Net English TranslationPsalms 106 =
Psalm 1061
106
1 Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures!2
2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,
or relate all his praiseworthy deeds?3
3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people!
Pay attention to me, when you deliver,
5 so I may see the prosperity4 of your chosen ones,
rejoice along with your nation,5
and boast along with the people who belong to you.6
6 We have sinned like7 our ancestors;8
we have done wrong, we have done evil.
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
8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation,10
that he might reveal his power.
9 He shouted at11 the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power12 of the one who hated them,
and rescued13 them from the power14 of the enemy.
11 The water covered their enemies;
not even one of them survived.15
12 They believed his promises;16
they sang praises to him.
13 They quickly forgot what he had done;17
they did not wait for his instructions.18
14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving19 for meat;20
they challenged God21 in the desert.
15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease.22
16 In the camp they resented23 Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.24
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed25 the group led by Abiram.26
18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked.27
19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
20 They traded their majestic God28
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They rejected29 the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty30 acts by the Red Sea.
23 He threatened31 to destroy them,
but32 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him33
and turned back his destructive anger.34
24 They rejected the fruitful land;35
they did not believe his promise.36
25 They grumbled in their tents;37
they did not obey38 the Lord.
26 So he made a solemn vow39
that he would make them die40 in the desert,
27 make their descendants41 die42 among the nations,
and scatter them among foreign lands.43
28 They worshiped44 Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.45
29 They made the Lord angry46 by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened,47
and the plague subsided.
31 This brought him a reward,
an eternal gift.48
32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered49 because of them,
33 for they aroused50 his temper,51
and he spoke rashly.52
34 They did not destroy the nations,53
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways.54
36 They worshiped55 their idols,
which became a snare to them.56
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.57
38 They shed innocent blood –
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted by bloodshed.58
39 They were defiled by their deeds,
and unfaithful in their actions.59
40 So the Lord was angry with his people60
and despised the people who belong to him.61
41 He handed them over to62 the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority.63
43 Many times he delivered64 them,
but they had a rebellious attitude,65
and degraded themselves66 by their sin.
44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented67 because of his great loyal love.
46 He caused all their conquerors68
to have pity on them.
47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!
Gather us from among the nations!
Then we will give thanks69 to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.70
48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise,71
in the future and forevermore.72
Let all the people say, “We agree!73 Praise the Lord!”74
1sn Psalm 106. The psalmist recalls Israel’s long history of rebellion against God, despite his mighty saving deeds on their behalf. 2tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.” 3tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.” 4tn Heb “good.” 5tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.” 6tn Heb “with your inheritance.” 7tn Heb “with.” 8tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7). 9tn 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.sn They rebelled. The psalmist recalls the people’s complaint recorded in Exod 14:12. 10tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation. 11tn Or “rebuked.” 12tn Heb “hand.” 13tn Or “redeemed.” 14tn Heb “hand.” 15tn Heb “remained.” 16tn Heb “his words.” 17tn Heb “his works.” 18tn Heb “his counsel.” 19sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35. 20tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.” 21tn Heb “they tested God.” 22tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”sn Disease. See Num 11:33-34, where this plague is described. 23tn Or “envied.” 24tn Heb “the holy one of the Lord.” 25tn Or “covered.” 26tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.” 27sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40. 28tn 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. 29tn Heb “forgot.” 30tn Or “awe-inspiring.” 31tn Heb “and he said.” 32tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.” 33tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.” 34tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35. 35tn Heb “a land of delight” (see also Jer 3:19; Zech 7:14). 36tn Heb “his word.” 37sn They grumbled in their tents. See Deut 1:27. 38tn Heb “did not listen to the voice of.” 39tn Heb “and he lifted his hand to [or “concerning”] them.” The idiom “to lift a hand” here refers to swearing an oath. One would sometimes solemnly lift one’s hand when making such a vow (see Ezek 20:5-6, 15). 40tn Heb “to cause them to fall.” 41tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.” 42tn Heb “and to cause their offspring to fall.” Some emend the verb to “scatter” to form tighter parallelism with the following line (cf. NRSV “disperse”). 43tn Heb “among the lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification. 44tn Heb “joined themselves to.”sn They worshiped Baal of Peor. See Num 25:3, 5. Baal of Peor was a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal located at Peor. 45tn Here “the dead” may refer to deceased ancestors (see Deut 26:14). Another option is to understand the term as a derogatory reference to the various deities which the Israelites worshiped at Peor along with Baal (see Num 25:2 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 49). 46tn Heb “They made angry [him].” The pronominal suffix is omitted here, but does appear in a few medieval Hebrew mss. Perhaps it was accidentally left off, an original וַיַּכְעִיסוּהוּ (vayyakh’isuhu) being misread as וַיַּכְעִיסוּ (vayyakh’isu). In the translation the referent of the pronominal suffix (the Lord) has been specified for clarity to avoid confusion with Baal of Peor (mentioned in the previous verse). 47sn The intervention of Phinehas is recounted in Num 25:7-8. 48tn Heb “and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to a generation and a generation forever.” The verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon”) is collocated with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) only in Ps 106:31 and Gen 15:6, where God rewards Abram’s faith with a land grant.sn Brought him a reward. See Num 25:12-13. 49tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.” 50tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints. 51tn Heb “his spirit.” 52tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.sn Verses 32-33 allude to the events of Num 20:1-13. 53tn That is, the nations of Canaan. 54tn Heb “their deeds.” 55tn Or “served.” 56sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3. 57tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view. 58sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land. 59tn Heb “and they committed adultery in their actions.” This means that they were unfaithful to the Lord (see Ps 73:27). 60tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against his people.” 61tn Heb “his inheritance.” 62tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.” 63tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.” 64tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”). 65tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”). 66tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal. 67tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway. 68tn Or “captors.” 69tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative. 70tn Heb “to boast in your praise.” 71tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21. 72tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” 73tn Heb “surely” (אָמֵן, ’amen), traditionally transliterated “amen.” 74sn The final verse (v. 48) is a conclusion to this fourth “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and third “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52, respectively).
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