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Psalm 106

Praise the Lord!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
    Who can ever praise him enough?
There is joy for those who deal justly with others
    and always do what is right.

Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    come near and rescue me.
Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.
    Let me rejoice in the joy of your people;
    let me praise you with those who are your heritage.

Like our ancestors, we have sinned.
    We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
Our ancestors in Egypt
    were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds.
They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.
    Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.[a]
Even so, he saved them—
    to defend the honor of his name
    and to demonstrate his mighty power.
He commanded the Red Sea[b] to dry up.
    He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert.
10 So he rescued them from their enemies
    and redeemed them from their foes.
11 Then the water returned and covered their enemies;
    not one of them survived.
12 Then his people believed his promises.
    Then they sang his praise.

13 Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!
    They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!
14 In the wilderness their desires ran wild,
    testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.
15 So he gave them what they asked for,
    but he sent a plague along with it.
16 The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
17 Because of this, the earth opened up;
    it swallowed Dathan
    and buried Abiram and the other rebels.
18 Fire fell upon their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.

19 The people made a calf at Mount Sinai[c];
    they bowed before an image made of gold.
20 They traded their glorious God
    for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot God, their savior,
    who had done such great things in Egypt—
22 such wonderful things in the land of Ham,
    such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 So he declared he would destroy them.
    But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people.
    He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.

24 The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
    for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.
25 Instead, they grumbled in their tents
    and refused to obey the Lord.
26 Therefore, he solemnly swore
    that he would kill them in the wilderness,
27 that he would scatter their descendants[d] among the nations,
    exiling them to distant lands.

28 Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor;
    they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!
29 They angered the Lord with all these things,
    so a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas had the courage to intervene,
    and the plague was stopped.
31 So he has been regarded as a righteous man
    ever since that time.

32 At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord,
    causing Moses serious trouble.
33 They made Moses angry,[e]
    and he spoke foolishly.

34 Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land,
    as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mingled among the pagans
    and adopted their evil customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,
    which led to their downfall.
37 They even sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons.
38 They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters.
By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan,
    they polluted the land with murder.
39 They defiled themselves by their evil deeds,
    and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.

40 That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people,
    and he abhorred his own special possession.
41 He handed them over to pagan nations,
    and they were ruled by those who hated them.
42 Their enemies crushed them
    and brought them under their cruel power.
43 Again and again he rescued them,
    but they chose to rebel against him,
    and they were finally destroyed by their sin.
44 Even so, he pitied them in their distress
    and listened to their cries.
45 He remembered his covenant with them
    and relented because of his unfailing love.
46 He even caused their captors
    to treat them with kindness.

47 Save us, O Lord our God!
    Gather us back from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
    and rejoice and praise you.

48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. 106:7 Hebrew at the sea, the sea of reeds.
  2. 106:9 Hebrew sea of reeds; also in 106:22.
  3. 106:19 Hebrew at Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  4. 106:27 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads he would cause their descendants to fall.
  5. 106:33 Hebrew They embittered his spirit.

Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

Praise the Lord!
    O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord
    or declare all his praise?(B)
Happy are those who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times.(C)

Remember us,[a] O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help us[b] when you deliver them,(D)
that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that we may glory in your heritage.(E)

Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.(F)
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love
    but rebelled against the Most High[c] at the Red Sea.[d](G)
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
    so that he might make known his mighty power.(H)
He rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it became dry;
    he led them through the deep as through a desert.(I)
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.(J)
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.(K)
12 Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.(L)

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

16 They were jealous of Moses in the camp
    and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.(P)
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
    and covered the faction of Abiram.(Q)
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.(R)

19 They made a calf at Horeb
    and worshiped a cast image.(S)
20 They exchanged the glory of God[f]
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.(T)
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,(U)
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[g](V)
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.(W)

24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.(X)
25 They grumbled in their tents
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.(Y)
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness(Z)
27 and would disperse[h] their descendants among the nations,
    scattering them over the lands.(AA)

28 Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;(AB)
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
    and the plague was stopped.(AC)
31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.(AD)

32 They angered the Lord[i] at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,(AE)
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
    and he spoke words that were rash.(AF)

34 They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the Lord had commanded them,(AG)
35 but they mingled with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.(AH)
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.(AI)
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;(AJ)
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 polluted with blood.(AK)
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts
    and prostituted themselves in their doings.(AL)

40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;(AM)
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.(AN)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.(AO)
44 Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
    when he heard their cry.(AP)
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
    and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.(AQ)
46 He caused them to be pitied
    by all who held them captive.(AR)

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

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

Footnotes

  1. 106.4 Heb mss Gk: MT me
  2. 106.4 Heb mss Gk: MT me
  3. 106.7 Cn: Heb rebelled at the sea
  4. 106.7 Or Sea of Reeds
  5. 106.9 Or Sea of Reeds
  6. 106.20 Compare Gk mss: Heb exchanged their glory
  7. 106.22 Or Sea of Reeds
  8. 106.27 Syr: Heb cause to fall
  9. 106.32 Heb him