Psalms 106

1 Praise the Lord! Thank the Lord, for he is good! His trustworthy love lasts forever.

Let the Lord be praised. O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.

2 Who can give an account of all the wonderful things the Lord has done? Who can give him all the praise he is due?

Who is able to give an account of the great acts of the Lord, or to make clear all his praise?

3 Happy are those who treat people fairly, who always do what is right.

Happy are they whose decisions are upright, and he who does righteousness at all times.

4 Please remember me when you are generous to your people; think of me when you come to save.

Keep me in mind, O Lord, when you are good to your people; O let your salvation come to me;

5 Let me see your chosen people prosperous; let me be happy together with your nation; let me share in being proud of you with those who belong to you.

So that I may see the well-being of the people of your selection, and have a part in the joy of your nation, and take pride in your heritage.

6 We have sinned just like our forefathers. We have done wrong. We are guilty.

We are sinners like our fathers, we have done wrong, our acts are evil.

7 They didn't pay attention to the wonderful things you did. They didn't keep in mind how much you loved them, but chose to rebel at the sea, the Red Sea.

Our fathers did not give thought to your wonders in Egypt; they did not keep in memory the great number of your mercies, but gave you cause for wrath at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

8 Even so he saved them because of the kind of person he is, and to show his power

But he was their saviour because of his name, so that men might see his great power.

9 He gave his order to the Red Sea, and it dried up. He led his people across the seabed as if it were a desert.

By his word the Red Sea was made dry: and he took them through the deep waters as through the waste land.

10 He rescued them from those who hated them; he saved them from their enemies' power.

And he took them safely out of the hands of their haters, and kept them from the attacks of those who were against them.

11 The water drowned their enemies—none of them survived,

And the waters went over their haters; all of them came to an end.

12 Then his people trusted in what he promised, and sang his praises.

Then they had faith in his words; they gave him songs of praise.

13 But they quickly forgot what he had done for them, and they didn't listen to his advice.

But their memory of his works was short; not waiting to be guided by him,

14 They were filled with desperate cravings in the wilderness; they provoked God in the desert.

They gave way to their evil desires in the waste land, and put God to the test in the dry places.

15 He gave them what they wanted, but sent them a plague as well.

And he gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease into their souls.

16 In the camp the people became jealous of Moses, and of Aaron, the Lord's holy priest.

They were full of envy against Moses among the tents, and against Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

17 The earth split open and swallowed up Dathan; it buried Abiram and his followers.

The earth opening put an end to Dathan, covering up Abiram and his band.

18 Fire broke out among them—a flame that burned them up.

And a fire was lighted among their tents; the sinners were burned up by the flames.

19 At Mount Sinai they made a calf, they bowed down before a metal idol.

They made a young ox in Horeb, and gave worship to an image of gold.

20 They replaced their God of glory with a bull that eats grass!

And their glory was changed into the image of an ox, whose food is grass.

21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done marvelous things in Egypt;

They had no memory of God their saviour, who had done great things in Egypt;

22 performing miracles in the land of Ham, doing amazing things at the Red Sea.

Works of wonder in the land of Ham, and things of fear by the Red Sea.

23 So he said he was going to destroy them But Moses, his chosen leader, placed himself between the Lord and the people to persuade the Lord not to destroy them in his anger.

And he was purposing to put an end to them if Moses, his special servant, had not gone up before him, between him and his people, turning back his wrath, to keep them from destruction.

24 Later the people refused to enter the Promised Land; they didn't trust him to do as he'd promised.

They were disgusted with the good land; they had no belief in his word;

25 They complained in their tents about the Lord, and refused to obey what he told them.

Talking against him secretly in their tents, they did not give ear to the voice of the Lord.

26 So he raised his hand to give them a serious warning that he would bring them down in the wilderness,

So he made an oath against them, to put an end to them in the waste land:

27 that he would disperse their descendants among the heathen nations, scattering them among countries far away.

That their children might be mixed among the nations, and sent away into other lands.

28 They gave their allegiance to Baal Peor, and ate food sacrificed to the dead.

And they were joined to Baal-peor, and took part in the offerings to the dead.

29 They provoked the Lord by what they did, making him angry, so a plague broke out among them.

So they made him angry by their behaviour; and he sent disease on them.

30 But Phinehas took a stand for the Lord and intervened, and the plague was stopped in its tracks.

Then Phinehas got up, and made prayer for them; and the disease went no farther.

31 He has been considered as a man who lived right from that time on and for all generations.

And all the generations coming after him kept the memory of his righteousness for ever.

32 They also angered him at the waters of Meribah where things went badly for Moses because of them.

They made God angry again at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled because of them;

33 They upset him so much that he spoke without thinking in the heat of the moment.

For they made his spirit bitter, and he said unwise things.

34 They did not destroy the heathen peoples as the Lord had told them to do,

They did not put an end to the peoples, as the Lord had said;

35 but instead they joined in with them and adopted their way of life.

But they were joined to the nations, learning their works.

36 They worshiped their pagan idols which became a trap for them.

And they gave worship to images; which were a danger to them:

37 The even sacrificed their sons and daughters to these demons.

They even made offerings of their sons and their daughters to evil spirits,

38 They shed the blood of innocent children, their sons and daughters, sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan. By doing so they defiled the land with blood.

And gave the blood of their sons and their daughters who had done no wrong, offering them to the images of Canaan; and the land was made unclean with blood.

39 The also defiled themselves by what they did: their actions were spiritual adultery.

So they became unclean through their works, going after their evil desires.

40 So the Lord was angry with his people—he loathed those who belonged to him.

Then the wrath of the Lord was burning against his people, and he was angry with his heritage.

41 He handed them over to the heathen nations. These people who hated them now became their rulers.

And he gave them into the hands of the nations; and they were ruled by their haters.

42 Their enemies dominated and subdued them with their power.

By them they were crushed, and made low under their hands.

43 The Lord repeatedly rescued them, but they continued with their rebellious ideas, until they were finally destroyed by their own sins.

Again and again he made them free; but their hearts were turned against his purpose, and they were overcome by their sins.

44 Despite all this, the Lord was moved by their suffering; he heard their sad cries.

But when their cry came to his ears, he had pity on their trouble:

45 He remembered the agreement he had made with them, and he held back because of his great kindness and love.

And kept in mind his agreement with them, and in his great mercy gave them forgiveness.

46 He made the people who captured them treat them with mercy.

He put pity into the hearts of those who made them prisoners.

47 Save us, Lord, our God! Bring us back together from among the nations, so we can thank you and declare how magnificent and holy you are.

Be our saviour, O Lord our God, and let us come back together from among the nations, so that we may give honour to your holy name, and have glory in your praise.

48 How wonderful is the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives forever and ever! Let all the people say “Amen”! Praise the Lord!

Praise be to the Lord God of Israel for ever and for ever; and let all the people say, So be it. Give praise to the Lord.