English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
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Hallelujah! Thank God! And why? Because he's good, because his love lasts.
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?
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But who on earth can do it - declaim God's mighty acts, broadcast all his praises?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
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You're one happy man when you do what's right, one happy woman when you form the habit of justice.
4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them,
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Remember me, God, when you enjoy your people; include me when you save them;
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
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I want to see your chosen succeed, celebrate with your celebrating nation, join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
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We've sinned a lot, both we and our parents; We've fallen short, hurt a lot of people.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
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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
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power.
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- the very place he saved them! - the place he revealed his amazing power!
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
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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!
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
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He saved them from a life of oppression, pried them loose from the grip of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.
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Then the waters flowed back on their oppressors; there wasn't a single survivor.
12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
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Then they believed his words were true and broke out in songs of praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
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But it wasn't long before they forgot the whole thing, wouldn't wait to be told what to do.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;
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They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert, provoked God with their insistent demands.
15 he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.
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He gave them exactly what they asked for - but along with it they got an empty heart.
16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
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One day in camp some grew jealous of Moses, also of Aaron, holy priest of God.
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
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The ground opened and swallowed Dathan, then buried Abiram's gang.
18 Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
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Fire flared against that rebel crew and torched them to a cinder.
19 They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image.
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They cast in metal a bull calf at Horeb and worshiped the statue they'd made.
20 They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
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They traded the Glory for a cheap piece of sculpture - a grass-chewing bull!
21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
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They forgot God, their very own Savior, who turned things around in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
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Who created a world of wonders in the Land of Ham, who gave that stunning performance at 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.
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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.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.
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They went on to reject the Blessed Land, didn't believe a word of what God promised.
25 They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
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They found fault with the life they had and turned a deaf ear to God's voice.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
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Exasperated, God swore that he'd lay them low in the desert,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands.
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Scattering their children hither and yon, strewing them all over the earth.
28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
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Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food.
29 they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
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That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks;
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed.
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Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the plague was stopped.
31 And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.
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This was counted to his credit; his descendants will never forget it.
32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account,
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They angered God again at Meribah Springs; this time Moses got mixed up in their evil;
33 for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips.
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Because they defied God yet again, Moses exploded and lost his temper.
34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them,
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They didn't wipe out those godless cultures as ordered by God;
35 but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.
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Instead they intermarried with the heathen, and in time became just like them.
36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
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They worshiped their idols, were caught in the trap of idols.
37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;
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They sacrificed their sons and daughters at the altars of demon gods.
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.
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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.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.
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Their way of life stank to high heaven; they lived like whores.
40 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;
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And God was furious - a wildfire anger; he couldn't stand even to look at his people.
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them.
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He turned them over to the heathen so that the people who hated them ruled them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.
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Their enemies made life hard for them; they were tyrannized under that rule.
43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.
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Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned - until finally their sins destroyed them.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry.
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Still, when God saw the trouble they were in and heard their cries for help,
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
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He remembered his Covenant with them, and, immense with love, took them by the hand.
46 He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.
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He poured out his mercy on them while their captors looked on, amazed.
47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
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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!
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD!
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Blessed be God, Israel's God! Bless now, bless always! Oh! Let everyone say Amen! Hallelujah!
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
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.