19  ^bThey ^cmade a calf in Horeb

and worshiped a ^dmetal image.

20  They ^eexchanged the glory of God¹

for the ^fimage of an ox that eats grass.

21  They ^gforgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

22  wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23  ^hTherefore he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one,

ⁱstood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24  Then they despised the pleasant land,

^jhaving no faith in his promise.

25  They ^kmurmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

26  Therefore he raised his hand and ^lswore to them

^mthat he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,

ⁿscattering them among the lands.

28  ^oThen they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

29  they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30  Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

and the plague was stayed.

31  And ^pthat was ^qcounted to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

32  ^rThey angered him at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account,

33  for they made his spirit bitter,²

and he spoke rashly with his lips.

34  ^sThey did not destroy the peoples,

^tas the Lord commanded them,

35  ^ubut they mixed with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

36  They served their idols,

which became a ^vsnare to them.

37  ^wThey sacrificed their sons

and their daughters ^xto the 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 ^ypolluted with blood.

39  Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and played the ^zwhore in their deeds.

40  Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

41  he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that ^athose who hated them ruled over them.

42  Their enemies ^boppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43  Many times he ^cdelivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes

and were brought low through their iniquity.

44  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

when he heard their ^dcry.

45  For their sake he ^eremembered his covenant,

and ^frelented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

46  He caused them to be ^gpitied

by all those who held them captive.

47  ^hSave us, O Lord our God,

and ⁱgather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

48  ^jBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

1  ^jMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

2  Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

3  Know that ^kthe Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;¹

we are his people, and the ^lsheep of his pasture.

4  Enter his gates ^mwith thanksgiving,

and ⁿhis courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; ^obless his name!

5  ^pFor the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

1  I will sing of steadfast love and justice;

to you, O Lord, ^qI will make music.

2  I will ponder the way that is blameless.

Oh when will you come to me?

I will ^rwalk ^swith integrity of heart

within my house;

3  I will not set before my eyes

anything that is worthless.

I hate the work of those who fall away;

it shall not cling to me.

4  A ^tperverse heart shall be far from me;

I will know nothing of evil.

5  Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly

I will destroy.

^uWhoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart

I will not endure.

6  I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in the way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

7  No one who practices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall continue before my eyes.

8  Morning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

cutting off all the evildoers

from the ^vcity of the Lord.

1  ^jDoes not wisdom call?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

22  ^z“The Lord ^apossessed¹ me ^bat the beginning of his work,²

the first of his acts of old.

23  Ages ago I was set up,

at the first, ^cbefore the beginning of the earth.

24  When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

25  ^dBefore the mountains had been shaped,

before the hills, I was brought forth,

26  before he had made the earth with its fields,

or ^ethe first of the dust of the world.

27  When he ^festablished the heavens, I was there;

when he ^gdrew a circle on the face of the deep,

28  ^hwhen he made firm the skies above,

when he established³ the ⁱfountains of the deep,

29  ^jwhen he ^kassigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

30  then I was ^lbeside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his⁴ delight,

rejoicing before him always,

31  rejoicing in his inhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

32  “And now, O sons, listen to me:

blessed are those who keep my ways.

33  Hear instruction and be wise,

and do not ^mneglect it.

34  ⁿBlessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

35  For whoever finds me finds ^olife

and obtains favor from the Lord,

36  but he who fails to find me injures himself;

all who hate me love death.”