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106 Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord because he is good!
    His faithful love will last forever!
No one can describe how great the Lord really is.
    No one can praise him enough.
Those who obey his commands are happy.
    They do good things all the time.

Lord, remember me when you show kindness to your people.
    Remember to save me too!
Let me share in the good things
    that you do for your chosen people.
Let me rejoice with your nation.
    Let me join with your people in praise.

We sinned just as our ancestors did.
    We were wrong; we did bad things!
Lord, our ancestors learned nothing
    from the miracles you did in Egypt.
They forgot your kindness at the Red Sea
    and rebelled against you.

But the Lord saved our ancestors for the honor of his name.
    He saved them to show his great power.
He gave the command, and the Red Sea became dry.
    He led them through the deep sea on land as dry as the desert.
10 He saved our ancestors
    and rescued them from their enemies.
11 He covered their enemies with the sea.
    Not one of them escaped!

12 Then our ancestors believed what he had said.
    They sang praises to him.
13 But they quickly forgot about what he did.
    They did not listen to his advice.
14 They became hungry in the desert,
    and they tested him in the wilderness.
15 He gave them what they asked for,
    but he also gave them a terrible disease.
16 The people became jealous of Moses.
    They became jealous of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
17 The ground opened up and swallowed Dathan.
    Then the ground closed up and covered Abiram’s group.
18 Then a fire burned that mob of people.
    It burned those wicked people.
19 The people made a golden calf at Mount Horeb.
    They worshiped a statue!
20 They traded their glorious God
    for a statue of a grass-eating bull!
21 They forgot all about God, the one who saved them,
    the one who did the miracles in Egypt.
22 He did amazing things there in Ham’s country[a]!
    He did awesome things at the Red Sea!

23 God wanted to destroy those people,
    but Moses, the leader he chose, stood in the way.
God was very angry, but Moses begged him to stop,
    so God did not destroy the people.[b]

24 But then they refused to go into the wonderful land of Canaan.
    They did not believe that God would help them defeat the people there.
25 Our ancestors complained in their tents
    and refused to obey the Lord.
26 So he swore that they would die
    in the desert.
27 He promised to scatter them among the nations
    and to let other people defeat their descendants.

28 At Baal Peor they joined in worshiping Baal
    and ate sacrifices to honor the dead.[c]
29 The Lord became angry with his people,
    so he made them sick.
30 But Phinehas prayed[d] to God,
    and God stopped the sickness.
31 He considered what Phinehas did a good work,
    and it will be remembered forever and ever.

32 At Meribah the people made the Lord angry
    and created trouble for Moses.
33 They upset Moses,
    and he spoke without stopping to think.

34 The Lord told the people to destroy the other nations living in Canaan.
    But the Israelites did not obey him.
35 They mixed with the other people
    and did what those people were doing.
36 They began worshiping the false gods those people worshiped.
    And their idols became a trap.
37 They even offered their own children
    as sacrifices to demons.
38 They killed their innocent sons and daughters
    and offered them to the false gods of Canaan.
    So the land was polluted with the sin of murder.
39 They were unfaithful to him,
    and they became dirty with the sins of other nations.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people.
    He rejected those who belonged to him.
41 He gave his people to other nations
    and let their enemies rule over them.
42 Their enemies controlled them
    and made life hard for them.
43 He saved his people many times,
    but they turned against him and did what they wanted to do.
    His people did many bad things.
44 But whenever they were in trouble,
    he listened to their prayers.
45 He always remembered his agreement,
    and because of his faithful love, he comforted them.
46 Other nations took them as prisoners,
    but the Lord caused them to be kind to his people.
47 Lord our God, save us!
    Bring us back together from those nations.
Then we will give thanks to your holy name
    and joyfully praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
    He always was and will always be worthy of praise.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:22 Ham’s country Or “Egypt.” The Egyptians were Ham’s descendants. See Gen. 10:6-20.
  2. Psalm 106:23 Or “God said he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach and repelled his anger from destroying.” This compares Moses to a soldier standing at a break in a wall defending the city against enemy soldiers.
  3. Psalm 106:28 the dead This might refer to “lifeless gods” or to dead friends or relatives honored with meals eaten at their graves.
  4. Psalm 106:30 prayed Or “intervened,” or “judged.” Phinehas not only prayed to God, but he also did something to stop the people from doing these sins. See Num. 25:1-16.

Psalm 106(A)

Praise the Lord.[a](B)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;(C)
    his love endures forever.(D)

Who can proclaim the mighty acts(E) of the Lord
    or fully declare his praise?
Blessed are those who act justly,(F)
    who always do what is right.(G)

Remember me,(H) Lord, when you show favor(I) to your people,
    come to my aid(J) when you save them,
that I may enjoy the prosperity(K) of your chosen ones,(L)
    that I may share in the joy(M) of your nation
    and join your inheritance(N) in giving praise.

We have sinned,(O) even as our ancestors(P) did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.(Q)
When our ancestors were in Egypt,
    they gave no thought(R) to your miracles;
they did not remember(S) your many kindnesses,
    and they rebelled by the sea,(T) the Red Sea.[b]
Yet he saved them(U) for his name’s sake,(V)
    to make his mighty power(W) known.
He rebuked(X) the Red Sea, and it dried up;(Y)
    he led them through(Z) the depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them(AA) from the hand of the foe;(AB)
    from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.(AC)
11 The waters covered(AD) their adversaries;
    not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.(AE)

13 But they soon forgot(AF) what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold.(AG)
14 In the desert(AH) they gave in to their craving;
    in the wilderness(AI) they put God to the test.(AJ)
15 So he gave them(AK) what they asked for,
    but sent a wasting disease(AL) among them.

16 In the camp they grew envious(AM) of Moses
    and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth opened(AN) up and swallowed Dathan;(AO)
    it buried the company of Abiram.(AP)
18 Fire blazed(AQ) among their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb they made a calf(AR)
    and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God(AS)
    for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God(AT) who saved them,
    who had done great things(AU) in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham(AV)
    and awesome deeds(AW) by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy(AX) them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach(AY) before him
    to keep his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised(AZ) the pleasant land;(BA)
    they did not believe(BB) his promise.
25 They grumbled(BC) in their tents
    and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore(BD) to them with uplifted hand
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,(BE)
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
    and scatter(BF) them throughout the lands.

28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor(BG)
    and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29 they aroused the Lord’s anger(BH) by their wicked deeds,(BI)
    and a plague(BJ) broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas(BK) stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was checked.(BL)
31 This was credited to him(BM) as righteousness
    for endless generations(BN) to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah(BO) they angered the Lord,
    and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled(BP) against the Spirit(BQ) of God,
    and rash words came from Moses’ lips.[c](BR)

34 They did not destroy(BS) the peoples
    as the Lord had commanded(BT) them,
35 but they mingled(BU) with the nations
    and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,(BV)
    which became a snare(BW) to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons(BX)
    and their daughters to false gods.(BY)
38 They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons(BZ) and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves(CA) by what they did;
    by their deeds they prostituted(CB) themselves.

40 Therefore the Lord was angry(CC) with his people
    and abhorred his inheritance.(CD)
41 He gave them into the hands(CE) of the nations,
    and their foes ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed(CF) them
    and subjected them to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,(CG)
    but they were bent on rebellion(CH)
    and they wasted away in their sin.
44 Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry;(CI)
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant(CJ)
    and out of his great love(CK) he relented.(CL)
46 He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.(CM)

47 Save us,(CN) Lord our God,
    and gather us(CO) from the nations,
that we may give thanks(CP) to your holy name(CQ)
    and glory in your praise.

48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Let all the people say, “Amen!”(CR)

Praise the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 48
  2. Psalm 106:7 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verses 9 and 22
  3. Psalm 106:33 Or against his spirit, / and rash words came from his lips