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For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
Psalms 78:5 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;
  • KJV For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
  • NKJV For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;
  • NASB ¶For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they were to teach them to their children,
  • NLT For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God established His testimony and law in Israel and commanded the fathers to teach it to their children.

Overview

God Himself ordained that His covenant instruction be passed down through families. The law and testimony were given not as dead rules but as truth to be taught and treasured. This divine command makes the discipling of children a sacred duty rooted in God's own design.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Eph 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
  • Gen 18:19For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
  • Ps 81:5He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard an unfamiliar language:
  • Deut 6:7And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
  • Deut 4:45These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
  • Deut 11:19Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
  • Isa 38:19The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.
  • Isa 8:20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
  • Rom 3:2Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
  • 1 Jn 5:9–12Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son.
  • Exod 25:21Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
  • Exod 40:3Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
  • Ps 19:7The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
  • Ps 78:3–4that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
  • Ps 119:152Long ago I learned from Your testimonies that You have established them forever.
  • Exod 25:16And place inside the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
  • Ps 147:19He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.
  • Exod 40:20Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 78:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 78:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.