Psalm 106
Israel’s Confession of Sin
1 Hallelujah!
A
Give thanks to the Lord, who is good,
whose mercy endures forever.(A)
2 Who can recount the mighty deeds of the Lord,
proclaim in full God’s praise?
3 Blessed those who do what is right,
whose deeds are always just.(B)
4 Remember me, Lord, as you favor your people;
come to me with your saving help,(C)
5 That I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your people,
and glory with your heritage.
B
6 We have sinned like our ancestors;(D)
we have done wrong and are guilty.
I
7 Our ancestors in Egypt
did not attend to your wonders.
They did not remember your manifold mercy;
they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake
to make his power known.(E)
9 He roared at the Red Sea and it dried up.
He led them through the deep as through a desert.(F)
10 He rescued them from hostile hands,
freed them from the power of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their oppressors;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words
and sang his praise.(G)
II
13 But they soon forgot all he had done;
they had no patience for his plan.
14 In the desert they gave in to their cravings,
tempted God in the wasteland.(H)
15 So he gave them what they asked
and sent a wasting disease against them.(I)
III
16 In the camp they challenged Moses(J)
and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
it closed on the followers of Abiram.
18 Against their company the fire blazed;
flames consumed the wicked.
IV
19 At Horeb they fashioned a calf,(K)
worshiped a metal statue.
20 They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,(L)
22 Amazing deeds in the land of Ham,
fearsome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 He would have decreed their destruction,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destroying anger.(M)
V
24 Next they despised the beautiful land;(N)
they did not believe the promise.
25 In their tents they complained;
they did not heed the voice of the Lord.
26 So with raised hand he swore
he would destroy them in the desert,
27 And scatter their descendants among the nations,
disperse them in foreign lands.
VI
28 They joined in the rites of Baal of Peor,(O)
ate food sacrificed to the dead.
29 They provoked him by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas rose to intervene,
and the plague was brought to a halt.
31 This was counted for him as a righteous deed
for all generations to come.
VII
32 At the waters of Meribah they angered God,(P)
and Moses suffered because of them.
33 They so embittered his spirit
that rash words crossed his lips.
VIII
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them,(Q)
35 But mingled with the nations
and imitated their ways.(R)
36 They served their idols
and were ensnared by them.(S)
37 They sacrificed to demons
their own sons and daughters,
38 Shedding innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
desecrating the land with bloodshed.
39 They defiled themselves by their actions,
became adulterers by their conduct.
40 So the Lord grew angry with his people,
abhorred his own heritage.
41 He handed them over to the nations,
and their adversaries ruled over them.(T)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
kept them under subjection.
43 Many times did he rescue them,
but they kept rebelling and scheming
and were brought low by their own guilt.(U)
44 Still God had regard for their affliction
when he heard their wailing.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
and relented in his abundant mercy,(V)
46 Winning for them compassion
from all who held them captive.
C
47 Save us, Lord, our God;
gather us from among the nations
That we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in praising you.(W)
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, Amen!(X)
Hallelujah!
Footnotes
- Psalm 106
- 106:20
- 106:23
- 106:32
- 106:37
- 106:48
Cross references
- 106:1 : Ps 100:5; 107:1; 1 Chr 16:34; Jer 33:11; Dn 3:89.
- 106:3 : Is 56:1–2.
- 106:4 : Ps 25:7; Neh 5:19.
- 106:6–7 : Ps 78:11–17; Ex 14:11; Lv 26:40; 1 Kgs 8:47; Bar 2:12; Dn 9:5.
- 106:8 : Ez 36:20–22.
- 106:9 : Ex 14:21–31; Is 50:2; 63:11–14; Na 1:4.
- 106:12 : Ex 15:1–21.
- 106:14 : Ps 78:18; Ex 15:24; 16:3; Nm 11:1–6.
- 106:15 : Ps 78:26–31; Nm 11:33.
- 106:16–18 : Nm 16; Dt 11:6; Is 26:11.
- 106:19–20 : Ex 32; Dt 9:8–21; Jer 2:11; Acts 7:41; Rom 1:23.
- 106:21 : Ps 78:42–58; Dt 32:18; Jer 2:32.
- 106:23 : Ex 32:11; Dt 9:25; Ez 22:30.
- 106:24–27 : Lv 26:33; Nm 14; Dt 1:25–36; Ez 20:15, 23.
- 106:28–31 : Nm 25; Dt 26:14; Sir 45:23–24.
- 106:32–33 : Ps 95:8–9; Ex 17:1–7; Nm 20:2–13; Dt 6:16; 33:8.
- 106:34 : Dt 7:1; Jgs 2:1–5.
- 106:35 : Lv 18:3; Jgs 1:27–35; 3:5.
- 106:36–38 : Lv 18:21; Nm 35:33; Dt 32:17; Jgs 2:11–13, 17, 19; 2 Kgs 16:3; Bar 4:7; 1 Cor 10:20.
- 106:41 : Jgs 2:14–23.
- 106:43 : Is 63:7–9.
- 106:45 : Lv 26:42.
- 106:47 : 1 Chr 16:35.
- 106:48 : Ps 41:14; 72:18; 89:53; 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5.
