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1.
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
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2.
Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise?
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3.
Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.
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4.
Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them,
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5.
that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise.
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6.
We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
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7.
When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
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8.
Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known.
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9.
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert.
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10.
He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
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11.
The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.
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12.
Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.
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13.
But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel.
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14.
In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test.
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15.
So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
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16.
In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD.
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17.
The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram.
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18.
Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
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19.
At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
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20.
They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
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21.
They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,
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22.
miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
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23.
So he said he would destroy them--had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.
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24.
Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.
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25.
They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.
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26.
So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert,
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27.
make their descendants fall among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
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28.
They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
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29.
they provoked the LORD to anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
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30.
But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked.
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31.
This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.
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32.
By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them;
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33.
for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips.
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34.
They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,
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35.
but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
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36.
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
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37.
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
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38.
They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.
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39.
They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
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40.
Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance.
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41.
He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled over them.
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42.
Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power.
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43.
Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin.
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44.
But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;
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45.
for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented.
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46.
He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
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47.
Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
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48.
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD.
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