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^1 (b)Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
^2 (c)I will open my mouth ^(d)in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
³ things that we have heard and known,
    that our ^(e)fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not ^(f)hide them from their children,
    but ^(g)tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
    and ^(h)the wonders that he has done.

⁵ He established ⁽ⁱ⁾a testimony in ^(j)Jacob
    and appointed a law in ^(k)Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
⁶ that ^(l)the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷     so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget ^(m)the works of God,
    but ⁽ⁿ⁾keep his commandments;
⁸ and that they should not be ^(o)like their fathers,
    ^(p)a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation ^(q)whose heart was not steadfast,
    whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹ The Ephraimites, armed with^[b] the bow,
    ^(r)turned back on the day of battle.
¹⁰ They ^(s)did not keep God's covenant,
    but refused to walk according to his law.
¹¹ They ^(t)forgot his works
    and ^(u)the wonders that he had shown them.
¹² In the sight of their fathers ^(v)he performed wonders
    in the land of Egypt, in ^(w)the fields of Zoan.
¹³ He ^(x)divided the sea and let them pass through it,
    and made the waters ^(y)stand like a heap.
^14 (z)In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
    and all the night with a fiery light.
¹⁵ He ^(aa)split rocks in the wilderness
    and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
¹⁶ He made streams come out of ^(ab)the rock
    and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they sinned still more against him,
    ^(ac)rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸ They ^(ad)tested God in their heart
    by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹ They spoke against God, saying,
    ^(ae)"Can God ^(af)spread a table in the wilderness?
^20 (ag)He struck the rock so that water gushed out
    and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
    or provide meat for his people?"

²¹ Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
    ^(ah)a fire was kindled against Jacob;
    his anger rose against Israel,
²² because they ^(ai)did not believe in God
    and did not trust his saving power.
²³ Yet he commanded the skies above
    and ^(aj)opened the doors of heaven,
²⁴ and he ^(ak)rained down on them manna to eat
    and gave them ^(al)the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Man ate of the bread of ^(am)the angels;
    he sent them food ^(an)in abundance.
²⁶ He ^(ao)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
    and by his power he led out the south wind;
²⁷ he rained meat on them like ^(ap)dust,
    winged birds like ^(aq)the sand of the seas;
²⁸ he ^(ar)let them fall in the midst of their camp,
    all around their dwellings.
²⁹ And they ^(as)ate and were well filled,
    for he gave them what they ^(at)craved.
³⁰ But before they had satisfied their craving,
    ^(au)while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹ the anger of God rose against them,
    and he killed ^(av)the strongest of them
    and laid low ^(aw)the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they ^(ax)still sinned;
    ^(ay)despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³ So he made ^(az)their days ^(ba)vanish like^[c] a breath,^[d]
    and their years in terror.
³⁴ When he killed them, they ^(bb)sought him;
    they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their ^(bc)rock,
    the Most High God their ^(bd)redeemer.
³⁶ But they ^(be)flattered him with their mouths;
    they ^(bf)lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷ Their ^(bg)heart was not ^(bh)steadfast toward him;
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he, being ^(bi)compassionate,
    ^(bj)atoned for their iniquity
    and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
    and did not stir up all his wrath.
³⁹ He ^(bk)remembered that they were but ^(bl)flesh,
    ^(bm)a wind that passes and comes not again.
⁴⁰ How often they ^(bn)rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and ^(bo)grieved him in ^(bp)the desert!
⁴¹ They ^(bq)tested God again and again
    and provoked ^(br)the Holy One of Israel.
⁴² They ^(bs)did not remember his power^[e]
    or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
^43 (bt)when he performed his ^(bu)signs in Egypt
    and his ^(bv)marvels in ^(bw)the fields of Zoan.
⁴⁴ He ^(bx)turned their rivers to blood,
    so that they could not drink of their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent among them swarms of ^(by)flies, which devoured them,
    and ^(bz)frogs, which destroyed them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to ^(ca)the destroying locust
    and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with ^(cb)hail
    and their sycamores with frost.
⁴⁸ He gave over their ^(cc)cattle to the hail
    and their flocks to thunderbolts.
⁴⁹ He let loose on them his burning anger,
    wrath, indignation, and distress,
    a company of ^(cd)destroying angels.
⁵⁰ He made a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death,
    but gave their lives over to the plague.
⁵¹ He struck down every ^(ce)firstborn in Egypt,
    the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of ^(cf)Ham.
⁵² Then he led out his people ^(cg)like sheep
    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
^53 (ch)He led them in safety, so that they ^(ci)were not afraid,
    but ^(cj)the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
⁵⁴ And he brought them to his ^(ck)holy land,
    ^(cl)to the mountain which his right hand had ^(cm)won.
⁵⁵ He ^(cn)drove out nations before them;
    he ^(co)apportioned them for a possession
    and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶ Yet they ^(cp)tested and ^(cq)rebelled against the Most High God
    and did not keep his testimonies,
⁵⁷ but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
    they twisted like ^(cr)a deceitful bow.
⁵⁸ For they ^(cs)provoked him to anger with their ^(ct)high places;
    they ^(cu)moved him to jealousy with their ^(cv)idols.
⁵⁹ When God heard, he was full of ^(cw)wrath,
    and he utterly rejected Israel.
⁶⁰ He ^(cx)forsook his dwelling at ^(cy)Shiloh,
    the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
⁶¹ and delivered his ^(cz)power to captivity,
    his ^(da)glory to the hand of the foe.
⁶² He ^(db)gave his people over to the sword
    and ^(dc)vented his wrath on his heritage.
^63 (dd)Fire devoured their young men,
    and their young women had no ^(de)marriage song.
⁶⁴ Their ^(df)priests fell by the sword,
    and their ^(dg)widows made no lamentation.
⁶⁵ Then the Lord ^(dh)awoke as from sleep,
    like a strong man shouting because of wine.
⁶⁶ And he ^(di)put his adversaries to rout;
    he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷ He rejected the tent of ^(dj)Joseph;
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
⁶⁸ but he chose the tribe of Judah,
    Mount Zion, which he ^(dk)loves.
⁶⁹ He ^(dl)built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
    like the earth, which he has founded forever.
⁷⁰ He ^(dm)chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹ from ^(dn)following the nursing ewes he brought him
    to ^(do)shepherd Jacob his people,
    Israel his ^(dp)inheritance.
⁷² With ^(dq)upright heart he shepherded them
    and ^(dr)guided them with his skillful hand.