Psalm 78:1-38 and Numbers 21:4b-9

​Psalm 78:1-38
1 The understanding of Asaph. O my people, attend to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables. I will speak about concepts that are from the beginning.
3 We have heard and known such great things, as our fathers have described to us.
4 These things have not been hidden from their sons in any generation: declaring the praises of the Lord, and his virtues, and the wonders that he has done.
5 And he has received testimony with Jacob, and he has set a law within Israel. Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons,
6 so that another generation might know them, and so that the sons, who will be born and who will grow up, shall describe them to their sons.
7 So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God, and may they seek his commandments.
8 May they not become like their fathers, a perverse and exasperating generation: a generation that does not straighten their heart and whose spirit is not trustworthy with God.
9 The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, have been turned back in the day of battle.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God. And they were not willing to walk in his law.
11 And they have been forgetful of his benefits, and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.
12 He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.
13 He broke the sea and he led them through. And he stationed the waters, as if in a vessel.
14 And he led them with a cloud by day, and with illumination by fire throughout the night.
15 He broke through the rock in the wasteland, and he gave them to drink, as if from the great abyss.
16 He brought forth water from the rock, and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.
17 And yet, they continued to sin against him. In a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.
18 And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking for food according to their desires.
19 And they spoke badly about God. They said, "Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?
20 He struck the rock, and so waters flowed and the torrents flooded, but would even he be able to provide bread, or provide a table, for his people?"
21 Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was dismayed, and a fire was kindled within Jacob, and an anger ascended into Israel.
22 For they neither put their trust in God, nor did they hope in his salvation.
23 And he commanded the clouds from above, and he opened the doors of heaven.
24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, and he gave them the bread of heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of Angels. He sent them provisions in abundance.
26 He transferred the south wind from heaven, and, in his virtue, he brought in the Southwest wind.
27 And he rained down flesh upon them, as if it were dust, and feathered birds, as if they were the sand of the sea.
28 And they fell down in the midst of their camp, encircling their tabernacles.
29 And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires.
30 They were not cheated out of what they wanted. Their food was still in their mouth,
31 and then the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones among them, and he impeded the elect of Israel.
32 In all these things, they continued to sin, and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.
33 And their days faded away into vanity, and their years with haste.
34 When he slew them, then they sought him. And they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.
35 And they were mindful that God is their helper and that the Most High God is their redeemer.
36 And they chose him with their mouth, and then they lied to him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not upright with him, nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.
38 Yet he is merciful, and he will pardon their sins. And he will not destroy them. And he has abundantly turned aside his own wrath. And he did not enflame his wrath entirely.
Numbers 21:4b-9
4b And the people began to tire of their journey and hardships.
5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: "Why did you lead us away from Egypt, so as to die in the wilderness? Bread is lacking; there are no waters. Our soul is now nauseous over this very light food."
6 For this reason, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which wounded or killed many of them.
7 And so they went to Moses, and they said: "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray, so that he may take away these serpents from us." And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said to him: "Make a bronze serpent, and place it as a sign. Whoever, having been struck, gazes upon it, shall live."
9 Therefore, Moses made a bronze serpent, and he placed it as a sign. When those who had been struck gazed upon it, they were healed.