Psalm 106–107

Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

¹Praise the Lord!

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.^*

²Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord

or declare all his praise?^*

³Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.^*

⁴Remember us,^d O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

help us^e when you deliver them,^*

⁵that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that we may glory in your heritage.^*

⁶Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.^*

⁷Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wonderful works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love

but rebelled against the Most High^f at the Red Sea.^g*

⁸Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

so that he might make known his mighty power.^*

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea,^h and it became dry;

he led them through the deep as through a desert.^*

¹⁰So he saved them from the hand of the foe

and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.^*

¹¹The waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.^*

¹²Then they believed his words;

they sang his praise.^*

¹³But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel.^*

¹⁴But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness

and put God to the test in the desert;^*

¹⁵he gave them what they asked

but sent a wasting disease among them.^*

¹⁶They were jealous of Moses in the camp

and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.^*

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan

and covered the faction of Abiram.^*

¹⁸Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.^*

¹⁹They made a calf at Horeb

and worshiped a cast image.^*

²⁰They exchanged the glory of Godⁱ

for the image of an ox that eats grass.^*

²¹They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,^*

²²wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.^j*

²³Therefore he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.^*

²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in his promise.^*

²⁵They grumbled in their tents

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.^*

²⁶Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness^*

²⁷and would disperse^k their descendants among the nations,

scattering them over the lands.^*

²⁸Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;^*

²⁹they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

and the plague was stopped.^*

³¹And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.^*

³²They angered the Lord^l at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account,^*

³³for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke words that were rash.^*

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples,

as the Lord had commanded them,^*

³⁵but they mingled with the nations

and learned to do as they did.^*

³⁶They served their idols,

which became a snare to them.^*

³⁷They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons;^*

³⁸they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

and the land was polluted with blood.^*

³⁹Thus they became unclean by their acts

and prostituted themselves in their doings.^*

⁴⁰Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;^*

⁴¹he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.^*

⁴²Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

⁴³Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes

and were brought low through their iniquity.^*

⁴⁴Nevertheless, he regarded their distress

when he heard their cry.^*

⁴⁵For their sake he remembered his covenant

and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.^*

⁴⁶He caused them to be pitied

by all who held them captive.^*

⁴⁷Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.^*

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the Lord!^*

Book V

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.^*

²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

those he redeemed from trouble^*

³and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.^m*

⁴Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to an inhabited town;^*

⁵hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

⁶Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;^*

⁷he led them by a straight way,

until they reached an inhabited town.^*

⁸Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.^*

⁹For he satisfies the thirsty,

and the hungry he fills with good things.^*

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in gloom,

prisoners in misery and in irons,^*

¹¹for they had rebelled against the words of God

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.^*

¹²Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;

they fell down, with no one to help.^*

¹³Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress;^*

¹⁴he brought them out of darkness and gloom,

and broke their bonds apart.^*

¹⁵Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.^*

¹⁶For he shatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.^*

¹⁷Some were sickⁿ through their sinful ways

and because of their iniquities endured affliction;^*

¹⁸they loathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.^*

¹⁹Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress;

²⁰he sent out his word and healed them

and delivered them from destruction.^*

²¹Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

²²And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices

and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.^*

²³Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the mighty waters;

²⁴they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

²⁵For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.^*

²⁶They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their calamity;^*

²⁷they reeled and staggered like drunkards

and were at their wits’ end.^*

²⁸Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out from their distress;

²⁹he made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.^*

³⁰Then they were glad because they had quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

³¹Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.^*

³²Let them extol him in the congregation of the people

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.^*

³³He turns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,^*

³⁴a fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.^*

³⁵He turns a desert into pools of water,

a parched land into springs of water.^*

³⁶And there he lets the hungry live,

and they establish a town to live in;

³⁷they sow fields and plant vineyards

and get a fruitful yield.^*

³⁸By his blessing they multiply greatly,

and he does not let their cattle decrease.^*

³⁹When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,^*

⁴⁰he pours contempt on princes

and makes them wander in trackless wastes,^*

⁴¹but he raises up the needy out of distress

and makes their families like flocks.^*

⁴²The upright see it and are glad,

and all wickedness stops its mouth.^*

⁴³Let those who are wise pay attention to these things

and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.^*