Psalm 78:14–40

^14*By day he led them with a cloud

and all night long with the light of a fire.

^15*He split rocks open in the desert

and gave them water from the depths.

^16*He caused a stream to come out of the rock

and made water flow like a river.

¹⁷But they continued to sin against God,

and in the desert they rebelled against the Most High.

^18*They deliberately put God to the test

by demanding the food they wanted.

^19*They spoke against God and said,

“Can God supply food in the desert?

^20*It is true that he struck the rock,

and water flowed out in a torrent;

but can he also provide us with bread

and give his people meat?”

^21*And so the Lord was angry when he heard them;

he attacked his people with fire,

and his anger against them grew,

^22*because they had no faith in him

and did not believe that he would save them.

^23*But he spoke to the sky above

and commanded its doors to open;

^24*he gave them grain from heaven,

by sending down manna for them to eat.

^25*So they ate the food of angels,

and God gave them all they wanted.

^26*He also caused the east wind to blow,

and by his power he stirred up the south wind;

^27*and to his people he sent down birds,

as many as the grains of sand on the shore;

^28*they fell in the middle of the camp

all round the tents.

^29*So the people ate and were satisfied;

God gave them what they wanted.

^30*But they had not yet satisfied their craving

and were still eating,

^31*when God became angry with them

and killed their strongest men,

the best young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this the people kept sinning;

in spite of his miracles they did not trust him.

³³So he ended their days like a breath

and their lives with sudden disaster.

³⁴Whenever he killed some of them,

the rest would turn to him;

they would repent and pray earnestly to him.

³⁵They remembered that God was their protector,

that the Almighty came to their aid.

³⁶But their words were all lies;

nothing they said was sincere.

^37*They were not loyal to him;

they were not faithful to their covenant with him.

³⁸But God was merciful to his people.

He forgave their sin

and did not destroy them.

Many times he held back his anger

and restrained his fury.

³⁹He remembered that they were only mortal beings,

like a wind that blows by and is gone.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the desert;

how many times they made him sad!