New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
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Let the Lord be praised. O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord, or declare all his praise?
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Who is able to give an account of the great acts of the Lord, or to make clear all his praise?
3 Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
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Happy are they whose decisions are upright, and he who does righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them;
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Keep me in mind, O Lord, when you are good to your people; O let your salvation come to me;
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.
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So that I may see the well-being of the people of your selection, and have a part in the joy of your nation, and take pride in your heritage.
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
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We are sinners like our fathers, we have done wrong, our acts are evil.
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.
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Our fathers did not give thought to your wonders in Egypt; they did not keep in memory the great number of your mercies, but gave you cause for wrath at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, so that he might make known his mighty power.
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But he was their saviour because of his name, so that men might see his great power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them through the deep as through a desert.
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By his word the Red Sea was made dry: and he took them through the deep waters as through the waste land.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
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And he took them safely out of the hands of their haters, and kept them from the attacks of those who were against them.
11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.
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And the waters went over their haters; all of them came to an end.
12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
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Then they had faith in his words; they gave him songs of praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
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But their memory of his works was short; not waiting to be guided by him,
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;
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They gave way to their evil desires in the waste land, and put God to the test in the dry places.
15 he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.
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And he gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease into their souls.
16 They were jealous of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
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They were full of envy against Moses among the tents, and against Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram.
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The earth opening put an end to Dathan, covering up Abiram and his band.
18 Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
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And a fire was lighted among their tents; the sinners were burned up by the flames.
19 They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped a cast image.
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They made a young ox in Horeb, and gave worship to an image of gold.
20 They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
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And their glory was changed into the image of an ox, whose food is grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
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They had no memory of God their saviour, who had done great things in Egypt;
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
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Works of wonder in the land of Ham, and things of fear 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.
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And he was purposing to put an end to them if Moses, his special servant, had not gone up before him, between him and his people, turning back his wrath, to keep them from destruction.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.
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They were disgusted with the good land; they had no belief in his word;
25 They grumbled in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
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Talking against him secretly in their tents, they did not give ear to the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
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So he made an oath against them, to put an end to them in the waste land:
27 and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them over the lands.
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That their children might be mixed among the nations, and sent away into other lands.
28 Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
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And they were joined to Baal-peor, and took part in the offerings to the dead.
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
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So they made him angry by their behaviour; and he sent disease on them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped.
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Then Phinehas got up, and made prayer for them; and the disease went no farther.
31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.
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And all the generations coming after him kept the memory of his righteousness for ever.
32 They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account;
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They made God angry again at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled because of them;
33 for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke words that were rash.
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For they made his spirit bitter, and he said unwise things.
34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them,
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They did not put an end to the peoples, as the Lord had said;
35 but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did.
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But they were joined to the nations, learning their works.
36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
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And they gave worship to images; which were a danger to them:
37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;
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They even made offerings of their sons and their daughters to evil spirits,
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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And gave the blood of their sons and their daughters who had done no wrong, offering them to the images of Canaan; and the land was made unclean with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts, and prostituted themselves in their doings.
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So they became unclean through their works, going after their evil desires.
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;
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Then the wrath of the Lord was burning against his people, and he was angry with his heritage.
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them.
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And he gave them into the hands of the nations; and they were ruled by their haters.
42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.
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By them they were crushed, and made low under their hands.
43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low through their iniquity.
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Again and again he made them free; but their hearts were turned against his purpose, and they were overcome by their sins.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress when he heard their cry.
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But when their cry came to his ears, he had pity on their trouble:
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
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And kept in mind his agreement with them, and in his great mercy gave them forgiveness.
46 He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
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He put pity into the hearts of those who made them prisoners.
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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Be our saviour, O Lord our God, and let us come back together from among the nations, so that we may give honour to your holy name, and have glory in your praise.
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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Praise be to the Lord God of Israel for ever and for ever; and let all the people say, So be it. Give praise to the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.