Psalm 106:1-48

  • Israel’s lack of appreciation

    • They quickly forgot God’s acts (13)

    • God’s glory exchanged for image of a bull (19, 20)

    • They had no faith in God’s promise (24)

    • They joined in worship of Baal (28)

    • Children sacrificed to demons (37)

106  Praise Jah!* Give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good;+His loyal love endures forever.+  2  Who can fully declare Jehovah’s mighty actsOr proclaim all his praiseworthy deeds?+  3  Happy are those who act with justice,Who always do what is right.+  4  Remember me, O Jehovah, when you show favor* toward your people.+ Take care of me with your acts of salvation,  5  So that I may enjoy the goodness you show your chosen ones,+That I may rejoice along with your nation,That I may proudly praise* you along with your inheritance.  6  We have sinned just as our forefathers did;+We have done wrong; we have acted wickedly.+  7  Our forefathers in Egypt did not appreciate* your wonderful works. They did not remember your abundant loyal love,But they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea.+  8  But he saved them for the sake of his name,+To make his mightiness known.+  9  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;He led them through its depths as through a desert;*+ 10  He saved them from the hand of their foe+And reclaimed them from the hand of the enemy.+ 11  The waters covered their adversaries;Not one of them survived.*+ 12  Then they had faith in his promise;+They began to sing his praise.+ 13  But they quickly forgot what he did;+They did not wait for his counsel. 14  They gave way to their selfish desires in the wilderness;+They tested God in the desert.+ 15  He gave them what they requested,But then struck them with disease that made them* waste away.+ 16  In the camp they grew jealous of MosesAnd of Aaron,+ the holy one of Jehovah.+ 17  The earth then opened up and swallowed DaʹthanAnd covered those assembled with A·biʹram.+ 18  A fire blazed among their group;A flame consumed the wicked.+ 19  They made a calf in HorʹebAnd bowed down to a statue of metal;*+ 20  They exchanged my gloryFor the representation of a grass-eating bull.+ 21  They forgot God+ their Savior,Who did great things in Egypt,+ 22  Wonderful works in the land of Ham,+Awe-inspiring deeds at the Red Sea.+ 23  He was about to order their annihilation,But Moses his chosen one interceded with him*To avert his destructive anger.+ 24  Then they despised the desirable land;+They had no faith in his promise.+ 25  They kept grumbling in their tents;+They did not listen to the voice of Jehovah.+ 26  So he raised his hand in an oath concerning themThat he would make them fall in the wilderness;+ 27  He would make their descendants fall among the nations,And he would scatter them throughout the lands.+ 28  Then they joined in worship of* Baʹal of Peʹor,+And they ate sacrifices offered to the dead.* 29  They provoked Him by their actions,+And a scourge broke out among them.+ 30  But when Phinʹe·has stood up and intervened,The scourge was halted.+ 31  And it was counted to him as righteousnessThrough all generations forever.+ 32  They provoked Him at the waters of Merʹi·bah,*And it went badly for Moses because of them.+ 33  They embittered his spirit,And he spoke rashly with his lips.+ 34  They did not annihilate the peoples,+As Jehovah had commanded them.+ 35  But they mingled with the nations+And adopted* their ways.+ 36  They kept serving their idols,+And these became a snare to them.+ 37  They would sacrifice their sonsAnd their daughters to demons.+ 38  They kept spilling innocent blood,+The blood of their own sons and daughtersWhom they sacrificed to the idols of Caʹnaan;+And the land was polluted with bloodshed. 39  They became unclean by their works;They committed spiritual prostitution by their deeds.+ 40  So the anger of Jehovah blazed against his people,And he grew to detest his inheritance. 41  He repeatedly handed them over to the nations,+So that those who hated them might rule over them.+ 42  Their enemies oppressed them,And they were subject to their power.* 43  Many times he rescued them,+But they would rebel and disobey,+And they would be brought low for their error.+ 44  But he would see their distress+And hear their cry for help.+ 45  For their sake he would remember his covenant,And he would feel pity,* moved by his great* loyal love.+ 46  He would cause them to be pitiedBy all who held them captive.+ 47  Save us, O Jehovah our God,+And gather us from the nations+So that we may give thanks to your holy nameAnd exult in praising you.*+ 48  May Jehovah, the God of Israel, be praisedThroughout all eternity.*+ And let all the people say, “Amen!”* Praise Jah!*

Footnotes

Or “Hallelujah!” “Jah” is a shortened form of the name Jehovah.
Or “goodwill.”
Or “may boast about.”
Or “grasp the meaning of.”
Or “wilderness.”
Or “was left.”
Or “their soul.”
Or “molten statue.”
Lit., “stood in the breach before him.”
Or “attached themselves to.”
That is, sacrifices offered either to dead people or to lifeless gods.
Meaning “Quarreling.”
Or “learned.”
Lit., “hand.”
Or “feel regret.”
Or “abundant.”
Or “exult in your praise.”
Or “From eternity to eternity.”
Or “So be it!”
Or “Hallelujah!” “Jah” is a shortened form of the name Jehovah.