Psalm 106

¹Praise the Lord!

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

²Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,

or declare all his praise?

³Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.

⁴Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you deliver them;

⁵that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory in your heritage.

⁶Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

⁷Our 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 at the Red Sea.

⁸Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

so that he might make known his mighty power.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;

he led them through the deep as through a desert.

¹⁰So he saved them from the hand of the foe,

and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

¹²Then they believed his words;

they sang his praise.

¹³But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel.

¹⁴But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

¹⁵he gave them what they asked,

but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶They were jealous of Moses in the camp,

and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the faction of Abiram.

¹⁸Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf at Horeb

and worshiped a cast image.

²⁰They exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

²²wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

²³Therefore 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.

²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in his promise.

²⁵They grumbled in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

²⁶Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

²⁷and would disperse their descendants among the nations,

scattering them over the lands.

²⁸Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

²⁹they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

and the plague was stopped.

³¹And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

³²They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account;

³³for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke words that were rash.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples,

as the Lord commanded them,

³⁵but they mingled with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

³⁶They served their idols,

which became a snare to them.

³⁷They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons;

³⁸they 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.

³⁹Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and prostituted themselves in their doings.

⁴⁰Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

⁴¹he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

⁴³Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes,

and were brought low through their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless he regarded their distress

when he heard their cry.

⁴⁵For their sake he remembered his covenant,

and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

⁴⁶He caused them to be pitied

by all who held them captive.

⁴⁷Save 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.

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the Lord!