| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, | 1A well-written song by Asaph. Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak! |
| 2for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past— | 2I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past. |
| 3stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. | 3What we have heard and learned--that which our ancestors have told us-- |
| 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. | 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. |
| 5For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, | 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, |
| 6so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own 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. |
| 7So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. | 7Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands. |
| 8Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God. | 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. |
| 9The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. | 9The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle. |
| 10They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions. | 10They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law. |
| 11They forgot what he had done— the great wonders he had shown them, | 11They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them. |
| 12the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt. | 12He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. |
| 13For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls! | 13He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap. |
| 14In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire. | 14He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long. |
| 15He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring. | 15He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. |
| 16He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river! | 16He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers. |
| 17Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. | 17Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert. |
| 18They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved. | 18They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite. |
| 19They even spoke against God himself, saying, “God can’t give us food in the wilderness. | 19They insulted God, saying, "Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness? |
| 20Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat.” | 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?" |
| 21When the LORD heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel, | 21When the LORD heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel, |
| 22for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them. | 22because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them. |
| 23But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven. | 23He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky. |
| 24He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven. | 24He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven. |
| 25They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold. | 25Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat. |
| 26He released the east wind in the heavens and guided the south wind by his mighty power. | 26He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind. |
| 27He rained down meat as thick as dust— birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore! | 27He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. |
| 28He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents. | 28He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes. |
| 29The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved. | 29They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired. |
| 30But before they satisfied their craving, while the meat was yet in their mouths, | 30They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths, |
| 31the anger of God rose against them, and he killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men. | 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. |
| 32But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him. | 32Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things. |
| 33So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror. | 33So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror. |
| 34When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously. | 34When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. |
| 35Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer. | 35They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. |
| 36But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues. | 36But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him. |
| 37Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant. | 37They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant. |
| 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! | 38Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. |
| 39For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns. | 39He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. |
| 40Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland. | 40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert! |
| 41Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel. | 41They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel. |
| 42They did not remember his power and how he rescued them from their enemies. | 42They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy, |
| 43They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders on the plain of Zoan. | 43when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan. |
| 44For he turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams. | 44He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. |
| 45He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them and hordes of frogs to ruin them. | 45He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land. |
| 46He gave their crops to caterpillars; their harvest was consumed by locusts. | 46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust. |
| 47He destroyed their grapevines with hail and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet. | 47He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain. |
| 48He abandoned their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. | 48He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. |
| 49He loosed on them his fierce anger— all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels. | 49His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster. |
| 50He turned his anger against them; he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives but ravaged them with the plague. | 50He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction. |
| 51He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt. | 51He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham. |
| 52But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness. | 52Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock. |
| 53He kept them safe so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies. | 53He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies. |
| 54He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this land of hills he had won for them. | 54He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired. |
| 55He drove out the nations before them; he gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes. | 55He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. |
| 56But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws. | 56Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands. |
| 57They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow. | 57They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. |
| 58They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols. | 58They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols. |
| 59When God heard them, he was very angry, and he completely rejected Israel. | 59God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel. |
| 60Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people. | 60He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men. |
| 61He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands. | 61He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy. |
| 62He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession. | 62He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation. |
| 63Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs. | 63Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried. |
| 64Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths. | 64Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep. |
| 65Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor. | 65But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. |
| 66He routed his enemies and sent them to eternal shame. | 66He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults. |
| 67But he rejected Joseph’s descendants; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. | 67He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. |
| 68He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved. | 68He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves. |
| 69There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth. | 69He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. |
| 70He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. | 70He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. |
| 71He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants— God’s own people, Israel. | 71He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. |
| 72He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands. | 72David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill. |
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