Psalms 78:12-43

12In front of their ancestors he performed miracles in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.

13He divided the sea and led them through it. He made the waters stand up like a wall.

14He guided them by a cloud during the day and by a fiery light throughout the night.

15He split rocks in the desert. He gave them plenty to drink, an ocean of water.

16He made streams come out of a rock. He made the water flow like rivers.

17They continued to sin against him, to rebel in the desert against the Most High.

18They deliberately tested God by demanding the food they craved.

19They spoke against God by saying, “Can God prepare a banquet in the desert?

20True, he did strike a rock, and water did gush out, and the streams did overflow. But can he also give us bread or provide us, his people, with meat?”

21When the Lord heard this, he became furious. His fire burned against Jacob and his anger flared up at Israel

22because they did not believe God or trust him to save them.

23In spite of that, he commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven.

24He rained manna down on them to eat and gave them grain from heaven.

25Humans ate the bread of the mighty ones, and God sent them plenty of food.

26He made the east wind blow in the heavens and guided the south wind with his might.

27He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like the sand on the seashore.

28He made the birds fall in the middle of his camp, all around his dwelling place.

29They ate more than enough. He gave them what they wanted,

30but they still wanted more. While the food was still in their mouths,

31the anger of God flared up against them. He killed their strongest men and slaughtered the best young men in Israel.

32In spite of all this, they continued to sin, and they no longer believed in his miracles.

33He brought their days to an end like a whisper in the wind. He brought their years to an end in terror.

34When he killed ⌞some of⌟ them, ⌞the rest⌟ searched for him. They turned from their sins and eagerly looked for God.

35They remembered that God was their rock, that the Most High was their defender.

36They flattered him with their mouths and lied to him with their tongues.

37Their hearts were not loyal to him. They were not faithful to his promise.

38But he is compassionate. He forgave their sin. He did not destroy them. He restrained his anger many times. He did not display all of his fury.

39He remembered that they were only flesh and blood, a breeze that blows and does not return.

40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness! How often they caused him grief in the desert!

41Again and again they tested God, and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit.

42They did not remember his power— the day he freed them from their oppressor,

43when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders in the fields of Zoan.