| 1
| Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, *
for his mercy endures for ever.
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| 2
| Who can declare the mighty acts of the LORD *
or show forth all his praise?
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| 3
| Happy are those who act with justice *
and always do what is right!
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| 4
| Remember me, O LORD, with the favor you have for your people,
*
and visit me with your saving help;
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| 5
| That I may see the prosperity of your elect
and be glad with the gladness of your people, *
that I may glory with your inheritance.
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| 6
| We have sinned as our forebears did; *
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
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| 7
| In Egypt they did not consider your marvelous works,
nor remember the abundance of your love; *
they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.
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| 8
| But he saved them for his Name's sake, *
to make his power known.
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| 9
| He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, *
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
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| 10
| He saved them from the hand of those who hated them *
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
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| 11
| The waters covered their oppressors; *
not one of them was left.
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| 12
| Then they believed his words *
and sang him songs of praise.
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| 13
| But they soon forgot his deeds *
and did not wait for his counsel.
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| 14
| A craving seized them in the wilderness, *
and they put God to the test in the desert.
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| 15
| He gave them what they asked, *
but sent leanness into their soul.
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| 16
| They envied Moses in the camp, *
and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
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| 17
| The earth opened and swallowed Dathan *
and covered the company of Abiram.
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| 18
| Fire blazed up against their company, *
and flames devoured the wicked.
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| 19
| Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb *
and worshiped a molten image;
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| 20
| And so they exchanged their Glory *
for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.
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| 21
| They forgot God their Savior, *
who had done great things in Egypt,
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| 22
| Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, *
and fearful things at the Red Sea.
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| 23
| So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, *
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.
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| 24
| They refused the pleasant land *
and would not believe his promise.
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| 25
| They grumbled in their tents *
and would not listen to the voice of the LORD.
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| 26
| So he lifted his hand against them, *
to overthrow them in the wilderness,
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| 27
| To cast out their seed among the nations,
*
and to scatter them throughout the lands.
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| 28
| They joined themselves to Baal-Peor *
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
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| 29
| They provoked him to anger with their actions,
*
and a plague broke out among them.
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| 30
| Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, *
and the plague came to an end.
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| 31
| This was reckoned to him as righteousness
*
throughout all generations for ever.
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| 32
| Again they provoked his anger at the waters
of Meribah, *
so that he punished Moses because of them;
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| 33
| For they so embittered his spirit *
that he spoke rash words with his lips.
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| 34
| They did not destroy the peoples *
as the LORD had commanded them.
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| 35
| They intermingled with the heathen *
and learned their pagan ways,
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| 36
| So that they worshiped their idols, *
which became a snare to them.
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| 37
| They sacrificed their sons *
and their daughters to evil spirits.
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| 38
| They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters, *
which they offered to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was defiled with blood.
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| 39
| Thus they were polluted by their actions
*
and went whoring in their evil deeds.
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| 40
| Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled
against his people *
and he abhorred his inheritance.
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| 41
| He gave them over to the hand of the heathen,
*
and those who hated them ruled over them.
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| 42
| Their enemies oppressed them, *
and they were humbled under their hand.
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| 43
| Many a time did he deliver them,
but they rebelled through their own devices, *
and were brought down in their iniquity.
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| 44
| Nevertheless, he saw their distress, *
when he heard their lamentation.
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| 45
| He remembered his covenant with them *
and relented in accordance with his great mercy.
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| 46
| He caused them to be pitied *
by those who held them captive.
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| 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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| 48
| Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting; *
and let all the people say, "Amen!"
Hallelujah!
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