106:15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease.
106:16 In the camp they resented Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
106:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed the group led by Abiram.
106:18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked.
106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
106:20 They traded their majestic God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
106:21 They rejected the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
106:22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty acts by the Red Sea.
106:23 He threatened to destroy them,
but Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him
and turned back his destructive anger.
106:24 They rejected the fruitful land;
they did not believe his promise.
106:25 They grumbled in their tents;
they did not obey the Lord.
106:26 So he made a solemn vow
that he would make them die in the desert,
106:27 make their descendants die among the nations,
and scatter them among foreign lands.
106:28 They worshiped Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
106:29 They made the Lord angry by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
106:30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened,
and the plague subsided.
106:31 This brought him a reward,
an eternal gift.
106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered because of them,
106:33 for they aroused his temper,
and he spoke rashly.
106:34 They did not destroy the nations,
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
106:35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways.
106:36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
106:38 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.
106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,
and unfaithful in their actions.
106:40 So the Lord was angry with his people
and despised the people who belong to him.
106:41 He handed them over to the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority.
106:43 Many times he delivered them,
but they had a rebellious attitude,
and degraded themselves by their sin.
106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented because of his great loyal love.
106:46 He caused all their conquerors
to have pity on them.
106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!
Gather us from among the nations!
Then we will give thanks to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.
106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise,
in the future and forevermore.
Let all the people say, “We agree! Praise the Lord!”