77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. 1
78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the sovereign One 2 in the desert.
78:18 They willfully challenged God 3
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 4
“Is God really able to give us food 5 in the wilderness?
78:20 Yes, 6 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 7 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 8 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 9
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. 10
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 11
He sent them more than enough to eat. 12
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. 13
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; 14
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 15
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. 16
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 17
and filled with terror. 18
78:34 When he struck them down, 19 they sought his favor; 20
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 21
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 22
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 23
and lied to him. 24
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 25
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. 26
78:39 He remembered 27 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 28
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 29 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 30
and offended 31 the Holy One of Israel. 32
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 33
how he delivered them from the enemy, 34
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 35 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 36 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, 37
as well as frogs that overran their land. 38
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, 39
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 40
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 41
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 42
78:50 He sent his anger in full force; 43
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction. 44
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 45 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 46 which his right hand 47 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 48
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 49
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 50 the sovereign God, 51
and did not obey 52 his commands. 53
78:57 They were unfaithful 54 and acted as treacherously as 55 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 56
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 57
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 58 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 59
he gave the symbol of his splendor 60 into the hand of the enemy. 61
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 62
78:63 Fire consumed their 63 young men,
and their 64 virgins remained unmarried. 65
78:64 Their 66 priests fell by the sword,
but their 67 widows did not weep. 68
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 69
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 70
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 71
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; 72
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 73
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 74
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 75
78:72 David 76 cared for them with pure motives; 77
he led them with skill. 78
105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, 79
and provided a fire to light up the night.
105:40 They asked for food, 80 and he sent quails;
he satisfied them with food from the sky. 81
105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
106:12 They believed his promises; 82
they sang praises to him.
106:13 They quickly forgot what he had done; 83
they did not wait for his instructions. 84
106:14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving 85 for meat; 86
they challenged God 87 in the desert.
106:15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease. 88
106:16 In the camp they resented 89 Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest. 90
106:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed 91 the group led by Abiram. 92
106:18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked. 93
106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
106:20 They traded their majestic God 94
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
106:21 They rejected 95 the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
106:22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty 96 acts by the Red Sea.
106:23 He threatened 97 to destroy them,
but 98 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him 99
and turned back his destructive anger. 100
106:24 They rejected the fruitful land; 101
they did not believe his promise. 102
106:25 They grumbled in their tents; 103
they did not obey 104 the Lord.
106:26 So he made a solemn vow 105
that he would make them die 106 in the desert,
106:27 make their descendants 107 die 108 among the nations,
and scatter them among foreign lands. 109
106:28 They worshiped 110 Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. 111
106:29 They made the Lord angry 112 by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
106:30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened, 113
and the plague subsided.
106:31 This brought him a reward,
an eternal gift. 114
106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered 115 because of them,
106:33 for they aroused 116 his temper, 117
and he spoke rashly. 118
106:34 They did not destroy the nations, 119
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
106:35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways. 120
106:36 They worshiped 121 their idols,
which became a snare to them. 122
106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. 123
106:38 They shed innocent blood –
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted by bloodshed. 124
106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,
and unfaithful in their actions. 125
106:40 So the Lord was angry with his people 126
and despised the people who belong to him. 127
106:41 He handed them over to 128 the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority. 129
106:43 Many times he delivered 130 them,
but they had a rebellious attitude, 131
and degraded themselves 132 by their sin.
106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented 133 because of his great loyal love.
106:46 He caused all their conquerors 134
to have pity on them.
106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!
Gather us from among the nations!
Then we will give thanks 135 to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. 136
106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, 137
in the future and forevermore. 138
Let all the people say, “We agree! 139 Praise the Lord!” 140