1 Psalm 106 Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.2 Who can declare the Lord ’s mighty acts or proclaim all the praise due him?3 How happy are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.4 Remember me, Lord , when you show favor to your people. Come to me with your salvation5 so that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, rejoice in the joy of your nation, and boast about your heritage.6 Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have done wrong and have acted wickedly.7 Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp the significance of your wondrous works or remember your many acts of faithful love; instead, they rebelled by the sea — the Red Sea.8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his power known.9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert.10 He saved them from the power of the adversary; he redeemed them from the power of the enemy.11 Water covered their foes; not one of them remained.12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.13 They soon forgot his works and would not wait for his counsel.14 They were seized with craving in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.15 He gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them.16 In the camp they were envious of Moses and of Aaron, the Lord ’s holy one.17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly; flames consumed the wicked.19 At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped the cast metal image.20 They exchanged their glory Alt Hb tradition reads his glory, or my glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.21 They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt,22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.23 So he said he would have destroyed them — if Moses his chosen one had not stood before him in the breach to turn his wrath away from destroying them.24 They despised the pleasant land and did not believe his promise.25 They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the Lord .26 So he raised his hand against them with an oath that he would make them fall in the desert27 and would disperse their descendants Syr; MT reads would make their descendants fall among the nations, scattering them throughout the lands.28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. Lit sacrifices for dead ones 29 They angered the Lord with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them.30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped.31 It was credited to him as righteousness throughout all generations to come.32 They angered the Lord at the Waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered Lit and it was evil for Moses because of them;33 for they embittered his spirit, Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Jer; other Hb mss read they rebelled against his Spirit and he spoke rashly with his lips.34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them35 but mingled with the nations and adopted their ways.36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.38 They shed innocent blood — the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; so the land became polluted with blood.39 They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.40 Therefore the Lord ’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own inheritance.41 He handed them over to the nations; those who hated them ruled over them.42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power.43 He rescued them many times, but they continued to rebel deliberately and were beaten down by their iniquity.44 When he heard their cry, he took note of their distress,45 remembered his covenant with them, and relented according to the abundance of his faithful love.46 He caused them to be pitied before all their captors.47 Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, so that we may give thanks to your holy name and rejoice in your praise.48 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen! ” Hallelujah!