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The Unfaithfulness of God’s People

106 Hallelujah!

Give thanks to the Lord,
    since he is good,
        for his gracious love exists forever.

Who can fully describe the mighty acts of the Lord
    or proclaim all his praises?
How happy are those who enforce justice,
    who live righteously all the time.
Remember me, Lord,
    when you show favor to your people.
Visit us with your deliverance,
to witness the prosperity of your chosen ones,
to rejoice in your nation’s joy,
    to glory in your inheritance.

We have sinned, along with our ancestors;
    we have committed iniquity and wickedness.
In Egypt, our ancestors neither comprehended your awesome deeds
    nor remembered your abundant gracious love.
        Instead, they rebelled beside the sea, the Reed[a] Sea.
He delivered for the sake of his name,[b]
    to make his power known.
He shouted at the Reed[c] Sea and it dried up;
    and led them through the sea as though through a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power of their foe;
    redeeming them from the power of their enemy.
11 The water overwhelmed their enemies,
    so that not one of them survived.[d]
12 Then they believed his word
    and sung his praise.

13 But they quickly forgot his deeds
    and did not wait for his counsel.
14 They were overwhelmed with craving in the wilderness,
    so God tested them in the wasteland.
15 God granted them their request,
    but sent leanness into their lives.

16 They were envious of Moses in the camp,
    and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
    closing over Abiram’s clan.
18 Then a fire burned among their company,
    a flame that set the wicked ablaze.

19 They fashioned a calf at Horeb
    and worshipped a carved image.
20 They exchanged their glory[e]
    with the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
    who performed great things in Egypt—
22 awesome deeds in the land of Ham,[f]
    astonishing deeds at the Reed[g] Sea.
23 He would have destroyed them
    but for Moses, his chosen one,
who stood in the breach before him
    to avert[h] his destructive wrath.

24 They rejected the desirable land,
    and they didn’t trust his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
    and didn’t listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 So he swore an oath concerning them—
    that he would cause them to die in the wilderness,
27 to cause their children to perish among the nations
    and be scattered among many[i] lands.
28 For they adopted the worship[j] of Baal Peor
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They had provoked anger by their deeds,
    so that a plague broke out against them.
30 But Phinehas intervened and prayed
    so that the plague was restrained.
31 And it was credited to him as a righteous act,
    from generation to generation—to eternity.
32 They provoked wrath at the waters of Meribah,
    and Moses suffered[k] on account of them.
33 For they rebelled against him,[l]
    so that he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.

34 They never destroyed the people,
    as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mingled among the nations
    and learned their ways.[m]
36 They worshipped[n] their idols,
    and this became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood—
    the blood of their sons and daughters—
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    thereby polluting the land with blood.
39 Therefore, they became unclean because of what they did;
    they have acted like whores by their evil deeds.
40 The Lord’s anger burned against his people,
    so that he despised his own inheritance.
41 He turned them over to domination by nations
    where those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    so that they were humiliated by their power.
43 He delivered them many times,
    but they demonstrated rebellion by their evil plans;
        therefore they sunk deep in their sins.

44 Yet when he saw their distress
    and heard their cries for help,[o]
45 he remembered his covenant with them,
    and so relented
        according to the greatness of his gracious love.
46 He caused all their captors to show compassion toward them.

47 Deliver us, Lord our God,
    gather us from among the nations
so we may praise your holy name
    and rejoice in praising you.
48 Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel,
    from eternity to eternity;
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Hallelujah!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:7 So MT; LXX reads Red
  2. Psalm 106:8 Or reputation
  3. Psalm 106:9 So MT; LXX reads Red
  4. Psalm 106:11 Or remained
  5. Psalm 106:20 I.e. their God
  6. Psalm 106:22 I.e. Egypt
  7. Psalm 106:22 So MT; LXX reads Red
  8. Psalm 106:23 Or turn back
  9. Psalm 106:27 The Heb. lacks many
  10. Psalm 106:28 Lit. they attached themselves with Baal Peor
  11. Psalm 106:32 Lit. and it was evil for Moses
  12. Psalm 106:33 Lit. against his spirit
  13. Psalm 106:35 Lit. deeds
  14. Psalm 106:36 Lit. served
  15. Psalm 106:44 The Heb. lacks help

Praise to Yahweh for His Faithfulness in Israel’s History

106 Praise Yah.[a] Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
Who can utter the mighty deeds of Yahweh,
or proclaim all his praise?
Blessed are those who observe justice,
he who does righteousness at all times.
Remember me, O Yahweh, when you show favor to your people.
Look after me when you deliver,
that I may see the good done your chosen ones,
to be glad in the joy of your nation,
to glory together with your inheritance.
We have sinned along with our ancestors.[b]
We have committed iniquity; we have incurred guilt.
Our ancestors[c] in Egypt did not understand your wonderful works.
They did not remember your many acts of loyal love,
and so they rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.[d]
Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,
to make known his might.
So he rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it dried up,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 Thus he saved them from the hand of the hater
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 But waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13 They quickly forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
14 And they craved intensely[f] in the wilderness,
and tested God in the desert.
15 So he gave to them their request,
but he sent leanness into their souls.[g]
16 And they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and it covered over the gang of Abiram.
18 Also fire burned in their assembly;
the flame devoured the wicked.
19 They made a calf at Horeb
and bowed down to a cast image.
20 And so they exchanged their glory
for an image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[h]
23 So he said he would exterminate them,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to reverse his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they refused the desirable land;
they did not believe his word,
25 but grumbled in their tents.
They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
26 So he made an oath[i] against them,
to make them drop in the wilderness,
27 and to disperse[j] their descendants[k] among the nations
and to scatter them among the lands.
28 They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices offered to the dead.[l]
29 Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and so the plague was stopped,
31 and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
throughout all generations.[m]
32 They also angered God at the waters of Meribah,
and it went badly for Moses on account of them,
33 because they rebelled against his Spirit,[n]
and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They did not exterminate the peoples,
as Yahweh had commanded them, [o]
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned their works,
36 and served their idols,
which became[p] a snare to them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and daughters
to the demons,
38 and they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and so the land was defiled with the blood.[q]
39 And they became unclean by their works,
and were unfaithful in their deeds.
40 So Yahweh’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 Then he gave them into the hand of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 And their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their hand.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they rebelled in their counsel,
and were brought low by their iniquity.
44 Yet he looked upon their distress
when he heard their cry.
45 And he remembered his covenant with them,
and relented based on the abundance of his loyal love.
46 And he let them find compassion[r]
before all their captors.
47 Save us, O Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and boast in your praise.
48 Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise Yah.[s]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:1 Hebrew hallelujah
  2. Psalm 106:6 Or “fathers”
  3. Psalm 106:7 Or “fathers”
  4. Psalm 106:7 Literally “sea of reed”
  5. Psalm 106:9 Literally “sea of reed”
  6. Psalm 106:14 Literally “craved a craving”
  7. Psalm 106:15 Hebrew “soul” or “inner self”
  8. Psalm 106:22 Literally “sea of reed”
  9. Psalm 106:26 Literally “he lifted his hand,” an act accompanying an oath
  10. Psalm 106:27 Or “let drop”
  11. Psalm 106:27 Literally “seed”
  12. Psalm 106:28 Hebrew “sacrifices of dead”
  13. Psalm 106:31 Literally “for a generation and a generation”
  14. Psalm 106:33 A slightly different verbal form yields “they embittered his spirit”
  15. Psalm 106:34 Hebrew “said to them”
  16. Psalm 106:36 Hebrew “and they became”
  17. Psalm 106:38 Hebrew “bloods,” that is, bloodshed
  18. Psalm 106:46 Literally “gave them to have mercies”
  19. Psalm 106:48 Hebrew hallelujah