Psalm 106

1 Praise the Lord.t
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord
or fully declare his praise?

3 Blessed are those who act justly,
who always do what is right.

4 Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people,
come to my aid when you save them,

5 that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may share in the joy of your nation
and join your inheritance in giving praise.

6 We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.t

8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
to make his mighty power known.

9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.

10 He saved them from the hand of the foe;
from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.

11 The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.

12 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.

13 But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his plan to unfold.

14 In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wilderness they put God to the test.

15 So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.

16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.

17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it buried the company of Abiram.

18 Fire blazed among their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.

19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.

20 They exchanged their glorious God
for an image of a bull, which eats grass.

21 They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,

22 miracles in the land of Ham
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23 So he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.

25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.

26 So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27 make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.

28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;

29 they aroused the Lord's anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.

30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.

31 This was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come.

32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;

33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses' lips.t

34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them,

35 but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.

36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.

37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to false gods.

38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.

39 They defiled themselves by what they did;
by their deeds they prostituted themselves.

40 Therefore the Lord was angry with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.

41 He gave them into the hands of the nations,
and their foes ruled over them.

42 Their enemies oppressed them
and subjected them to their power.

43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.

44 Yet he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;

45 for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.

46 He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy.

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

48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, "Amen!"
Praise the Lord.

PSALMS 106

A Nation //Asks for Forgiveness

1  t We will celebrate
and praise you, [Lord]!
You are good to us,
and your love never fails.

2 No one can praise you enough
for all the mighty things
you have done.

3 You bless those people
who are honest and fair
in everything they do.

4 Remember me, [Lord],
when you show kindness
by saving your people.

5 Let me prosper with the rest
of your chosen ones,
as they celebrate with pride
because they belong to you.

6 We and our ancestors
have sinned terribly.

7  t When they were in Egypt,
they paid no attention
to your marvelous deeds
or your wonderful love.
And they turned against you
at the Red Sea.t

8 But you were true to your name,
and you rescued them to prove
how mighty you are.

9  t You said to the Red Sea, t
“Dry up!”
Then you led your people across
on land as dry as a desert.

10 You saved all of them

11 and drowned every one
of their enemies.

12  t Then your people trusted you
and sang your praises.

13 But they soon forgot
what you had done
and rejected your advice.

14  t They became greedy for food
and tested you there
in the desert.

15 So you gave them
what they wanted,
but later you destroyed them
with a horrible disease.

16  t Everyone in camp was jealous
of Moses and of Aaron,
your chosen priest.

17 Dathan and Abiram rebelled,
and the earth opened up
and swallowed them.

18 Then fire broke out
and destroyed all
of their followers.

19  t At Horeb your people
made and worshiped the statue

20 of a bull, instead of you,
their glorious God.

21 You worked powerful miracles
to save them from Egypt,
but they forgot about you

22 and the fearsome things
you did at the Red Sea.t

23 You were angry and started
to destroy them,
but Moses, your chosen leader,
begged you not to do it.

24  t They would not trust
you, [Lord],
and they did not like
the promised land.

25 They would not obey you,
and they grumbled
in their tents.

26 So you threatened them
by saying, “I'll kill you
out here in the desert!

27  t I'll scatter your children
everywhere in the world.”

28  t Your people became followers
of a god named Baal Peor,
and they ate sacrifices
offered to the dead.t

29 They did such terrible things
that you punished them
with a deadly disease.

30 But Phinehast helped them,
and the sickness stopped.

31 Now he will always
be highly honored.

32  t At Meribah Springt
they turned against you
and made you furious.

33 Then Moses got into trouble
for speaking in anger.

34  t Our [Lord], they disobeyed you
by refusing to destroy
the nations.

35 Instead they were friendly
with those foreigners
and followed their customs.

36 Then they fell into the trap
of worshiping idols.

37  t They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons

38  t and to the gods of Canaan.
Then they poured out the blood
of these innocent children
and made the land filthy.

39 By doing such gruesome things,
they also became filthy.

40  t Finally, [Lord], you were angry
and terribly disgusted
with your people.

41 So you put them in the power
of nations that hated them.

42 They were mistreated and abused
by their enemies,

43 but you saved them
time after time.
They were determined to rebel,
and their sins caused
their downfall.

44 You answered their prayers
when they were in trouble.

45 You kept your agreement
and were so merciful

46 that their enemies
had pity on them.

47  t Save us, [Lord] God!
Bring us back
from among the nations.
Let us celebrate and shout
in praise of your holy name.

48 [Lord] God of Israel,
you deserve to be praised
forever and ever.
Let everyone say, “Amen!
Shout praises to the [Lord]!”