Psalms 78:46

Misinterpretations often detach this verse from its historical context in Psalm 78's retelling of Israel's rebellion and God's plagues on Egypt, wrongly applying it as a general principle that crop failures or wasted labor today are always direct divine curses for personal sin, rather than a specific act of judgment on national oppression; others might spiritualize it excessively to claim all economic hardships stem from disobedience, overlooking God's mercy, varied purposes in trials, and calls to repentance elsewhere in Scripture.

Psalm 78:46 describes the eighth plague on Egypt during the Exodus, where God sent swarms of locusts—or caterpillars in some translations—to devour all the vegetation and fruits of the Egyptians' labor, leaving nothing green after hail had already destroyed much; this illustrates God's sovereign power in judging hardened hearts like Pharaoh's, frustrating human toil and abundance when opposed to His purposes, while securing deliverance for Israel and affirming His faithfulness to the covenant despite their ancestors' forgetfulness.