Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

106 (A)Praise the Lord!
(B)Oh give thanks to the Lord, (C)for he is good,
    (D)for his steadfast love endures forever!
Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
    or declare all his praise?
Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who (E)do righteousness at all times!

(F)Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,[a]
that I may look upon the prosperity of your (G)chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.

(H)Both we and (I)our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
they (J)did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but (K)rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Yet he saved them (L)for his name's sake,
    (M)that he might make known his mighty power.
He (N)rebuked the Red Sea, and it (O)became dry,
    and he (P)led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he (Q)saved them from the hand of the foe
    and (R)redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And (S)the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12 Then (T)they believed his words;
    they (U)sang his praise.

13 But they soon (V)forgot his works;
    they did not wait for (W)his counsel.
14 But they had (X)a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and (Y)put God to the test in the desert;
15 he (Z)gave them what they asked,
    but sent (AA)a wasting disease among them.

16 When men in the camp (AB)were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, (AC)the holy one of the Lord,
17 (AD)the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18 (AE)Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.

19 They (AF)made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20 They (AG)exchanged the glory of God[b]
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They (AH)forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in (AI)the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore (AJ)he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his (AK)chosen one,
(AL)stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they (AM)despised (AN)the pleasant land,
    having (AO)no faith in his promise.
25 They (AP)murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he (AQ)raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    (AR)scattering them among the lands.

28 Then they (AS)yoked themselves to the (AT)Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to (AU)the dead;
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then (AV)Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was (AW)counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.

32 They (AX)angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they (AY)made his spirit bitter,[c]
    and he (AZ)spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They did not (BA)destroy the peoples,
    (BB)as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they (BC)mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
    which became (BD)a snare to them.
37 They (BE)sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to (BF)the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was (BG)polluted with blood.
39 Thus they (BH)became unclean by their acts,
    and (BI)played the whore in their deeds.

40 Then (BJ)the anger of the Lord was kindled against (BK)his people,
    and he abhorred his (BL)heritage;
41 he (BM)gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies (BN)oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 (BO)Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their (BP)purposes
    and were (BQ)brought low through their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he (BR)heard their cry.
45 For their sake he (BS)remembered his covenant,
    and (BT)relented according to (BU)the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be (BV)pitied
    by all those who held them captive.

47 (BW)Save us, O Lord our God,
    and (BX)gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

48 (BY)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
(BZ)And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    (CA)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:4 Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation
  2. Psalm 106:20 Hebrew exchanged their glory
  3. Psalm 106:33 Or they rebelled against God's Spirit

Psalm 106

Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God

Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(A)
Who can declare the Lord’s mighty acts
or proclaim all the praise due Him?(B)
How happy are those who uphold justice,
who practice righteousness at all times.(C)

Remember me, Lord,
when You show favor to Your people.(D)
Come to me with Your salvation
so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of Your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
and boast about Your heritage.(E)

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have done wrong and have acted wickedly.(F)
Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp
the significance of Your wonderful works
or remember Your many acts of faithful love;
instead, they rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.(G)
Yet He saved them because of His name,
to make His power known.(H)
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
He led them through the depths as through a desert.(I)
10 He saved them from the hand of the adversary;
He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.(J)
11 Water covered their foes;
not one of them remained.(K)
12 Then they believed His promises
and sang His praise.(L)

13 They soon forgot His works
and would not wait for His counsel.(M)
14 They were seized with craving in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert.(N)
15 He gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.(O)

16 In the camp they were envious of Moses
and of Aaron, the Lord’s holy one.(P)
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it covered the assembly of Abiram.(Q)
18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly;
flames consumed the wicked.(R)

19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped the cast metal image.(S)
20 They exchanged their glory[a][b]
for the image of a grass-eating ox.(T)
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who did great things in Egypt,(U)
22 wonderful works in the land of Ham,[c]
awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.(V)
23 So He said He would have destroyed them—
if Moses His chosen one
had not stood before Him in the breach
to turn His wrath away from destroying them.(W)

24 They despised the pleasant land
and did not believe His promise.(X)
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not listen to the Lord’s voice.(Y)
26 So He raised His hand against them with an oath
that He would make them fall in the desert(Z)
27 and would disperse their descendants[d]
among the nations,
scattering them throughout the lands.(AA)

28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.[e](AB)
29 They provoked the Lord with their deeds,
and a plague broke out against them.(AC)
30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stopped.(AD)
31 It was credited to him as righteousness
throughout all generations to come.(AE)

32 They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[f] because of them;(AF)
33 for they embittered his spirit,[g]
and he spoke rashly with his lips.(AG)

34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them(AH)
35 but mingled with the nations
and adopted their ways.(AI)
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.(AJ)
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.(AK)
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
so the land became polluted with blood.(AL)
39 They defiled themselves by their actions
and prostituted themselves by their deeds.(AM)

40 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against His people,
and He abhorred His own inheritance.(AN)
41 He handed them over to the nations;
those who hated them ruled them.(AO)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their power.(AP)
43 He rescued them many times,
but they continued to rebel deliberately
and were beaten down by their sin.(AQ)

44 When He heard their cry,
He took note of their distress,(AR)
45 remembered His covenant with them,
and relented according to the riches
of His faithful love.(AS)
46 He caused them to be pitied
before all their captors.(AT)

47 Save us, Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to Your holy name
and rejoice in Your praise.(AU)

48 May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised
from everlasting to everlasting.(AV)
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!(AW)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:20 Alt Jewish tradition reads His or My glory
  2. Psalm 106:20 = God
  3. Psalm 106:22 = Egypt
  4. Psalm 106:27 Syr; MT reads would make their descendants fall
  5. Psalm 106:28 Lit sacrifices for dead ones
  6. Psalm 106:32 Lit and it was evil for Moses
  7. Psalm 106:33 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Jer; other Hb mss read they rebelled against His Spirit