Book Order Plan

¹A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Asaph. Listen, O my people, to my teaching; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth [and be willing to learn].

²I will open my mouth in a parable [to instruct using examples]; I will utter dark and puzzling sayings of old [that contain important truth]—

³Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children, But [we will] tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, And [tell of] His great might and power and the wonderful works that He has done.

⁵For He established a testimony (a specific precept) in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach to their children [the great facts of God's transactions with Israel],

⁶That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be born May arise and recount them to their children,

⁷That they should place their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments,

⁸And not be like their fathers— A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart to know and follow God, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The sons of Ephraim were armed as archers and carrying bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle.

¹⁰They did not keep the covenant of God And refused to walk according to His law;

¹¹And they forgot His [incredible] works And His miraculous wonders that He had shown them.

¹²He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan [where Pharaoh resided].

¹³He divided the [Red] Sea and allowed them to pass through it, And He made the waters stand up like [water behind] a dam.

¹⁴In the daytime He led them with a cloud And all the night with a light of fire.

¹⁵He split rocks in the wilderness And gave them abundant [water to] drink like the ocean depths.

¹⁶He brought streams also from the rock [at Rephidim and Kadesh] And caused waters to run down like rivers.

¹⁷Yet they still continued to sin against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸And in their hearts they put God to the test By asking for food according to their [selfish] appetite.

¹⁹Then they spoke against God; They said, "Can God prepare [food for] a table in the wilderness?

²⁰"Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out And the streams overflowed; Can He give bread also? Or will He provide meat for His people?"

²¹Therefore, when the LORD heard, He was full of wrath; A fire was kindled against Jacob, And His anger mounted up against Israel,

²²Because they did not believe in God [they did not rely on Him, they did not adhere to Him], And they did not trust in His salvation (His power to save).

²³Yet He commanded the clouds from above And opened the doors of heaven;

²⁴And He rained down manna upon them to eat And gave them the grain of heaven.

²⁵Man ate the bread of angels; God sent them provision in abundance.

²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens And by His [unlimited] power He guided the south wind.

²⁷He rained meat upon them like the dust, And winged birds (quail) like the sand of the seas.

²⁸And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, Around their tents.

²⁹So they ate and were well filled, He gave them what they craved.

³⁰Before they had satisfied their desire, And while their food was in their mouths,

³¹The wrath of God rose against them And killed some of the strongest of them, And subdued the choice young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this they still sinned, For they did not believe in His wonderful and extraordinary works.

³³Therefore He consumed their days like a breath [in emptiness and futility] And their years in sudden terror.

³⁴When He killed [some of] them, then those remaining sought Him, And they returned [to Him] and searched diligently for God [for a time].

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

³⁶Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouths And lied to Him with their tongues.

³⁷For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful to His covenant.

³⁸But He, the source of compassion and lovingkindness, forgave their wickedness and did not destroy them; Many times He restrained His anger And did not stir up all His wrath.

³⁹For He [graciously] remembered that they were mere [human] flesh, A wind that goes and does not return.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness And grieved Him in the desert!

⁴¹Again and again they tempted God, And distressed the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember [the miracles worked by] His [powerful] hand, Nor the day when He redeemed them from the enemy,

⁴³How He worked His miracles in Egypt And His wonders in the field of Zoan [where Pharaoh resided],

⁴⁴And turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, so that they could not drink.

⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of flies which devoured them, And frogs which destroyed them.

⁴⁶He also gave their crops to the grasshopper, And the fruit of their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with [great] hailstones And their sycamore trees with frost.

⁴⁸He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones, And their flocks and herds to thunderbolts.

⁴⁹He sent upon them His burning anger, His fury and indignation and distress, A band of angels of destruction [among them].

⁵⁰He leveled a path for His anger [to give it free run]; He did not spare their souls from death, But turned over their lives to the plague.

⁵¹He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first and best of their strength in the tents [of the land of the sons] of Ham.

⁵²But God led His own people forward like sheep And guided them in the wilderness like [a good shepherd with] a flock.

⁵³He led them safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea engulfed their enemies.

⁵⁴So He brought them to His holy land, To this mountain [Zion] which His right hand had acquired.

⁵⁵He also drove out the nations before the sons of Israel And allotted their land as an inheritance, measured out and partitioned; And He had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents [the tents of those who had been dispossessed].

⁵⁶Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God And did not keep His testimonies (laws).

⁵⁷They turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were twisted like a warped bow [that will not respond to the archer's aim].

⁵⁸For they provoked Him to [righteous] anger with their high places [devoted to idol worship] And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images [by denying Him the love, worship, and obedience that is rightfully and uniquely His].

⁵⁹When God heard this, He was filled with [righteous] wrath; And utterly rejected Israel, [greatly hating her ways],

⁶⁰So that He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh, The tent in which He had dwelled among men,

⁶¹And gave up His strength and power (the ark of the covenant) into captivity, And His glory into the hand of the enemy (the Philistines).

⁶²He also handed His people over to the sword, And was infuriated with His inheritance (Israel).

⁶³The fire [of war] devoured His young men, And His [bereaved] virgins had no wedding songs.

⁶⁴His priests [Hophni and Phinehas] fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awakened as from sleep, Like a [mighty] warrior who awakens from the sleep of wine [fully conscious of his power].

⁶⁶He drove His enemies backward; He subjected them to lasting shame and dishonor.

⁶⁷Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim [in which the tabernacle stood].

⁶⁸But He chose the tribe of Judah [as Israel's leader], Mount Zion, which He loved [to replace Shiloh as His capital].

⁶⁹And He built His sanctuary [exalted] like the heights [of the heavens], Like the earth which He has established forever.

⁷⁰He also chose David His servant And took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹From tending the ewes with nursing young He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.

⁷²So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart; And guided them with his skillful hands.

¹A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance; They have defiled Your sacred temple; They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

²They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.

³They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them.

⁴We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation], A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.

⁵How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?

⁶Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.

⁷For they have devoured Jacob And made his pasture desolate.

⁸O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers. Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us, For we have been brought very low.

⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; Rescue us, forgive us our sins for Your name's sake.

¹⁰Why should the [Gentile] nations say, "Where is their God?" Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation], Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.

¹¹Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.

¹²And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold The taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.

¹³So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.

¹To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] "Lilies, a Testimony." A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!

²Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And come to save us!

³Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.

⁴O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people?

⁵You have fed them the bread of tears, And You have made them drink [bitter] tears in abundance.

⁶You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.

⁷Restore us, O God of hosts; And cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.

⁸You uprooted a vine (Israel) from Egypt; You drove out the [Canaanite] nations and planted the vine [in Canaan].

⁹You cleared away the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land.

¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shadow, And its branches were like the cedars of God.

¹¹Israel sent out its branches to the [Mediterranean] Sea, And its branches to the [Euphrates] River.

¹²Why have You broken down its walls and hedges, So that all who pass by pick its fruit?

¹³A boar from the woods eats it away, And the insects of the field feed on it.

¹⁴Turn again [in favor to us], O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,

¹⁵Even the stock which Your right hand has planted, And [look down on] the son that You have reared and strengthened for Yourself.

¹⁶It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your [angry] appearance.

¹⁷Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You have made strong for Yourself.

¹⁸Then we shall not turn back from You; Revive us and we will call on Your name.

¹⁹Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine on us [in favor and approval], and we shall be saved.