Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good
1 iPraise the Lord!
jOh give thanks to the Lord, kfor he is good,
lfor his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
who mdo righteousness at all times!
4 nRemember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,1
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your ochosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 pBoth we and qour fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they rdid not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but srebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them tfor his name’s sake,
uthat he might make known his mighty power.
9 He vrebuked the Red Sea, and it wbecame dry,
and he xled them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he ysaved them from the hand of the foe
and zredeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And athe waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then bthey believed his words;
they csang his praise.
13 But they soon dforgot his works;
they did not wait for ehis counsel.
14 But they had fa wanton craving in the wilderness,
and gput God to the test in the desert;
15 he hgave them what they asked,
but sent ia wasting disease among them.
16 When men in the camp jwere jealous of Moses
and Aaron, kthe holy one of the Lord,
17 lthe earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
18 mFire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They nmade a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a metal image.
20 They oexchanged the glory of God2
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They pforgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in qthe land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore rhe said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his schosen one,
tstood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they udespised vthe pleasant land,
having wno faith in his promise.
25 They xmurmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he yraised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
zscattering them among the lands.
28 Then they ayoked themselves to the aBaal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to bthe dead;
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then cPhinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was dcounted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.
32 They eangered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they fmade his spirit bitter,3
and he gspoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not hdestroy the peoples,
ias the Lord commanded them,
35 but they jmixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
which became ka snare to them.
37 They lsacrificed their sons
and their daughters to mthe demons;
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 npolluted with blood.
39 Thus they obecame unclean by their acts,
and pplayed the whore in their deeds.
40 Then qthe anger of the Lord was kindled against rhis people,
and he abhorred his rheritage;
41 he sgave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies toppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 uMany times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their vpurposes
and were wbrought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he xheard their cry.
45 For their sake he yremembered his covenant,
and zrelented according to athe abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be bpitied
by all those who held them captive.
47 cSave us, O Lord our God,
and dgather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
48 eBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
eAnd let all the people say, “Amen!”
fPraise the Lord!
1 aBetter is a poor person who bwalks in his integrity
than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
2 Desire1 without knowledge is not good,
and whoever cmakes haste with his feet misses his way.
3 When a man’s folly dbrings his way to ruin,
his heart erages against the Lord.
4 fWealth brings many new friends,
fbut a poor man is deserted by his friend.
5 gA false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who hbreathes out lies will not escape.
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,2
and everyone is a friend to a man who gives igifts.
7 jAll a poor man’s brothers hate him;
khow much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.3
8 lWhoever gets sense loves his own soul;
he who keeps understanding will mdiscover good.
9 gA false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who hbreathes out lies will perish.
10 nIt is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for oa slave to rule over princes.
11 pGood sense makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s wrath is like qthe growling of a lion,
but his rfavor is like sdew on the grass.
13 tA foolish son is ruin to his father,
and ua wife’s quarreling is va continual dripping of rain.
14 wHouse and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is xfrom the Lord.
15 ySlothfulness casts into za deep sleep,
and aan idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Whoever bkeeps the commandment keeps his life;
he who despises his ways will die.
17 cWhoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he dwill repay him for his edeed.
18 fDiscipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on gputting him to death.
19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,
for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in hthe future.
21 iMany are the plans in the mind of a man,
but jit is the purpose of the Lord kthat will stand.
22 What is desired in a man is steadfast love,
and a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord lleads to life,
and whoever has it rests msatisfied;
he will nnot be visited by harm.
24 oThe sluggard buries his hand in pthe dish
and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
25 qStrike ra scoffer, and the simple will slearn prudence;
treprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother
is ua son who brings shame and reproach.
27 Cease to hear instruction, my son,
vand you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked wdevours iniquity.
29 Condemnation is ready for rscoffers,
and xbeating for the backs of fools.
