Israel’s Rebelliousness and the LORD’S Help.

1[a]Praise [b]the LORD!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His mercy is everlasting.

2Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,

Or can proclaim all His praise?

3How blessed are those who maintain [c]justice,

[d]Who practice righteousness at all times!

4Remember me, LORD, in Your favor [e]toward Your people.

Visit me with Your salvation,

5So that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the joy of Your nation,

That I may boast with Your [f]inheritance.

6We have sinned [g]like our fathers,

We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.

7Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your [h]wonders;

They did not remember [i]Your abundant kindnesses,

But rebelled by the sea, at the [j]Red Sea.

8Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,

So that He might make His power known.

9So He rebuked the [k]Red Sea and it dried up,

And He led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.

10So He saved them from the [l]hand of one who hated them,

And redeemed them from the [m]hand of the enemy.

11The waters covered their adversaries;

Not one of them was left.

12Then they believed His words;

They sang His praise.

13They quickly forgot His works;

They did not wait for His plan,

14But became lustfully greedy in the wilderness,

And put God to the test in the desert.

15So He gave them their request,

But sent a [n]wasting disease among them.

16When they became envious of Moses in the camp,

And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,

17The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

And engulfed the [o]company of Abiram.

18And a fire blazed up in their [p]company;

The flame consumed the wicked.

19They made a calf in Horeb,

And worshiped a cast metal image.

20So they exchanged their glory

For the image of an ox that eats grass.

21They forgot God their Savior,

Who had done great things in Egypt,

22[q]Wonders in the land of Ham,

And awesome things by the [r]Red Sea.

23Therefore He said that He would destroy them,

If Moses, His chosen one, had not stood in the gap before Him,

To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

24Then they rejected the pleasant land;

They did not believe His word,

25But grumbled in their tents;

They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

26Therefore He [s]swore to them

That He would have them fall in the wilderness,

27And that He would bring down their [t]descendants among the nations,

And scatter them in the lands.

28They also followed [u]Baal-peor,

And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

29So they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And a plague broke out among them.

30Then Phinehas stood up and [v]intervened,

And so the plague was brought to a halt.

31And it was credited to him as righteousness,

To all generations forever.

32They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of [w]Meribah,

So that it went badly for Moses on their account.

33Because they were rebellious against [x]His Spirit,

He spoke rashly with his lips.

34They did not destroy the peoples,

As the LORD had commanded them,

35But they got involved with the nations

And learned their [y]practices,

36And served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

37They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,

38And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and their daughters

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was defiled with the blood.

39So they became unclean in their [z]practices,

And [aa]were unfaithful in their deeds.

40Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people,

And He loathed His [ab]inheritance.

41So He handed them over to the [ac]nations,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

42Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were subdued under their [ad]power.

43Many times He would rescue them;

They, however, were rebellious in their plan,

And they sank down into their guilt.

44Nevertheless He looked at their distress

When He heard their cry;

45And He remembered His covenant for their sake,

And [ae]relented according to the greatness of His mercy.

46He also made them objects of compassion

In the presence of all their captors.

47Save us, LORD our God,

And gather us from the nations,

To give thanks to Your holy name

And glory in Your praise.

48Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

And all the people shall say, “Amen.”

[af]Praise [ag]the LORD!

[a] 1 Or Hallelujah!
[b] 1 Heb YAH
[c] 3 Or judgment
[d] 3 Many Heb mss The one who performs
[e] 4 Lit of
[f] 5 I.e., people
[g] 6 Lit with
[h] 7 I.e., wonderful acts
[i] 7 Lit the multitude of Your kindnesses
[j] 7 Lit Sea of Reeds
[k] 9 Lit Sea of Reeds
[l] 10 Or power
[m] 10 Or power
[n] 15 Or leanness into their soul
[o] 17 Or assembly, band
[p] 18 Or assembly, band
[q] 22 I.e., Wonderful acts
[r] 22 Lit Sea of Reeds
[s] 26 Lit lifted up His hand
[t] 27 Lit seed
[u] 28 Or Baal of Peor
[v] 30 Or pronounced judgment
[w] 32 Lit strife
[x] 33 Or his spirit
[y] 35 Lit works
[z] 39 Lit works
[aa] 39 Or prostituted themselves
[ab] 40 I.e., people
[ac] 41 Or Gentiles
[ad] 42 Lit hand
[ae] 45 Lit was sorry
[af] 48 Or Hallelujah!
[ag] 48 Heb YAH