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Psalm 78:4
We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
2I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old,
3which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
5For he established a covenant in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children;
6that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children,
Notice
The words “the generation to come” extend the reach of praise beyond those who remember God’s deeds to children who have yet to hear them.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Who, if anyone, first told you about God’s strength and deeds?
Write on thisWhat would you want a child to learn about God from the stories you tell?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Deuteronomy 11:19You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.Both texts charge adults to teach children; Deuteronomy names the household moments when that teaching can happen.
Psalm 71:18Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to …Both name God’s strength as something to declare to the next generation.
Joel 1:3Tell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.Both describe telling children what must be passed on, with Joel extending the telling through successive generations.
Deuteronomy 4:9Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; …Both connect knowledge of God’s deeds with making them known to children; Deuteronomy also warns against forgetting.
Psalm 145:4–6One generation will commend your works to another, and will declare your mighty acts.Both describe one generation declaring God’s works and might to another generation.
Deuteronomy 6:7and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, …Both make teaching children a duty, and Deuteronomy describes that teaching woven into household life.
Psalm 71:17–18God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.Both speak of declaring God’s wondrous works, with Psalm 71 tracing that testimony back to youth.
Psalm 107:8Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!Both join praise of the LORD with his wonderful deeds, making what he has done a reason for praise.
Isaiah 25:1The LORD, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and …Both link praise of the LORD to the wonderful things he has done.
Mark 10:14But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs …Both oppose keeping children away: Psalm 78 rejects hiding God’s deeds, while Jesus rejects barring children from coming to him.
Joshua 4:6–7that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’Both look ahead to children learning from an older generation; Joshua pictures their questions about stones.
Joshua 4:21–24He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’Both picture knowledge passing from adults to children, with Joshua naming the fathers whom future children will question.
Where this verse fits
Parenting. aging. praise and worship.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Passing on faith can begin with telling what God has done. The next generation is named here as those who should hear of his strength and wondrous deeds.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).