78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the sovereign One 1 in the desert.
78:18 They willfully challenged God 2
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 3
“Is God really able to give us food 4 in the wilderness?
78:20 Yes, 5 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?”
78:21 When 6 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 7 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 8
78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven. 9
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 10
He sent them more than enough to eat. 11
78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. 12
78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; 13
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 14
their food was still in their mouths,
78:31 when 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.
78:32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things. 15
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 16
and filled with terror. 17
78:34 When he struck them down, 18 they sought his favor; 19
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 20
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 21
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 22
and lied to him. 23
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 24
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
78:38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury. 25
78:39 He remembered 26 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 27
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 28 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 29
and offended 30 the Holy One of Israel. 31
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 32
how he delivered them from the enemy, 33
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 34 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 35 in the region of Zoan.
78:44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, 36
as well as frogs that overran their land. 37
78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle, 38
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 39
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 40
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 41
78:50 He sent his anger in full force; 42
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction. 43
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 44 in the tents of Ham.
78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
78:53 He guided them safely along,
while the sea covered their enemies.
78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land 45 which his right hand 46 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 47
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 48
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 49 the sovereign God, 50
and did not obey 51 his commands. 52
78:57 They were unfaithful 53 and acted as treacherously as 54 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 55
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 56
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 57 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 58
he gave the symbol of his splendor 59 into the hand of the enemy. 60
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 61
78:63 Fire consumed their 62 young men,
and their 63 virgins remained unmarried. 64
78:64 Their 65 priests fell by the sword,
but their 66 widows did not weep. 67
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 68
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 69
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 70
78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; 71
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 72
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 73
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 74
78:72 David 75 cared for them with pure motives; 76
he led them with skill. 77