Israel’s Rebelliousness and the Lords Help.

106 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He (B)is good;
For (C)His mercy is everlasting.
Who can speak of the (D)mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can proclaim all His praise?
How blessed are those who maintain [c]justice,
[d]Who (E)practice righteousness at all times!

Remember me, Lord, in Your (F)favor [e]toward Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation,
So that I may see the (G)prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may (H)rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
That I may (I)boast with Your [f]inheritance.

(J)We have sinned [g](K)like our fathers,
We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.
Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your [h]wonders;
They (L)did not remember [i]Your abundant kindnesses,
But (M)rebelled by the sea, at the [j]Red Sea.
Nevertheless He saved them (N)for the sake of His name,
So that He might (O)make His power known.
So He (P)rebuked the [k]Red Sea and it (Q)dried up,
And He (R)led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.
10 So He (S)saved them from the [l]hand of one who hated them,
And (T)redeemed them from the [m]hand of the enemy.
11 (U)The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12 Then they (V)believed His words;
They (W)sang His praise.

13 They quickly (X)forgot His works;
They (Y)did not wait for His plan,
14 But (Z)became lustfully greedy in the wilderness,
And (AA)put God to the test in the desert.
15 So He (AB)gave them their request,
But (AC)sent a [n]wasting disease among them.

16 When they became (AD)envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 The (AE)earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the [o]company of Abiram.
18 And a (AF)fire blazed up in their [p]company;
The flame consumed the wicked.

19 They (AG)made a calf in Horeb,
And worshiped a cast metal image.
20 So they (AH)exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They (AI)forgot God their Savior,
Who had done (AJ)great things in Egypt,
22 [q](AK)Wonders in the land of Ham,
And awesome things by the [r]Red Sea.
23 Therefore (AL)He said that He would destroy them,
If (AM)Moses, His chosen one, had not stood in the gap before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they (AN)rejected the (AO)pleasant land;
They (AP)did not believe His word,
25 But (AQ)grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore He [s](AR)swore to them
That He would have them fall in the wilderness,
27 And that He would (AS)bring down their [t]descendants among the nations,
And (AT)scatter them in the lands.

28 They also (AU)followed [u]Baal-peor,
And ate (AV)sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 So they (AW)provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas (AX)stood up and [v]intervened,
And so the (AY)plague was brought to a halt.
31 And it was (AZ)credited to him as righteousness,
To all generations forever.

32 They also (BA)provoked Him to wrath at the waters of [w]Meribah,
So that it (BB)went badly for Moses on their account.
33 Because they (BC)were rebellious against [x]His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They (BD)did not destroy the peoples,
As (BE)the Lord had commanded them,
35 But (BF)they got involved with the nations
And learned their [y]practices,
36 And (BG)served their idols,
(BH)Which became a snare to them.
37 They even (BI)sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the (BJ)demons,
38 And shed (BK)innocent blood,
The blood of their (BL)sons and their daughters
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was (BM)defiled with the blood.
39 So they became (BN)unclean in their [z]practices,
And [aa](BO)were unfaithful in their deeds.

40 Therefore the (BP)anger of the Lord was kindled against His people,
And He (BQ)loathed His [ab](BR)inheritance.
41 So (BS)He handed them over to the [ac]nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also (BT)oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their [ad]power.
43 Many times He would (BU)rescue them;
They, however, were rebellious in their (BV)plan,
And they (BW)sank down into their guilt.

44 Nevertheless He looked at their distress
When He (BX)heard their cry;
45 And He (BY)remembered His covenant for their sake,
And [ae](BZ)relented (CA)according to the greatness of His mercy.
46 He also made them (CB)objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors.

47 (CC)Save us, Lord our God,
And (CD)gather us from the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name
And (CE)glory in Your praise.
48 (CF)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
[af]Praise [ag]the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:1 Or Hallelujah!
  2. Psalm 106:1 Heb Yah
  3. Psalm 106:3 Or judgment
  4. Psalm 106:3 Many Heb mss The one who performs
  5. Psalm 106:4 Lit of
  6. Psalm 106:5 I.e., people
  7. Psalm 106:6 Lit with
  8. Psalm 106:7 I.e., wonderful acts
  9. Psalm 106:7 Lit the multitude of Your kindnesses
  10. Psalm 106:7 Lit Sea of Reeds
  11. Psalm 106:9 Lit Sea of Reeds
  12. Psalm 106:10 Or power
  13. Psalm 106:10 Or power
  14. Psalm 106:15 Or leanness into their soul
  15. Psalm 106:17 Or assembly, band
  16. Psalm 106:18 Or assembly, band
  17. Psalm 106:22 I.e., Wonderful acts
  18. Psalm 106:22 Lit Sea of Reeds
  19. Psalm 106:26 Lit lifted up His hand
  20. Psalm 106:27 Lit seed
  21. Psalm 106:28 Or Baal of Peor
  22. Psalm 106:30 Or pronounced judgment
  23. Psalm 106:32 Lit strife
  24. Psalm 106:33 Or his spirit
  25. Psalm 106:35 Lit works
  26. Psalm 106:39 Lit works
  27. Psalm 106:39 Or prostituted themselves
  28. Psalm 106:40 I.e., people
  29. Psalm 106:41 Or Gentiles
  30. Psalm 106:42 Lit hand
  31. Psalm 106:45 Lit was sorry
  32. Psalm 106:48 Or Hallelujah!
  33. Psalm 106:48 Heb Yah

Psalm 106

106 Praise the Lord!
    Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
    because his faithful love endures forever.
Who could possibly repeat all of the Lord’s mighty acts
    or publicly recount all his praise?

The people who uphold justice,
    who always do what is right, are truly happy!
Remember me, Lord, with the favor you show your people.
    Visit me with your saving help
        so I can experience the good things your chosen ones experience,
        so I can rejoice in the joy of your nation,
        so I can praise along with your possession.

We have sinned—right along with our ancestors.
    We’ve done what is wrong.
    We’ve acted wickedly.
Our ancestors in Egypt didn’t understand your wondrous works.
    They didn’t remember how much faithful love you have.
    So they rebelled by the sea—at the Reed Sea.[a]
But God saved them for the sake of his good name,
    to make known his mighty power.
God scolded the Reed Sea, and it dried right up;
    he led them through the deeps like they were a dry desert.
10 God saved them from hostile powers;
    he redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 But the waters covered over their foes—
    not one of them survived!
12 So our ancestors trusted God’s words;
    they sang God’s praise.

13 But how quickly they forgot what he had done!
    They wouldn’t wait for his advice.
14 They were overcome with craving in the desert;
    they tested God in the wastelands.
15 God gave them what they asked for;
    he sent food[b] to satisfy their appetites.

16 But then they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
    jealous too of Aaron, the Lord’s holy one.
17 So the earth opened up, swallowing Dathan,
    and covering over Abiram’s crowd.
18 Fire blazed throughout that whole group;
    flames burned up the wicked.

19 They made a calf at Horeb,
    bowing down to a metal idol.
20 They traded their glorious God[c]
    for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them—
    the one who had done great things in Egypt,
22     wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    awesome deeds at the Reed Sea.
23 So God determined that he would destroy them—
    except for the fact that Moses, his chosen one,
    stood in the way, right in front of him,
    and turned God’s destructive anger away.

24 But then they rejected the land that was so desirable.
    They didn’t trust God’s promise.
25 They muttered in their tents
    and wouldn’t listen to the Lord’s voice.
26 So God raised his hand against them,
    making them fall in the desert,
27     scattering their offspring among the nations,
    casting them across many lands.

28 They joined themselves to Baal-peor
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They made God angry by what they did,
    so a plague broke out against them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and prayed,
    and the plague was contained.
31 That’s why Phinehas is considered righteous,
    generation after generation, forever.

32 But they angered God at Meribah’s waters,
    and things went badly for Moses because of them,
33     because they made him bitter
    so that he spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They didn’t destroy the nations
    as the Lord had ordered them to do.
35 Instead, they got mixed up with the nations,
    learning what they did
36     and serving those false gods,
    which became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their own sons and daughters to demons!
38 They shed innocent blood,
        the blood of their own sons and daughters—
    the ones they sacrificed to Canaan’s false gods—
        so the land was defiled by the bloodshed.
39 They made themselves unclean by what they did; they prostituted themselves by their actions.

40 So the Lord’s anger burned against his people;
    he despised his own possession.
41 God handed them over to the nations;
    people who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were humbled under their power.
43 God delivered them numerous times,
    but they were determined to rebel,
    and so they were brought down by their own sin.
44 But God saw their distress
    when he heard their loud cries.
45 God remembered his covenant for their sake,
    and because of how much faithful love he has,
    God changed his mind.
46 God allowed them to receive compassion
    from all their captors.

47 Lord our God, save us!
    Gather us back together from among all the nations
        so we can give thanks to your holy name
        and rejoice in your praise!

48 Bless the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from forever ago to forever from now!
    And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:7 Or Red Sea; also in 106:9, 22
  2. Psalm 106:15 LXX
  3. Psalm 106:20 Or their Glory