1 P raise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever.

2 W ho can utter the mighty acts of the Lord ? Who can declare all His praise?

Who can put into words the great works of the Lord? Who can make known all His praise?

3 B lessed are those who keep justice, And he who does righteousness at all times!

Happy are those who are faithful in being fair and who always do what is right and good!

4 R emember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation,

O Lord, remember me when You show favor to Your people. Visit me also when You save them.

5 T hat I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance.

So I may share in the well-being of Your chosen ones. So I may share in the joy of Your nation, and be proud of Your people.

6 W e have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly.

We have sinned like our fathers. We have done wrong. We have been sinful in our actions.

7 O ur fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.

Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your powerful works. They did not remember how many times You showed Your loving-kindness. But they turned against You by the sea, the Red Sea.

8 N evertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, That He might make His mighty power known.

Yet He saved them because of the honor of His name, and to make His great power known.

9 H e rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; So He led them through the depths, As through the wilderness.

So He spoke sharp words to the Red Sea and it dried up. And He led them through the sea as through a desert.

10 H e saved them from the hand of him who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

He saved them from the hand of those who hated them. He set them free from the hand of those who went against them.

11 T he waters covered their enemies; There was not one of them left.

And the waters covered those who hated them. Not one of them was left.

12 T hen they believed His words; They sang His praise.

Then they believed His promises. They sang His praise.

13 T hey soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel,

But they soon forgot His works. They did not wait to hear what He wanted them to do.

14 B ut lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert.

They wanted many things in the desert, and they tempted God there.

15 A nd He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.

So He gave them what they wanted, but He allowed their souls to become weak because of it.

16 W hen they envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the Lord,

They were jealous of Moses in the place where they set up their tents. And they were jealous of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

17 T he earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, And covered the faction of Abiram.

So the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan. It closed over the group of Abiram.

18 A fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked.

And a fire came among their followers. It burned up the sinful people.

19 T hey made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image.

They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped a god of gold.

20 T hus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass.

They traded their shining-greatness for something that looked like a bull that eats grass.

21 T hey forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,

They forgot the God Who saved them, Who had done great things in Egypt,

22 W ondrous works in the land of Ham, Awesome things by the Red Sea.

powerful works in the land of Ham, and works that brought fear by the Red Sea.

23 T herefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.

So He said that He would destroy them. But Moses, His chosen one, stood in the way to keep His anger from destroying them.

24 T hen they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe His word,

Then they hated the good land. They did not believe in His Word.

25 B ut complained in their tents, And did not heed the voice of the Lord.

But they complained in their tents. They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.

26 T herefore He raised His hand in an oath against them, To overthrow them in the wilderness,

So He swore to them that He would let them die in the desert.

27 T o overthrow their descendants among the nations, And to scatter them in the lands.

And He would spread out their children among the nations and divide them over all the earth.

28 T hey joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead.

They joined themselves to Baal of Peor and ate gifts given to the dead.

29 T hus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them.

They made the Lord angry by their actions and a sickness broke out among them.

30 T hen Phinehas stood up and intervened, And the plague was stopped.

Then Phinehas stood up and came between them, and the sickness was stopped.

31 A nd that was accounted to him for righteousness To all generations forevermore.

And this made him right with God to all people forever.

32 T hey angered Him also at the waters of strife, So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;

They also made the Lord angry at the waters of Meribah. And trouble came to Moses because of them.

33 B ecause they rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with his lips.

He spoke from his lips without thinking because they went against the Spirit of God.

34 T hey did not destroy the peoples, Concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,

They did not destroy the people as the Lord told them to do.

35 B ut they mingled with the Gentiles And learned their works;

But they mixed with the nations and learned their ways.

36 T hey served their idols, Which became a snare to them.

They served their gods, which became a trap to them.

37 T hey even sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons,

They even gave their sons and daughters as gifts on an altar to the demons.

38 A nd shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood.

They poured out the blood of those who were not guilty, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they gave on an altar to the gods of Canaan. And the land was poisoned with blood.

39 T hus they were defiled by their own works, And played the harlot by their own deeds.

They made themselves unclean by what they did. They were not true to God in what they did.

40 T herefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people, So that He abhorred His own inheritance.

So the Lord was angry with His people. He hated His people.

41 A nd He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, And those who hated them ruled over them.

So He handed them over to the nations. And those who hated them ruled over them.

42 T heir enemies also oppressed them, And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Those who hated them held a strong power over them. And they were made to obey them.

43 M any times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And were brought low for their iniquity.

God set them free many times. But they always turned against Him and went deeper into sin.

44 N evertheless He regarded their affliction, When He heard their cry;

But He looked upon their trouble when He heard their cry.

45 A nd for their sake He remembered His covenant, And relented according to the multitude of His mercies.

He remembered His agreement because of them, and took pity on them by the greatness of His loving-kindness.

46 H e also made them to be pitied By all those who carried them away captive.

Those who held them also saw how God took pity on them.

47 S ave us, O Lord our God, And gather us from among the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise.

O Lord our God, save us! Gather us from among the nations. And we will give thanks to Your holy name and find honor in Your praise.

48 B lessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever. Let all the people say, “Let it be so!” Praise the Lord!