Psalm 78:40-53

Contemporary English Version

⁴⁰ While they were in the desert,
they often rebelled
    and made God sad.
⁴¹ They kept testing him
and caused terrible pain
    for the Holy One of Israel.
⁴² They forgot about his power
and how he had rescued them
    from their enemies.

⁴³ God showed them all kinds
of wonderful miracles
    near Zoan^[a] in Egypt.
^44 (A) He turned the rivers of Egypt
    into blood,
and no one could drink
    from the streams.
^45 (B) He sent swarms of flies
    to pester the Egyptians,
and he sent frogs
    to cause them trouble.

^46 (C) God let worms and grasshoppers
    eat their crops.
^47 (D) He destroyed their grapevines
and their fig trees
    with hail and floods.^[b]
48 Then he killed their cattle
    with hail
and their other animals
    with lightning.

⁴⁹ God was so angry and furious
    that he went into a rage
and caused them great trouble
by sending swarms
    of destroying angels.
⁵⁰ God released his anger
and slaughtered them
    in a terrible way.
^51 (E) He killed the first-born son
    of each Egyptian family.

^52 (F) Then God led his people
    out of Egypt
and guided them in the desert
    like a flock of sheep.
^53 (G) He led them safely along,
    and they were not afraid,
but their enemies drowned
    in the sea.