3. We have heard the story, and we know it well. Our fathers told it to us.
4. And we will not forget it. Our people will be telling this story to the last generation. We will all praise the Lord and tell about the amazing things he did.
5. He made an agreement with Jacob. He gave the law to Israel. He gave the commands to our ancestors. He told them to teach the law to their children.
6. Then the next generation, even the children not yet born, would learn the law. And they would be able to teach it to their own children.
7. So they would all trust in God, never forgetting what he had done and always obeying his commands.
8. They would not be like their ancestors, who were stubborn and refused to obey. Their hearts were not devoted to God, and they were not faithful to him.
9. The men from Ephraim had their weapons, but they ran from the battle.
23-24. But then God opened the clouds above, and manna rained down on them for food. It was as if doors in the sky opened, and grain poured down from a storehouse in the sky.
25. These people ate the food of angels. God sent plenty of food to satisfy them.
26. He sent a strong wind from the east, and by his power he made the south wind blow.
27. He made quail fall like rain until they covered the ground. There were so many birds that they were like sand on the seashore.
28. The birds fell in the middle of the camp, all around their tents.
29. The people ate until they were full. God had given them what they wanted.
30. But before they were fully satisfied, while the food was still in their mouths,
31. God became angry and killed even the strongest of them. He brought down Israel’s best young men.
32. But the people continued to sin! They did not trust in the amazing things God could do.
33. So he ended their worthless lives; he brought their years to a close with disaster.
34. When he killed some of them, the others would turn back to him. They would come running back to God.
35. They would remember that God was their Rock. They would remember that God Most High had saved them.
36. But they tried to fool him with their words; they told him lies.
37. Their hearts were not really with him. They were not faithful to the agreement he gave them.
38. But God was merciful. He forgave their sins and did not destroy them. Many times he held back his anger. He never let it get out of control.
39. He remembered that they were only people, like a wind that blows and then is gone.
40. Oh, they caused him so much trouble in the desert! They made him so sad.