heard and learned--that which our ancestors have told us-- | 3things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. |
| 4we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the LORD's praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done. | 4We 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. |
| 5He established a rule in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants, | 5He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, |
| 6so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. | 6so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. |
| 7Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands. | 7Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. |
| 8Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God. | 8They 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. |
| 9The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle. | 9The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; |
| 10They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law. | 10they did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his law. |
| 11They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them. | 11They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. |
| 12He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. | 12He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. |
| 13He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap. | 13He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall. |
| 14He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long. | 14He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. |
| 15He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. | 15He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; |
| 16He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers. | 16he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. |
| 17Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert. | 17But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High. |
| 18They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite. | 18They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. |
| 19They insulted God, saying, "Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness? | 19They spoke against God; they said, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness? |
| 20Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?" | 20True, 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?" |
| 21When the LORD heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel, | 21When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, |
| 22because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them. | 22for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance. |
| 23He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky. | 23Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; |
| 24He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven. | 24he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. |
| 25Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat. | 25Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. |
| 26He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind. | 26He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow. |
| 27He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. | 27He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore. |
| 28He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes. | 28He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents. |
| 29They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired. | 29They ate till they were gorged-- he had given them what they craved. |
| 30They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths, | 30But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths, |
| 31when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees. | 31God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel. |
| 32Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things. | 32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. |
| 33So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror. | 33So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror. |
| 34When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. | 34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. |
| 35They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. | 35They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. |
| 36But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him. | 36But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; |
| 37They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant. | 37their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. |
| 38Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. | 38Yet 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. |
| 39He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. | 39He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. |
| 40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert! | 40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland! |
| 41They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel. | 41Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel. |
| 42They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy, | 42They did not remember his power-- the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, |
| 43when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan. | 43the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan. |
| 44He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. | 44He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams. |
| 45He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land. | 45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them. |
| 46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust. | 46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust. |
| 47He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain. | 47He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. |
| 48He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. | 48He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. |
| 49His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster. | 49He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility-- a band of destroying angels. |
| 50He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction. | 50He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague. |
| 51He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham. | 51He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham. |
| 52Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock. | 52But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness. |
| 53He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies. | 53He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies. |
| 54He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired. | 54And so he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken. |
| 55He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. | 55He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes. |
| 56Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands. | 56But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. |
| 57They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. | 57Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. |
| 58They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols. | 58They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols. |
| 59God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel. | 59When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely. |
| 60He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men. | 60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans. |
| 61He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy. | 61He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. |
| 62He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation. | 62He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance. |
| 63Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried. | 63Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs; |
| 64Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep. | 64their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep. |
| 65But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. | 65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine. |
| 66He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults. | 66He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame. |
| 67He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. | 67Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; |
| 68He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves. | 68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. |
| 69He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. | 69He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. |
| 70He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. | 70He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; |
| 71He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. | 71from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. |
| 72David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill. | 72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. |
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