Psalm 105-106
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 105
God’s Faithfulness to Israel
1 O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.(A)
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.(B)
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.(C)
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.(D)
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,(E)
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham,[a]
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.(F)
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,(G)
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,(H)
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”(I)
12 When they were few in number,
of little account and strangers in it,(J)
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,(K)
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.”
16 When he summoned famine against the land
and cut off every supply of bread,[b](L)
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.(M)
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;(N)
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord kept testing him.(O)
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.(P)
21 He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,(Q)
22 to instruct[c] his officials at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.(R)
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes,(S)
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.(T)
26 He sent his servant Moses
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.(U)
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.(V)
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark;
they rebelled[d] against his words.(W)
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.(X)
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.(Y)
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
and gnats throughout their country.(Z)
32 He gave them hail for rain
and lightning that flashed through their land.(AA)
33 He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;(AB)
35 they devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.(AC)
37 Then he brought Israel[e] out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.(AD)
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.(AE)
39 He spread a cloud for a covering
and fire to give light by night.(AF)
40 They asked, and he brought quails
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.(AG)
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.(AH)
42 For he remembered his holy promise
and Abraham, his servant.(AI)
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,(AJ)
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!(AK)
Psalm 106
A Confession of Israel’s Sins
1 Praise the Lord!
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(AL)
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord
or declare all his praise?(AM)
3 Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.(AN)
4 Remember us,[f] O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help us[g] when you deliver them,(AO)
5 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.(AP)
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.(AQ)
7 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[h] at the Red Sea.[i](AR)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
so that he might make known his mighty power.(AS)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea,[j] and it became dry;
he led them through the deep as through a desert.(AT)
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.(AU)
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.(AV)
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.(AW)
13 But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.(AX)
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness
and put God to the test in the desert;(AY)
15 he gave them what they asked
but sent a wasting disease among them.(AZ)
16 They were jealous of Moses in the camp
and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.(BA)
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
and covered the faction of Abiram.(BB)
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.(BC)
19 They made a calf at Horeb
and worshiped a cast image.(BD)
20 They exchanged the glory of God[k]
for the image of an ox that eats grass.(BE)
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,(BF)
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[l](BG)
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.(BH)
24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.(BI)
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.(BJ)
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness(BK)
27 and would disperse[m] their descendants among the nations,
scattering them over the lands.(BL)
28 Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;(BM)
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.(BN)
31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.(BO)
32 They angered the Lord[n] at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,(BP)
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke words that were rash.(BQ)
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord had commanded them,(BR)
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned to do as they did.(BS)
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.(BT)
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;(BU)
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.(BV)
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts
and prostituted themselves in their doings.(BW)
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;(BX)
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.(BY)
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.(BZ)
44 Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
when he heard their cry.(CA)
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.(CB)
46 He caused them to be pitied
by all who held them captive.(CC)
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.(CD)
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the Lord!(CE)
Footnotes
- 105.6 Or Israel
- 105.16 Heb staff of bread
- 105.22 Gk Syr Jerome: Heb to bind
- 105.28 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb they did not rebel
- 105.37 Heb them
- 106.4 Heb mss Gk: MT me
- 106.4 Heb mss Gk: MT me
- 106.7 Cn: Heb rebelled at the sea
- 106.7 Or Sea of Reeds
- 106.9 Or Sea of Reeds
- 106.20 Compare Gk mss: Heb exchanged their glory
- 106.22 Or Sea of Reeds
- 106.27 Syr: Heb cause to fall
- 106.32 Heb him
Psalm 105-106
Complete Jewish Bible
105 Give thanks to Adonai! Call on his name!
Make his deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
talk about all his wonders.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let those seeking Adonai have joyful hearts.
4 Seek Adonai and his strength;
always seek his presence.
5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his signs and his spoken rulings.
6 You descendants of Avraham his servant,
you offspring of Ya‘akov, his chosen ones,
7 he is Adonai our God!
His rulings are everywhere on earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded to a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Avraham,
the oath he swore to Yitz’chak,
10 and established as a law for Ya‘akov,
for Isra’el as an everlasting covenant:
11 “To you I will give the land of Kena‘an
as your allotted heritage.”
12 When they were but few in number,
and not only few, but aliens there too,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from this kingdom to that people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them.
Yes, for their sakes he rebuked even kings:
15 “Don’t touch my anointed ones
or do my prophets harm!”
16 He called down famine on the land,
broke off all their food supply,
17 but sent a man ahead of them —
Yosef, who was sold as a slave.
18 They shackled his feet with chains,
and they bound him in irons;
19 until the time when his word proved true,
God’s utterance kept testing him.
20 The king sent and had him released,
the ruler of peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his household,
in charge of all he owned,
22 correcting his officers as he saw fit
and teaching his counselors wisdom.
23 Then Isra’el too came into Egypt,
Ya‘akov lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
24 There God made his people very fruitful,
made them too numerous for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
and treat his servants unfairly.
26 He sent his servant Moshe
and Aharon, whom he had chosen.
27 They worked his signs among them,
his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and the land grew dark;
they did not defy his word.
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the royal chambers.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects
and lice throughout their land.
32 He gave them hail instead of rain,
with fiery [lightning] throughout their land.
33 He struck their vines and fig trees,
shattering trees all over their country.
34 He spoke, and locusts came,
also grasshoppers without number;
35 they ate up everything green in their land,
devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 Then he led his people out,
laden with silver and gold;
among his tribes not one stumbled.
38 Egypt was happy to have them leave,
because fear of [Isra’el] had seized them.
39 He spread out a cloud to screen them off
and fire to give them light at night.
40 When they asked, he brought them quails
and satisfied them with food from heaven.
41 He split a rock, and water gushed out,
flowing as a river over the dry ground,
42 for he remembered his holy promise
to his servant Avraham.
43 He led out his people with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 Then he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they possessed what peoples had toiled to produce,
45 in order to obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Halleluyah!
106 Halleluyah!
Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Who can express Adonai’s mighty doings
or proclaim in full his praise?
3 How happy are those who act justly,
who always do what is right!
4 Remember me, Adonai, when you show favor to your people,
keep me in mind when you save them;
5 so I can see how well things are going
with those whom you have chosen,
so that I can rejoice in your nation’s joy,
and glory in your heritage.
6 Together with our ancestors, we have sinned,
done wrong, acted wickedly.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to grasp
the meaning of your wonders.
They didn’t keep in mind your great deeds of grace
but rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Suf.
8 Yet he saved them for his own name’s sake,
to make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Sea of Suf, and it dried up;
he led them through its depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them from hostile hands,
redeemed them from the power of the foe.
11 The water closed over their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words,
and they sang his praise.
13 But soon they forgot his deeds
and wouldn’t wait for his counsel.
14 In the desert they gave way to insatiable greed;
in the wastelands they put God to the test.
15 He gave them what they wanted
but sent meagerness into their souls.
16 In the camp they were jealous of Moshe
and Aharon, Adonai’s holy one.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Datan
and closed over Aviram’s allies.
18 A fire blazed out against that group,
the flames consumed the wicked.
19 In Horev they fashioned a calf,
they worshipped a cast metal image.
20 Thus they exchanged their Glory
for the image of an ox that eats grass!
21 They forgot God, who had saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
fearsome deeds by the Sea of Suf.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
[and he would have,] had not Moshe his chosen one
stood before him in the breach
to turn back his destroying fury.
24 Next, they rejected the beautiful land,
they didn’t trust his promise;
25 and they complained in their tents,
they didn’t obey Adonai.
26 Therefore, raising his hand, he swore to them
that he would strike them down in the desert
27 and strike down their descendants among the nations,
dispersing them in foreign lands.
28 Now they joined themselves to Ba‘al-P‘or
and ate meat sacrificed to dead things.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds,
so that a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Pinchas stood up and executed judgment;
so the plague was checked.
31 That was credited to him as righteousness,
through all generations forever.
32 They angered him at the M’rivah Spring,
and Moshe suffered on their account;
33 for when they embittered his spirit,
[Moshe] spoke up without thinking.
34 They failed to destroy the peoples,
as Adonai had ordered them to do,
35 but mingled with the nations
and learned to follow their ways.
36 They went on to serve their idols,
which became a snare for them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.
38 Yes, they shed innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to Kena‘an’s false gods,
polluting the land with blood.
39 Thus they were defiled by their deeds;
they prostituted themselves by their actions,
40 For this Adonai’s fury blazed up against his people,
and he detested his heritage.
41 He handed them over to the power of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and kept them in subjection to their power.
43 Many times [God] rescued them,
but they kept making plans to rebel.
Thus they were brought low
by their own wrongdoing.
44 Still he took pity on their distress
whenever he heard their cry.
45 For their sakes he kept in mind his covenant
and in his limitless grace relented,
46 causing them to be treated with compassion
by all who had taken them captive.
47 Save us, Adonai our God!
Gather us from among the nations,
so that we can thank your holy name
and glory in praising you.
48 Blessed be Adonai, the God of Isra’el,
from eternity past to eternity future.
Now let all the people say,
“Amen! Halleluyah!”
Psalm 105-106
The Message
105 1-6 Hallelujah!
Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.
7-15 He’s God, our God,
in charge of the whole earth.
And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—
for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word.
It’s the Covenant he made with Abraham,
the same oath he swore to Isaac,
The very statute he established with Jacob,
the eternal Covenant with Israel,
Namely, “I give you the land.
Canaan is your hill-country inheritance.”
When they didn’t count for much,
a mere handful, and strangers at that,
Wandering from country to country,
drifting from pillar to post,
He permitted no one to abuse them.
He told kings to keep their hands off:
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed,
don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”
16-22 Then he called down a famine on the country,
he broke every last blade of wheat.
But he sent a man on ahead:
Joseph, sold as a slave.
They put cruel chains on his ankles,
an iron collar around his neck,
Until God’s word came to the Pharaoh,
and God confirmed his promise.
God sent the king to release him.
The Pharaoh set Joseph free;
He appointed him master of his palace,
put him in charge of all his business
To personally instruct his princes
and train his advisors in wisdom.
23-42 Then Israel entered Egypt,
Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.
God gave his people lots of babies;
soon their numbers alarmed their foes.
He turned the Egyptians against his people;
they abused and cheated God’s servants.
Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he also chose.
They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland,
miracles in the Land of Ham.
He spoke, “Darkness!” and it turned dark—
they couldn’t see what they were doing.
He turned all their water to blood
so that all their fish died;
He made frogs swarm through the land,
even into the king’s bedroom;
He gave the word and flies swarmed,
gnats filled the air.
He substituted hail for rain,
he stabbed their land with lightning;
He wasted their vines and fig trees,
smashed their groves of trees to splinters;
With a word he brought in locusts,
millions of locusts, armies of locusts;
They consumed every blade of grass in the country
and picked the ground clean of produce;
He struck down every firstborn in the land,
the first fruits of their virile powers.
He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot,
and not one among his tribes even stumbled.
Egypt was glad to have them go—
they were scared to death of them.
God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day
and a fire to light their way through the night;
They prayed and he brought quail,
filled them with the bread of heaven;
He opened the rock and water poured out;
it flowed like a river through that desert—
All because he remembered his Covenant,
his promise to Abraham, his servant.
43-45 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy;
his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!
He made them a gift of the country they entered,
helped them seize the wealth of the nations
So they could do everything he told them—
could follow his instructions to the letter.
Hallelujah!
106 1-3 Hallelujah!
Thank God! And why?
Because he’s good, because his love lasts.
But who on earth can do it—
declaim God’s mighty acts, broadcast all his praises?
You’re one happy man when you do what’s right,
one happy woman when you form the habit of justice.
4-5 Remember me, God, when you enjoy your people;
include me when you save them;
I want to see your chosen succeed,
celebrate with your celebrating nation,
join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!
6-12 We’ve sinned a lot, both we and our parents;
We’ve fallen short, hurt a lot of people.
After our parents left Egypt,
they took your wonders for granted,
forgot your great and wonderful love.
They were barely beyond the Red Sea
when they defied the High God
—the very place he saved them!
—the place he revealed his amazing power!
He rebuked the Red Sea so that it dried up on the spot
—he paraded them right through!
—no one so much as got wet feet!
He saved them from a life of oppression,
pried them loose from the grip of the enemy.
Then the waters flowed back on their oppressors;
there wasn’t a single survivor.
Then they believed his words were true
and broke out in songs of praise.
13-18 But it wasn’t long before they forgot the whole thing,
wouldn’t wait to be told what to do.
They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert,
provoked God with their insistent demands.
He gave them exactly what they asked for—
but along with it they got an empty heart.
One day in camp some grew jealous of Moses,
also of Aaron, holy priest of God.
The ground opened and swallowed Dathan,
then buried Abiram’s gang.
Fire flared against that rebel crew
and torched them to a cinder.
19-22 They cast in metal a bull calf at Horeb
and worshiped the statue they’d made.
They traded the Glory
for a cheap piece of sculpture—a grass-chewing bull!
They forgot God, their very own Savior,
who turned things around in Egypt,
Who created a world of wonders in the Land of Ham,
who gave that stunning performance at the Red Sea.
23-27 Fed up, God decided to get rid of them—
and except for Moses, his chosen, he would have.
But Moses stood in the gap and deflected God’s anger,
prevented it from destroying them utterly.
They went on to reject the Blessed Land,
didn’t believe a word of what God promised.
They found fault with the life they had
and turned a deaf ear to God’s voice.
Exasperated, God swore
that he’d lay them low in the desert,
Scattering their children here and there,
strewing them all over the earth.
28-31 Then they linked up with Baal Peor,
attending funeral banquets and eating idol food.
That made God so angry
that a plague spread through their ranks;
Phinehas stood up and pled their case
and the plague was stopped.
This was counted to his credit;
his descendants will never forget it.
32-33 They angered God again at Meribah Springs;
this time Moses got mixed up in their evil;
Because they defied God yet again,
Moses exploded and lost his temper.
34-39 They didn’t wipe out those godless cultures
as ordered by God;
Instead they intermarried with the heathen,
and in time became just like them.
They worshiped their idols,
were caught in the trap of idols.
They sacrificed their sons and daughters
at the altars of demon gods.
They slit the throats of their babies,
murdered their infant girls and boys.
They offered their babies to Canaan’s gods;
the blood of their babies stained the land.
Their way of life reeked;
they lived like prostitutes.
40-43 And God was furious—a wildfire anger;
he couldn’t stand even to look at his people.
He turned them over to the heathen
so that the people who hated them ruled them.
Their enemies made life hard for them;
they were tyrannized under that rule.
Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned—
until finally their sins destroyed them.
44-46 Still, when God saw the trouble they were in
and heard their cries for help,
He remembered his Covenant with them,
and, immense with love, took them by the hand.
He poured out his mercy on them
while their captors looked on, amazed.
47-48 Save us, God, our God!
Gather us back out of exile
So we can give thanks to your holy name
and join in the glory when you are praised!
Blessed be God, Israel’s God!
Bless now, bless always!
Oh! Let everyone say Amen!
Hallelujah!
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson