78:21 When 1 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 2 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 3
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. 4
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 5
He sent them more than enough to eat. 6
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. 7
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; 8
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 9
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. 10
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 11
and filled with terror. 12
78:34 When he struck them down, 13 they sought his favor; 14
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 15
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 16
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 17
and lied to him. 18
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 19
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. 20
78:39 He remembered 21 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 22
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 23 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 24
and offended 25 the Holy One of Israel. 26
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 27
how he delivered them from the enemy, 28
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 29 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 30 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, 31
as well as frogs that overran their land. 32
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, 33
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 34
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 35
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 36
78:50 He sent his anger in full force; 37
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction. 38
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 39 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 40 which his right hand 41 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 42
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 43
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 44 the sovereign God, 45
and did not obey 46 his commands. 47
78:57 They were unfaithful 48 and acted as treacherously as 49 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 50
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 51
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 52 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 53
he gave the symbol of his splendor 54 into the hand of the enemy. 55
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 56
78:63 Fire consumed their 57 young men,
and their 58 virgins remained unmarried. 59
78:64 Their 60 priests fell by the sword,
but their 61 widows did not weep. 62
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 63
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 64
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 65
78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; 66
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 67
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 68
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 69
78:72 David 70 cared for them with pure motives; 71
he led them with skill. 72