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Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

1

Praise the L ord!

O give thanks to the L ord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

2

Who can utter the mighty doings of the L ord,

or declare all his praise?

3

Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.

 

4

Remember me, O L ord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you deliver them;

5

that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory in your heritage.

 

6

Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

7

Our 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 at the Red Sea.

8

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

so that he might make known his mighty power.

9

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;

he led them through the deep as through a desert.

10

So he saved them from the hand of the foe,

and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

11

The waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

12

Then they believed his words;

they sang his praise.

 

13

But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel.

14

But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

15

he gave them what they asked,

but sent a wasting disease among them.

 

16

They were jealous of Moses in the camp,

and of Aaron, the holy one of the L ord.

17

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the faction of Abiram.

18

Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

 

19

They made a calf at Horeb

and worshiped a cast image.

20

They exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

21

They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

22

wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23

Therefore 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.

 

24

Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in his promise.

25

They grumbled in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the L ord.

26

Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27

and would disperse their descendants among the nations,

scattering them over the lands.

 

28

Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

29

they provoked the L ord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30

Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

and the plague was stopped.

31

And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

 

32

They angered the L ord at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account;

33

for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke words that were rash.

 

34

They did not destroy the peoples,

as the L ord commanded them,

35

but they mingled with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

36

They served their idols,

which became a snare to them.

37

They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons;

38

they 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.

39

Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and prostituted themselves in their doings.

 

40

Then the anger of the L ord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

41

he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42

Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43

Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes,

and were brought low through their iniquity.

44

Nevertheless he regarded their distress

when he heard their cry.

45

For their sake he remembered his covenant,

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

46

He caused them to be pitied

by all who held them captive.

 

47

Save us, O L ord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

 

48

Blessed be the L ord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the L ord!


33. For they grieved his spirit The verb מרה, marah, properly signifies to vex or irritate, but as it is here put in what the Hebrews call the Hiphil conjugation, some are of opinion that it is to be understood passively, to denote that it was the people who were the occasion of the rebellion; which interpretation does not appear to me to be very objectionable. I cannot, however, agree with those who would have the particle את, eth, to be a sign of what is denominated the dative case, as if Moses might be said to have rebelled against the Spirit of God. Had he done so, then assuredly the prophet would not have spoken so severely of the sin and folly into which he had inadvertently fallen. The meaning which I have already given answers very well, That the prime movers of the rebellion must have committed a very heinous offense, seeing that Moses, who had been pushed on by the impetuosity of the people to sin, was so severely dealt with by God. But while the prophet informs us that Moses was punished on the people’s account, he is not to be understood as saying that he was altogether blameless. For even admitting that his spirit was ruffled in consequence of the tumult of the people, this ought to have made him the more careful to continue steadfast in his adherence to the Law of God. He adds, that he spoke with his lips; and this I take to refer to Moses, there being no ground for the conjecture that it refers to the punishment which God expressly denounced against Moses. It is more likely that these words were intended by the prophet to express how greatly the spirit of Moses was agitated when he openly murmured against God. The prophet, therefore, informs us that the submissive and gentle spirit of Moses was fanned, as it were, into a breeze by the perverseness of the people, so that even he spake un-advisedly, saying, “Can God give you water out of the rock?” (Numbers 20:10) For such was the indignation which he felt burning within him, that he could not calmly wait for the commandment of God to smite the rock.


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