Mazmur 106:1-23

Psalm 106 ¹ 

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 

[106:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 106. The psalmist recalls Israel’s long history of rebellion against God, despite his mighty saving deeds on their behalf.

[106:1]  ² tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”

[106:2]  ³ tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.”

[106:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “good.”

[106:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.”

[106:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “with your inheritance.”

[106:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “with.”

[106:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).

[106:7]  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.

[106:7]  sn They rebelled. The psalmist recalls the people’s complaint recorded in Exod 14:12.

[106:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[106:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “rebuked.”

[106:10]  ¹² tn Heb “hand.”

[106:10]  ¹³ tn Or “redeemed.”

[106:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

[106:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “remained.”

[106:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his words.”

[106:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his works.”

[106:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his counsel.”

[106:14]  ¹⁹ sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35.

[106:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.”

[106:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “they tested God.”

[106:15]  ²² tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”

[106:15]  sn Disease. See Num 11:33-34, where this plague is described.

[106:16]  ²³ tn Or “envied.”

[106:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the holy one of the Lord.”

[106:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “covered.”

[106:17]  ²⁶ tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.”

[106:18]  ²⁷ sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40.

[106:20]  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 Lord states that his people (Israel) exchanged “their glory” (a reference to the Lord) for worthless idols.

[106:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “forgot.”

[106:22]  ³⁰ tn Or “awe-inspiring.”

[106:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he said.”

[106:23]  ³² tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”

[106:23]  ³³ tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”

[106:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”

[106:23]  sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35.