1. O my people, listen to my instructions.Open your ears to what I am saying,
2. for I will speak to you in a parable.I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
3. stories we have heard and known,stories our ancestors handed down to us.
4. We will not hide these truths from our children;we will tell the next generationabout the glorious deeds of the lord,about his power and his mighty wonders.
5. For he issued his laws to Jacob;he gave his instructions to Israel.He commanded our ancestorsto teach them to their children,
6. so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children.
7. So each generation should set its hope anew on God,not forgetting his glorious miraclesand obeying his commands.
8. Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,refusing to give their hearts to God.