24 Then they despised xthe pleasant land;

They ydid not believe His word,

25 zBut complained in their tents,

And did not heed the voice of the Lord.

26 aTherefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them,

bTo 5overthrow them in the wilderness,

27 cTo 6overthrow their descendants among the 7nations,

And to scatter them in the lands.

28 dThey joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,

And ate sacrifices 8made to the dead.

29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

30 eThen Phinehas stood up and intervened,

And the plague was stopped.

31 And that was accounted to him ffor righteousness

To all generations forevermore.

32 gThey angered Him also at the waters of 9strife,

hSo that it went ill with Moses on account of them;

33 iBecause they rebelled against His Spirit,

So that he spoke rashly with his lips.

34 jThey did not destroy the peoples,

kConcerning whom the Lord had commanded them,

35 lBut they mingled with the Gentiles

And learned their works;

36 mThey served their idols,

nWhich became a snare to them.

37 oThey even sacrificed their sons

And their daughters to pdemons,

38 And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And qthe land was polluted with blood.

39 Thus they 1were rdefiled by their own works,

And splayed 2the harlot by their own deeds.

40 Therefore tthe wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people,

So that He abhorred uHis own inheritance.

41 And vHe gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

43 wMany times He delivered them;

But they rebelled in their counsel,

And were brought low for their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,

When xHe heard their cry;

45 yAnd for their sake He remembered His covenant,

And zrelented aaccording to the multitude of His mercies.

46 bHe also made them to be pitied

By all those who carried them away captive.

47 cSave us, O Lord our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

To triumph in Your praise.

48 dBlessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!”

3Praise the Lord!