Add parallel Print Page Options

A Nation Asks for Forgiveness

(A) We will celebrate
    and praise you, Lord!
You are good to us,
    and your love never fails.
No one can praise you enough
for all the mighty things
    you have done.
You bless those people
who are honest and fair
    in everything they do.

Remember me, Lord,
when you show kindness
    by saving your people.
Let me prosper with the rest
    of your chosen ones,
as they celebrate with pride
    because they belong to you.

We and our ancestors
    have sinned terribly.
(B) 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.[a]

But you were true to your name,
and you rescued them to prove
    how mighty you are.
(C) You said to the Red Sea,[b]
    “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 (D) Then your people trusted you
    and sang your praises.

13 But they soon forgot
what you had done
    and rejected your advice.
14 (E) 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 (F) 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 (G) 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.[c]
23 You were angry and started
    to destroy them,
but Moses, your chosen leader,
    begged you not to do it.

24 (H) 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 (I) I'll scatter your children
    everywhere in the world.”

28 (J) Your people became followers
    of a god named Baal Peor,
and they ate sacrifices
    offered to the dead.[d]
29 They did such terrible things
that you punished them
    with a deadly disease.
30 But Phinehas[e] helped them,
    and the sickness stopped.
31 Now he will always
    be highly honored.

32 (K) At Meribah Spring[f]
they turned against you
    and made you furious.
33 Then Moses got into trouble
    for speaking in anger.

34 (L) 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 (M) They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons
38     (N) 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 (O) 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 (P) 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!”

Footnotes

  1. 106.7 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, “Sea of Reeds,” one of the marshes or fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta. This identification is based on Exodus 13.17—14.9, which lists the towns on the route of the Israelites before crossing the sea. In the Greek translation of the Scriptures made about 200 b.c., the “Sea of Reeds” was named “Red Sea.”
  2. 106.9 Red Sea: See the note at 106.7.
  3. 106.22 Red Sea: See the note at 106.7.
  4. 106.28 the dead: Or “lifeless idols.”
  5. 106.30 Phinehas: The grandson of Aaron, who put two people to death and kept the Lord from being angry with the rest of his people (see Numbers 25.1-13).
  6. 106.32 Meribah Spring: See the note at 81.7.

Psalm 106(A)

Praise the Lord.[a](B)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;(C)
    his love endures forever.(D)

Who can proclaim the mighty acts(E) of the Lord
    or fully declare his praise?
Blessed are those who act justly,(F)
    who always do what is right.(G)

Remember me,(H) Lord, when you show favor(I) to your people,
    come to my aid(J) when you save them,
that I may enjoy the prosperity(K) of your chosen ones,(L)
    that I may share in the joy(M) of your nation
    and join your inheritance(N) in giving praise.

We have sinned,(O) even as our ancestors(P) did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.(Q)
When our ancestors were in Egypt,
    they gave no thought(R) to your miracles;
they did not remember(S) your many kindnesses,
    and they rebelled by the sea,(T) the Red Sea.[b]
Yet he saved them(U) for his name’s sake,(V)
    to make his mighty power(W) known.
He rebuked(X) the Red Sea, and it dried up;(Y)
    he led them through(Z) the depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them(AA) from the hand of the foe;(AB)
    from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.(AC)
11 The waters covered(AD) their adversaries;
    not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.(AE)

13 But they soon forgot(AF) what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold.(AG)
14 In the desert(AH) they gave in to their craving;
    in the wilderness(AI) they put God to the test.(AJ)
15 So he gave them(AK) what they asked for,
    but sent a wasting disease(AL) among them.

16 In the camp they grew envious(AM) of Moses
    and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth opened(AN) up and swallowed Dathan;(AO)
    it buried the company of Abiram.(AP)
18 Fire blazed(AQ) among their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb they made a calf(AR)
    and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God(AS)
    for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God(AT) who saved them,
    who had done great things(AU) in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham(AV)
    and awesome deeds(AW) by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy(AX) them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach(AY) before him
    to keep his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised(AZ) the pleasant land;(BA)
    they did not believe(BB) his promise.
25 They grumbled(BC) in their tents
    and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore(BD) to them with uplifted hand
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,(BE)
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
    and scatter(BF) them throughout the lands.

28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor(BG)
    and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29 they aroused the Lord’s anger(BH) by their wicked deeds,(BI)
    and a plague(BJ) broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas(BK) stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was checked.(BL)
31 This was credited to him(BM) as righteousness
    for endless generations(BN) to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah(BO) they angered the Lord,
    and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled(BP) against the Spirit(BQ) of God,
    and rash words came from Moses’ lips.[c](BR)

34 They did not destroy(BS) the peoples
    as the Lord had commanded(BT) them,
35 but they mingled(BU) with the nations
    and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,(BV)
    which became a snare(BW) to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons(BX)
    and their daughters to false gods.(BY)
38 They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons(BZ) and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves(CA) by what they did;
    by their deeds they prostituted(CB) themselves.

40 Therefore the Lord was angry(CC) with his people
    and abhorred his inheritance.(CD)
41 He gave them into the hands(CE) of the nations,
    and their foes ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed(CF) them
    and subjected them to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,(CG)
    but they were bent on rebellion(CH)
    and they wasted away in their sin.
44 Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry;(CI)
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant(CJ)
    and out of his great love(CK) he relented.(CL)
46 He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.(CM)

47 Save us,(CN) Lord our God,
    and gather us(CO) from the nations,
that we may give thanks(CP) to your holy name(CQ)
    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!”(CR)

Praise the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 48
  2. Psalm 106:7 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verses 9 and 22
  3. Psalm 106:33 Or against his spirit, / and rash words came from his lips