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Text -- Psalms 78:1-63 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
Psalm 78
78:1 A well-written song by Asaph . Pay attention , my people , to my instruction ! Listen to the words I speak !
78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom ; I will make insightful observations about the past .
78:3 What we have heard and learned – that which our ancestors have told us–
78:4 we will not hide from their descendants . We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts , about his strength and the amazing things he has done .
78:5 He established a rule in Jacob ; he set up a law in Israel . He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants ,
78:6 so that the next generation , children yet to be born , might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.
78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God . They will not forget the works of God , and they will obey his commands .
78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors , who were a stubborn and rebellious generation , a generation that was not committed and faithful to God .
78:9 The Ephraimites were armed with bows , but they retreated in the day of battle .
78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God , and they refused to obey his law .
78:11 They forgot what he had done , the amazing things he had shown them.
78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors , in the land of Egypt , in the region of Zoan .
78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap .
78:14 He led them with a cloud by day , and with the light of a fire all night long.
78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness , and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea .
78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock , and made the water flow like rivers .
78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert .
78:18 They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite .
78:19 They insulted God , saying , “Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness ?
78:20 Yes , he struck a rock and water flowed out , streams gushed forth . But can he also give us food ? Will he provide meat for his people ?”
78:21 When the Lord heard this, he was furious . A fire broke out against Jacob , and his anger flared up against Israel ,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God , and did not trust his ability to deliver them.
78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above , and opened the doors in the sky .
78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat ; he gave them the grain of heaven .
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat .
78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky , and by his strength led forth the south wind .
78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust , birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores .
78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp , all around their homes .
78:29 They ate until they were stuffed ; he gave them what they desired .
78:30 They were not yet filled up , their food was still in their mouths ,
78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees .
78:32 Despite all this , they continued to sin , and did not trust him to do amazing things.
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror .
78:34 When he struck them down , they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God .
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector , and that the sovereign God was their deliverer .
78:36 But they deceived him with their words , and lied to him.
78:37 They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant .
78:38 Yet he is compassionate . He forgives sin and does not destroy . He often holds back his anger , and does not stir up his fury .
78:39 He remembered that they were made of flesh , and were like a wind that blows past and does not return .
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness , and insulted him in the desert !
78:41 They again challenged God , and offended the Holy One of Israel .
78:42 They did not remember what he had done , how he delivered them from the enemy ,
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt , and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan .
78:44 He turned their rivers into blood , and they could not drink from their streams .
78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land.
78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper , the fruit of their labor to the locust .
78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail , and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain .
78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle , and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock .
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury , rage , and trouble as messengers who bring disaster .
78:50 He sent his anger in full force ; he did not spare them from death ; he handed their lives over to destruction .
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt , the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham .
78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep ; he led them through the wilderness like a flock .
78:53 He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies .
78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land , to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired .
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down .
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God , and did not obey his commands .
78:57 They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors ; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow .
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines , and made him jealous with their idols .
78:59 God heard and was angry ; he completely rejected Israel .
78:60 He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh , the tent where he lived among men .
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured ; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy .
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword , and was angry with his chosen nation .
78:63 Fire consumed their young men , and their virgins remained unmarried .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Asaph |
Psalms |
Unbelief |
Israel |
PLAGUES OF EGYPT |
PROVIDENCE, 1 |
Wicked |
HEZEKIAH (2) |
Music |
Miracles |
God |
Backsliders |
Blessing |
Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena |
Egyptians |
Ingratitude |
Children |
Commandments |
Instruction |
Afflictions and Adversities |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Psa 78:1; Psa 78:1; Psa 78:1; Psa 78:2; Psa 78:3; Psa 78:3; Psa 78:4; Psa 78:4; Psa 78:5; Psa 78:5; Psa 78:6; Psa 78:7; Psa 78:8; Psa 78:9; Psa 78:9; Psa 78:9; Psa 78:10; Psa 78:10; Psa 78:11; Psa 78:12; Psa 78:15; Psa 78:17; Psa 78:18; Psa 78:19; Psa 78:19; Psa 78:20; Psa 78:21; Psa 78:21; Psa 78:22; Psa 78:24; Psa 78:25; Psa 78:25; Psa 78:27; Psa 78:29; Psa 78:30; Psa 78:32; Psa 78:33; Psa 78:33; Psa 78:34; Psa 78:34; Psa 78:35; Psa 78:35; Psa 78:36; Psa 78:36; Psa 78:37; Psa 78:38; Psa 78:39; Psa 78:39; Psa 78:40; Psa 78:41; Psa 78:41; Psa 78:41; Psa 78:42; Psa 78:42; Psa 78:43; Psa 78:43; Psa 78:45; Psa 78:45; Psa 78:48; Psa 78:48; Psa 78:49; Psa 78:49; Psa 78:50; Psa 78:50; Psa 78:51; Psa 78:54; Psa 78:54; Psa 78:55; Psa 78:55; Psa 78:56; Psa 78:56; Psa 78:56; Psa 78:56; Psa 78:57; Psa 78:57; Psa 78:57; Psa 78:58; Psa 78:60; Psa 78:61; Psa 78:61; Psa 78:61; Psa 78:62; Psa 78:63; Psa 78:63; Psa 78:63
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NET Notes: Psa 78:2 Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִ...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:4 Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt w...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:5 Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lo...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:6 Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”
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NET Notes: Psa 78:8 Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart&...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:9 They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer ...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:12 The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).
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NET Notes: Psa 78:18 Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
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NET Notes: Psa 78:24 Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.
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NET Notes: Psa 78:38 One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not ...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:39 Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”
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NET Notes: Psa 78:41 The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness i...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:43 Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).
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NET Notes: Psa 78:48 Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.
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NET Notes: Psa 78:51 Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “stren...
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NET Notes: Psa 78:61 Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
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