106:1 Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures! 2
106:2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,
or relate all his praiseworthy deeds? 3
106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time!
106:4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people!
Pay attention to me, when you deliver,
106:5 so I may see the prosperity 4 of your chosen ones,
rejoice along with your nation, 5
and boast along with the people who belong to you. 6
106:6 We have sinned like 7 our ancestors; 8
we have done wrong, we have done evil.
106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,
they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. 9
106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, 10
that he might reveal his power.
106:9 He shouted at 11 the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
106:10 He delivered them from the power 12 of the one who hated them,
and rescued 13 them from the power 14 of the enemy.
106:11 The water covered their enemies;
not even one of them survived. 15
106:12 They believed his promises; 16
they sang praises to him.
106:13 They quickly forgot what he had done; 17
they did not wait for his instructions. 18
106:14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving 19 for meat; 20
they challenged God 21 in the desert.
106:15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease. 22
106:16 In the camp they resented 23 Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest. 24
106:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed 25 the group led by Abiram. 26
106:18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked. 27
106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
106:20 They traded their majestic God 28
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
106:21 They rejected 29 the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
106:22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty 30 acts by the Red Sea.
106:23 He threatened 31 to destroy them,
but 32 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him 33
and turned back his destructive anger. 34
106:24 They rejected the fruitful land; 35
they did not believe his promise. 36
106:25 They grumbled in their tents; 37
they did not obey 38 the Lord.
1 sn Psalm 106. The psalmist recalls Israel’s long history of rebellion against God, despite his mighty saving deeds on their behalf.
2 tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”
3 tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.”
4 tn Heb “good.”
5 tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.”
6 tn Heb “with your inheritance.”
7 tn Heb “with.”
8 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).
9 tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.
10 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
11 tn Or “rebuked.”
12 tn Heb “hand.”
13 tn Or “redeemed.”
14 tn Heb “hand.”
15 tn Heb “remained.”
16 tn Heb “his words.”
17 tn Heb “his works.”
18 tn Heb “his counsel.”
19 sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35.
20 tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.”
21 tn Heb “they tested God.”
22 tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”
23 tn Or “envied.”
24 tn Heb “the holy one of the
25 tn Or “covered.”
26 tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.”
27 sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40.
28 tn Heb “their glory.” According to an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition, the text originally read “his glory” or “my glory.” In Jer 2:11 the
29 tn Heb “forgot.”
30 tn Or “awe-inspiring.”
31 tn Heb “and he said.”
32 tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”
33 tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”
34 tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”
35 tn Heb “a land of delight” (see also Jer 3:19; Zech 7:14).
36 tn Heb “his word.”
37 sn They grumbled in their tents. See Deut 1:27.
38 tn Heb “did not listen to the voice of.”