Psalm 78:31-39

New Catholic Bible

³¹ the anger of God blazed up against them;
    he slew their strongest warriors
    and laid low the chosen of Israel.
^32 [a]Despite this, they continued to sin;
    they put no faith in his wonders.
³³ So he brought their days to an abrupt end
    and cut off their years with sudden terror.^[b]
34 When death afflicted them,
    they sought him;
    they searched eagerly for God.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their Rock,^[c]
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.
³⁶ However, while they flattered him with their mouths
    and lied to him with their tongues,
³⁷ their hearts^[d] were not right with him,
    nor were they faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Even so, he was compassionate toward them;
    he forgave their guilt
    and did not destroy them.
Time after time he held back his anger,
    unwilling to stir up his rage.
³⁹ For he remembered that they were flesh,
    like a breath of wind that does not return.