| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1A maskil of Asaph. My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. | 1O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, |
| 2I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old-- | 2for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past— |
| 3things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. | 3stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. |
| 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. | 4We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders. |
| 5He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, | 5For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, |
| 6so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. | 6so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children. |
| 7Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. | 7So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. |
| 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. | 8Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God. |
| 9The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; | 9The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. |
| 10they did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his law. | 10They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions. |
| 11They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. | 11They forgot what he had done— the great wonders he had shown them, |
| 12He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. | 12the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt. |
| 13He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall. | 13For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls! |
| 14He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. | 14In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire. |
| 15He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; | 15He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring. |
| 16he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. | 16He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river! |
| 17But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High. | 17Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. |
| 18They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. | 18They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved. |
| 19They spoke against God; they said, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness? | 19They even spoke against God himself, saying, “God can’t give us food in the wilderness. |
| 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?" | 20Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat.” |
| 21When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, | 21When the LORD heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel, |
| 22for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance. | 22for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them. |
| 23Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; | 23But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven. |
| 24he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. | 24He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven. |
| 25Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. | 25They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold. |
| 26He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow. | 26He released the east wind in the heavens and guided the south wind by his mighty power. |
| 27He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore. | 27He rained down meat as thick as dust— birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore! |
| 28He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents. | 28He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents. |
| 29They ate till they were gorged-- he had given them what they craved. | 29The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved. |
| 30But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths, | 30But before they satisfied their craving, while the meat was yet in their mouths, |
| 31God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel. | 31the anger of God rose against them, and he killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men. |
| 32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. | 32But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him. |
| 33So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror. | 33So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror. |
| 34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. | 34When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously. |
| 35They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. | 35Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer. |
| 36But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; | 36But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues. |
| 37their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. | 37Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant. |
| 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. | 38Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury! |
| 39He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. | 39For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns. |
| 40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland! | 40Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland. |
| 41Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel. | 41Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel. |
| 42They did not remember his power-- the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, | 42They did not remember his power and how he rescued them from their enemies. |
| 43the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan. | 43They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders on the plain of Zoan. |
| 44He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams. | 44For he turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams. |
| 45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them. | 45He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them and hordes of frogs to ruin them. |
| 46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust. | 46He gave their crops to caterpillars; their harvest was consumed by locusts. |
| 47He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. | 47He destroyed their grapevines with hail and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet. |
| 48He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. | 48He abandoned their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. |
| 49He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility-- a band of destroying angels. | 49He loosed on them his fierce anger— all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels. |
| 50He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague. | 50He turned his anger against them; he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives but ravaged them with the plague. |
| 51He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham. | 51He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt. |
| 52But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness. | 52But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness. |
| 53He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies. | 53He kept them safe so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies. |
| 54And so he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken. | 54He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this land of hills he had won for them. |
| 55He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes. | 55He drove out the nations before them; he gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes. |
| 56But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. | 56But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws. |
| 57Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. | 57They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow. |
| 58They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols. | 58They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols. |
| 59When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely. | 59When God heard them, he was very angry, and he completely rejected Israel. |
| 60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans. | 60Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people. |
| 61He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. | 61He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands. |
| 62He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance. | 62He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession. |
| 63Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs; | 63Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs. |
| 64their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep. | 64Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths. |
| 65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine. | 65Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor. |
| 66He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame. | 66He routed his enemies and sent them to eternal shame. |
| 67Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; | 67But he rejected Joseph’s descendants; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. |
| 68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. | 68He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved. |
| 69He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. | 69There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth. |
| 70He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; | 70He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. |
| 71from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. | 71He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants— God’s own people, Israel. |
| 72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. | 72He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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