Psalm 106-107

Common English Bible

³ The people who uphold justice,
    who always do what is right, are truly happy!
⁴ Remember me, Lord, with the favor you show your people.
    Visit me with your saving help
⁵         so I can experience the good things your chosen ones experience,
        so I can rejoice in the joy of your nation,
        so I can praise along with your possession.

⁶ We have sinned—right along with our ancestors.
    We’ve done what is wrong.
    We’ve acted wickedly.
⁷ Our ancestors in Egypt didn’t understand your wondrous works.
    They didn’t remember how much faithful love you have.
    So they rebelled by the sea—at the Reed Sea.^[a]
8 But God saved them for the sake of his good name,
    to make known his mighty power.
⁹ God scolded the Reed Sea, and it dried right up;
    he led them through the deeps like they were a dry desert.
¹⁰ God saved them from hostile powers;
    he redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
¹¹ But the waters covered over their foes—
    not one of them survived!
¹² So our ancestors trusted God’s words;
    they sang God’s praise.

¹³ But how quickly they forgot what he had done!
    They wouldn’t wait for his advice.
¹⁴ They were overcome with craving in the desert;
    they tested God in the wastelands.
¹⁵ God gave them what they asked for;
    he sent food^[b] to satisfy their appetites.

¹⁶ But then they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
    jealous too of Aaron, the Lord’s holy one.
¹⁷ So the earth opened up, swallowing Dathan,
    and covering over Abiram’s crowd.
¹⁸ Fire blazed throughout that whole group;
    flames burned up the wicked.

¹⁹ They made a calf at Horeb,
    bowing down to a metal idol.
²⁰ They traded their glorious God^[c]
    for an image of a bull that eats grass.
²¹ They forgot the God who saved them—
    the one who had done great things in Egypt,
²²     wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    awesome deeds at the Reed Sea.
²³ So God determined that he would destroy them—
    except for the fact that Moses, his chosen one,
    stood in the way, right in front of him,
    and turned God’s destructive anger away.

²⁴ But then they rejected the land that was so desirable.
    They didn’t trust God’s promise.
²⁵ They muttered in their tents
    and wouldn’t listen to the Lord’s voice.
²⁶ So God raised his hand against them,
    making them fall in the desert,
²⁷     scattering their offspring among the nations,
    casting them across many lands.

²⁸ They joined themselves to Baal-peor
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
²⁹ They made God angry by what they did,
    so a plague broke out against them.
³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and prayed,
    and the plague was contained.
³¹ That’s why Phinehas is considered righteous,
    generation after generation, forever.

³² But they angered God at Meribah’s waters,
    and things went badly for Moses because of them,
³³     because they made him bitter
    so that he spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴ They didn’t destroy the nations
    as the Lord had ordered them to do.
³⁵ Instead, they got mixed up with the nations,
    learning what they did
³⁶     and serving those false gods,
    which became a trap for them.
³⁷ They sacrificed their own sons and daughters to demons!
³⁸ They shed innocent blood,
        the blood of their own sons and daughters—
    the ones they sacrificed to Canaan’s false gods—
        so the land was defiled by the bloodshed.
³⁹ They made themselves unclean by what they did; they prostituted themselves by their actions.

⁴⁰ So the Lord’s anger burned against his people;
    he despised his own possession.
⁴¹ God handed them over to the nations;
    people who hated them ruled over them.
⁴² Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were humbled under their power.
⁴³ God delivered them numerous times,
    but they were determined to rebel,
    and so they were brought down by their own sin.
⁴⁴ But God saw their distress
    when he heard their loud cries.
⁴⁵ God remembered his covenant for their sake,
    and because of how much faithful love he has,
    God changed his mind.
⁴⁶ God allowed them to receive compassion
    from all their captors.

⁴⁷ Lord our God, save us!
    Gather us back together from among all the nations
        so we can give thanks to your holy name
        and rejoice in your praise!

⁴⁸ Bless the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from forever ago to forever from now!
    And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

⁴ Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland.
    They couldn’t find their way to a city or town.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty;
    their lives were slipping away.
⁶ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
⁷     God led them straight to human habitation.
⁸ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people,
⁹     because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst,
    and he filled up the hungry with good things!

¹⁰ Some of the redeemed had been sitting in darkness and deep gloom;
    they were prisoners suffering in chains
¹¹     because they had disobeyed God’s instructions
    and rejected the Most High’s plans.
¹² So God humbled them with hard work.
    They stumbled, and there was no one to help them.
¹³ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
¹⁴ God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom;
    he shattered their chains.
¹⁵ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people,
¹⁶     because God has shattered bronze doors
    and split iron bars in two!

¹⁷ Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
    They suffered because of their wickedness.
¹⁸ They had absolutely no appetite for food;
    they had arrived at death’s gates.
¹⁹ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
²⁰ God gave the order and healed them;
    he rescued them from their pit.
²¹ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people.
²² Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
    and declare what God has done in songs of joy!

²³ Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships,
    making their living on the high seas.
²⁴ They saw what the Lord had made;
    they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
²⁵ God spoke and stirred up a storm
    that brought the waves up high.
²⁶ The waves went as high as the sky;
    they crashed down to the depths.
The sailors’ courage melted at this terrible situation.
²⁷     They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk.
    None of their skill was of any help.
²⁸ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.
²⁹ God quieted the storm to a whisper;
    the sea’s waves were hushed.
³⁰ So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;
    then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
³¹ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people.
³² Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people
    and praise God in the assembly of the elders.

³³ God turns rivers into desert,
    watery springs into thirsty ground,
³⁴     fruitful land into unproductive dirt,
        when its inhabitants are wicked.
³⁵ But God can also turn the desert into watery pools,
    thirsty ground into watery springs,
³⁶     where he settles the hungry.
They even build a city and live there!
³⁷     They plant fields and vineyards
    and obtain a fruitful harvest.
³⁸ God blesses them, and they become many.
    God won’t even let their cattle diminish.
³⁹ But when they do diminish—
    when they’re brought down by oppression, trouble, and grief—
⁴⁰     God pours contempt on their leaders,
        making them wander aimlessly in the wastelands.
⁴¹ But God raises the needy from their suffering;
    he makes their families as numerous as sheep!

⁴² Those who do right see it and celebrate,
    but every wicked person shuts their mouth.
⁴³ Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things,
    carefully considering the Lord’s faithful love.