Psalm 106:1-48 VOICE

[1] Praise the Eternal! Thank Him because He is good and His loyal love will never end. [2] Who could find words to tell of the Eternal's mighty deeds or give Him all the praise He deserves? [3] Blessed are those who work for justice, who always do what they know to be right! [4] Remember me, O Eternal One, when You show kindness to Your people; don't forget me when You are saving them. [5] That way I can know how good it is to be Your chosen people; that way I can celebrate the joy of Your nation; that way I can join those who belong to You in unending praise. [6] Like our ancestors, we have sinned; we have done wicked things. [7] When our ancestors were leaving Egypt, they did not consider Your marvelous acts. They forgot Your overwhelming kindness to them and instead rebelled at the Red Sea. [8] Nevertheless, God saved them for the honor of His name so He could show His power to the world. [9] He gave the order, and the waters of the Red Sea dried up, and He led the people across the sea floor as though it were the wilderness. [10] That's how He liberated them from their enemies and rescued them from the hand of their oppressors. [11] After that the sea surged and covered their foes, and every one of them drowned in its waters. [12] When God's people saw what He did, they believed what He said and they sang praises to Him. [13] But it didn't take long for them to forget what He had done. They moved on without waiting for His instructions, [14] So our ancestors became very hungry in the wilderness and the rabble grumbled and complained, testing God's patience in the desert. [15] Although He granted their request, He also sent a disease that caused them to waste away. [16] While they were camped in the desert, some began to be jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy priest of the Eternal. [17] The earth opened up, and a deep fissure swallowed Dathan and buried Abiram's group. [18] A blaze ignited where they were gathered; the fire consumed the wicked mob. [19] The people made a golden calf in Horeb and bowed to worship an image they had made. [20] They traded the glory of God for the likeness of an ox that eats grass. [21] They forgot about God, their True Savior, who had done great things for them in Egypt- [22] Miracles in the land of Ham and amazing deeds at the Red Sea. [23] Therefore, He declared in His anger that He would wipe them away. If Moses, His chosen one, Had not pleaded for the people, His anger would have destroyed them. [24] At the edge of the beautiful land God had promised them, they didn't trust His words, so they refused to enter. [25] They complained when they were gathered in their tents; they ignored the voice of the Eternal. [26] Because of their attitude, He swore, "I'll leave you where you fall in the desert. [27] I'll scatter your children-whoever is left- throughout the nations all over the earth." [28] Then they aligned themselves with the god of Peor, and they ate sacrifices that had been made to lifeless gods. [29] Through their actions, they stirred up His anger, and a plague broke out in their midst. [30] Then Phinehas took a stand and intervened, so the plague was stopped. [31] And God saw what he did and considered him righteous, a man to be honored by all generations forever. [32] Again they stirred up His anger at the waters of Meribah, and serious trouble came to Moses because of them; [33] Because they stood against the Spirit, Moses spoke rashly with them. [34] Later, after they entered the promised land, they did not eradicate the peoples, as the Eternal had ordered them to do, [35] But they mixed and married with the outsider nations, adopted their practices, [36] And worshiped their idols, which entrapped them. [37] They even offered their sons and daughters as sacrifices to the demons. [38] The promised land was corrupted by the innocent blood they offered to the idols of Canaan, The blood of their very own sons and daughters. [39] They became impure because of their unfaithful works; by their actions, they prostituted themselves to other gods. [40] Therefore the Eternal's anger was ignited against His people; He came to despise the people of His inheritance. [41] So He handed them over to the control of foreign nations, to be ruled by people who hated them. [42] Their enemies exploited them, victimized them, and restrained them by abusive power. [43] He delivered them over and over again; however, they were slow to learn and deliberately rebelled. Their sins humbled them and nearly destroyed them. [44] Nevertheless, He saw their great struggle, took pity on them, and heard their prayers; [45] He did not forget His covenant promises to them but reversed their fortune and released them from their punishment because of His loyal love. [46] He changed the hearts of all who held them captive so that they would show compassion on them. [47] Save us, O Eternal One our God, and gather us who are scattered among all the nations, That we may give thanks to Your holy name and celebrate Your amazing greatness with praise. [48] Blessed be the Eternal, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let everyone say, "Amen!" Praise the Eternal!