Psalm 78:3
New International Version
things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.

New Living Translation
stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.

English Standard Version
things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

Berean Standard Bible
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.

King James Bible
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

New King James Version
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

New American Standard Bible
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

NASB 1995
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

NASB 1977
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

Legacy Standard Bible
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have recounted to us.

Amplified Bible
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

Christian Standard Bible
things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
things we have heard and known and that our fathers have passed down to us.

American Standard Version
Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

Contemporary English Version
These are things we learned from our ancestors,

English Revised Version
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
things that we have heard and known about, things that our parents have told us.

Good News Translation
things we have heard and known, things that our ancestors told us.

International Standard Version
things that we have heard and known and that our ancestors related to us.

Majority Standard Bible
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.

NET Bible
What we have heard and learned--that which our ancestors have told us--

New Heart English Bible
which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Webster's Bible Translation
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

World English Bible
which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
That we have heard and know, "" And our fathers have recounted to us.

Young's Literal Translation
That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.

Smith's Literal Translation
Which we heard and we shall know them, and our fathers recounted to us.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Catholic Public Domain Version
We have heard and known such great things, as our fathers have described to us.

New American Bible
What we have heard and know; things our ancestors have recounted to us.

New Revised Standard Version
things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
That which we have heard and known, and which our fathers have told us,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Those things that we have heard we have known them, also those things that our fathers related to us,
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
That which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
All which we have heard and known, and our fathers have declared to us.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
2I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning, 3that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us. 4We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. / And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Exodus 12:26-27
When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ / you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Deuteronomy 11:19
Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Proverbs 4:1-4
Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. / For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive. / When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother, ...

Joel 1:3
Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

Isaiah 38:19
The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.

Joshua 4:6-7
to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ / you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.”

Judges 6:13
“Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”

2 Kings 17:41
So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

2 Chronicles 20:7
Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?

Nehemiah 9:9-10
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea. / You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew they had acted with arrogance against our fathers. You made a name for Yourself that endures to this day.

Acts 2:39
This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.


Treasury of Scripture

Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Psalm 44:1
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

Psalm 48:8
As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

Exodus 12:26,27
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? …

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Fathers Heard Hearing Recounted
Psalm 78
1. An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9. The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67. The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David.














what we have heard
This phrase emphasizes the oral tradition that was central to the Jewish faith. The Hebrew root for "heard" is "שָׁמַע" (shama), which means to hear, listen, or obey. In ancient Israel, the transmission of God's laws and accounts was primarily oral. This highlights the importance of listening and the responsibility to pass down God's truths through generations. The act of hearing in the biblical sense often implies obedience and understanding, not just passive listening.

and known
The Hebrew word for "known" is "יָדַע" (yada), which implies an intimate, experiential knowledge. This is not merely intellectual awareness but a deep, personal understanding. In the context of faith, it suggests a relationship with God that goes beyond mere acquaintance. Historically, this knowledge was cultivated through lived experiences and communal worship, reinforcing the covenant relationship between God and His people.

and our fathers have told us
This phrase underscores the role of the patriarchs and ancestors in the faith journey of the Israelites. The Hebrew word for "fathers" is "אָבוֹת" (avot), referring to the forefathers like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The act of telling, "סִפֵּר" (siper), involves recounting or declaring, often with the purpose of teaching or instructing. This reflects the biblical mandate for parents to teach their children about God's deeds and commandments, as seen in Deuteronomy 6:7. It highlights the continuity of faith and the responsibility of each generation to educate the next about God's faithfulness and mighty works.

Verse 3. - Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us; or, "recounted to us" (Kay). The facts of their past history had been handed down orally from father to son among the Israelites, not simply learnt from their sacred writings. So the facts of Christianity have reached us, not merely through the New Testament, but also by the teaching of the Church.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
that
אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

we have heard
שָׁ֭מַעְנוּ (ma‘·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

and known
וַנֵּדָעֵ֑ם (wan·nê·ḏā·‘êm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common plural | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3045: To know

and our fathers
וַ֝אֲבוֹתֵ֗ינוּ (wa·’ă·ḇō·w·ṯê·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 1: Father

have relayed
סִפְּרוּ־ (sip·pə·rū-)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5608: To count, recount, relate

to us.
לָֽנוּ׃ (lā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Poetry: Psalm 78:3 Which we have heard and known (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 78:2
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