Psalms 78:5-40

⁵For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;

⁶That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born; Who should arise and tell them to their children,

⁷That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments,

⁸And might not be as their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that set not their heart aright, And whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

⁹The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

¹⁰They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law;

¹¹And they forgat his doings, And his wondrous works that he had showed them.

¹²Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

¹³He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; And he made the waters to stand as a heap.

¹⁴In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.

¹⁵He clave rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.

¹⁶He brought streams also out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.

¹⁷Yet went they on still to sin against him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸And they tempted God in their heart By asking food according to their desire.

¹⁹Yea, they spake against God; They said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

²⁰Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out, And streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Will he provide flesh for his people?

²¹Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also went up against Israel;

²²Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation.

²³Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven;

²⁴And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven.

²⁵Man did eat the bread of the mighty: He sent them food to the full.

²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens; And by his power he guided the south wind.

²⁷He rained flesh also upon them as the dust, And winged birds as the sand of the seas:

²⁸And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations.

²⁹So they did eat, and were well filled; And he gave them their own desire.

³⁰They were not estranged from that which they desired, Their food was yet in their mouths,

³¹When the anger of God went up against them, And slew of the fattest of them, And smote down the young men of Israel.

³²For all this they sinned still, And believed not in his wondrous works.

³³Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, And their years in terror.

³⁴When he slew them, then they inquired after him; And they returned and sought God earnestly.

³⁵And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their redeemer.

³⁶But they flattered him with their mouth, And lied unto him with their tongue.

³⁷For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they faithful in his covenant.

³⁸But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: Yea, many a time turned he his anger away, And did not stir up all his wrath.

³⁹And he remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

⁴⁰How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness, And grieve him in the desert!