Psalm 78:12–53

¹²In front of their ancestors^j he did a wonder,

in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

¹³He split the sea and caused them to go over,

and he caused waters to stand like a heap.

¹⁴And he led them with the cloud by day,

and all night with a fiery light.

¹⁵He caused rocks to split in the wilderness

and provided drink abundantly as from the depths.

¹⁶And he brought streams out of the rock

and caused water to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷But they sinned still further against him

by rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸And they tested God in their heart

by asking food for their craving.^k

¹⁹And they spoke against God.

They said, “Is God able

to prepare a table in the wilderness?

²⁰Yes, he struck the rock and water flowed

and streams gushed out,

but can he also give food

or provide meat for his people?”

²¹Therefore Yahweh heard

and he was very angry,

and a fire was kindled against Jacob,

and his anger also rose up against Israel,

²²because they did not believe God,

and they did not trust his salvation.

²³Nevertheless, he commanded the skies above

and opened the doors of heaven,

²⁴and rained down on them manna to eat

and gave them the grain of heaven.

²⁵Humankind ate the bread of angels.^l

He sent them food enough to be satisfied.

²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens

and drove along the south wind by his strength.

²⁷Then he rained meat on them like dust,

even winged birds^m like the sand of the seas.

²⁸He caused them to fall in the midst of his camp,

all around his dwellings.

²⁹So they ate and were well filled,

and he brought about what they craved.

³⁰They had not yet turned aside from their craving,

while their food was still in their mouth,

³¹the anger of God rose against them,

and he killed some of the stoutest of them,

even the young men of Israel he caused to bow down in death.

³²In spite of all this they sinned further

and did not believe his wonders.

³³And he consumed their days with futility ⁿ

their years with terror.^o

³⁴When he killed some of them, then they sought him,

and repented and earnestly sought God.

³⁵And they remembered that God was their rock,

and God Most High their redeemer.

³⁶But they enticed him with their mouth

and lied to him with their tongue.

³⁷For their heart was not steadfast with him,

nor were they faithful to his covenant.

³⁸But he was compassionate; he pardoned^p their guilt

and did not destroy them.

And many times he turned back his anger

and did not stir up all his wrath,

³⁹for he remembered that they were flesh,

a passing wind that does not return.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness

and vexed him in the wasteland!

⁴¹So they again tested God

and distressed^q the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²And they did not remember his power^r

when^s he redeemed them from the enemy,

⁴³how he performed^t his signs in Egypt

and his wonders in the region of Zoan,

⁴⁴when he turned their rivers^u to blood

so they could not drink from their streams.

⁴⁵He sent among them flies that devoured them

and frogs that destroyed them.

⁴⁶And he gave their crop to the locusts

and their labor to the locust.^v

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail

and their sycamore trees with sleet.^w

⁴⁸He also handed their cattle over to the hail

and their livestock to the lightning bolts.

⁴⁹He sent against them his fierce anger,

rage and indignation and trouble,

a band of destroying^x angels.

⁵⁰He cleared a path for his anger.

He did not spare them^y from death

but handed their life over to the plague.

⁵¹And he struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,

the first of their virility in the tents of Ham.

⁵²Then he led out his people like sheep

and guided them like a herd in the wilderness.

⁵³And he led them safely and they were not afraid,

but the sea covered their enemies.