1  ⁱGive ear, O my people, to my teaching;

incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

2  ^jI will open my mouth ^kin a parable;

I will utter dark sayings from of old,

3  things that we have heard and known,

that our ^lfathers have told us.

4  We will not ^mhide them from their children,

but ⁿtell to the coming generation

the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,

and ^othe wonders that he has done.

5  He established ^pa testimony in ^qJacob

and appointed a law in ^qIsrael,

which he commanded our fathers

to teach to their children,

6  that ^rthe 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 ^sthe works of God,

but ^tkeep his commandments;

8  and that they should not be ^ulike their fathers,

^va stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation ^wwhose heart was not steadfast,

whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9  The Ephraimites, armed with² the bow,

^xturned back on the day of battle.

10  They ^ydid not keep God’s covenant,

but refused to walk according to his law.

11  They ^zforgot his works

and ^athe wonders that he had shown them.

12  In the sight of their fathers ^bhe performed wonders

in the land of Egypt, in ^cthe fields of Zoan.

13  He ^ddivided the sea and let them pass through it,

and made the waters ^estand like a heap.

14  ^fIn the daytime he led them with a cloud,

and all the night with a fiery light.

15  He ^gsplit rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

16  He made streams come out of ^hthe rock

and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17  Yet they sinned still more against him,

ⁱrebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18  They ^jtested God in their heart

by demanding the food they craved.

19  They spoke against God, saying,

^k“Can God ^lspread a table in the wilderness?

20  ^mHe struck the rock so that water gushed out

and streams overflowed.

Can he also give bread

or provide meat for his people?”