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New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Hallelujah! Thank God! And why? Because he's good, because his love lasts.
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1 Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
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2 But who on earth can do it - declaim God's mighty acts, broadcast all his praises?
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2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise?
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3 You're one happy man when you do what's right, one happy woman when you form the habit of justice.
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3 Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.
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4 Remember me, God, when you enjoy your people; include me when you save them;
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4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them,
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5 I want to see your chosen succeed, celebrate with your celebrating nation, join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!
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5 that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise.
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6 We've sinned a lot, both we and our parents; We've fallen short, hurt a lot of people.
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6 We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
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7 After our parents left Egypt, they took your wonders for granted, forgot your great and wonderful love. They were barely beyond the Red Sea when they defied the High God
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7 When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
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8 - the very place he saved them! - the place he revealed his amazing power!
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8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known.
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9 He rebuked the Red Sea so that it dried up on the spot - he paraded them right through! - no one so much as got wet feet!
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9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert.
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10 He saved them from a life of oppression, pried them loose from the grip of the enemy.
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10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
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11 Then the waters flowed back on their oppressors; there wasn't a single survivor.
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11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.
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12 Then they believed his words were true and broke out in songs of praise.
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12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.
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13 But it wasn't long before they forgot the whole thing, wouldn't wait to be told what to do.
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13 But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel.
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14 They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert, provoked God with their insistent demands.
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14 In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test.
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15 He gave them exactly what they asked for - but along with it they got an empty heart.
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15 So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
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16 One day in camp some grew jealous of Moses, also of Aaron, holy priest of God.
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16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD.
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17 The ground opened and swallowed Dathan, then buried Abiram's gang.
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17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram.
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18 Fire flared against that rebel crew and torched them to a cinder.
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18 Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
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19 They cast in metal a bull calf at Horeb and worshiped the statue they'd made.
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19 At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
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20 They traded the Glory for a cheap piece of sculpture - a grass-chewing bull!
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20 They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
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21 They forgot God, their very own Savior, who turned things around in Egypt,
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21 They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,
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22 Who created a world of wonders in the Land of Ham, who gave that stunning performance at the Red Sea.
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22 miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
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23 Fed up, God decided to get rid of them - and except for Moses, his chosen, he would have. But Moses stood in the gap and deflected God's anger, prevented it from destroying them utterly.
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23 So he said he would destroy them-- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.
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24 They went on to reject the Blessed Land, didn't believe a word of what God promised.
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24 Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.
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25 They found fault with the life they had and turned a deaf ear to God's voice.
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25 They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.
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26 Exasperated, God swore that he'd lay them low in the desert,
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26 So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert,
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27 Scattering their children hither and yon, strewing them all over the earth.
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27 make their descendants fall among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
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28 Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food.
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28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
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29 That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks;
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29 they provoked the LORD to anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
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30 Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the plague was stopped.
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30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked.
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31 This was counted to his credit; his descendants will never forget it.
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31 This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.
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32 They angered God again at Meribah Springs; this time Moses got mixed up in their evil;
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32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them;
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33 Because they defied God yet again, Moses exploded and lost his temper.
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33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips.
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34 They didn't wipe out those godless cultures as ordered by God;
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34 They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,
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35 Instead they intermarried with the heathen, and in time became just like them.
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35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
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36 They worshiped their idols, were caught in the trap of idols.
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36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
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37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters at the altars of demon gods.
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37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
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38 They slit the throats of their babies, murdered their infant girls and boys. They offered their babies to Canaan's gods; the blood of their babies stained the land.
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38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.
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39 Their way of life stank to high heaven; they lived like whores.
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39 They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
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40 And God was furious - a wildfire anger; he couldn't stand even to look at his people.
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40 Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance.
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41 He turned them over to the heathen so that the people who hated them ruled them.
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41 He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled over them.
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42 Their enemies made life hard for them; they were tyrannized under that rule.
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42 Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power.
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43 Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned - until finally their sins destroyed them.
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43 Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin.
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44 Still, when God saw the trouble they were in and heard their cries for help,
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44 But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;
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45 He remembered his Covenant with them, and, immense with love, took them by the hand.
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45 for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented.
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46 He poured out his mercy on them while their captors looked on, amazed.
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46 He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
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47 Save us, God, our God! Gather us back out of exile So we can give thanks to your holy name and join in the glory when you are praised!
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47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
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48 Blessed be God, Israel's God! Bless now, bless always! Oh! Let everyone say Amen! Hallelujah!
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48 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD.
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| Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. (The Message Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
