1 Let the Lord be praised. O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.

2 Who is able to give an account of the great acts of the Lord, or to make clear all his praise?

3 Happy are they whose decisions are upright, and he who does righteousness at all times.

4 Keep me in mind, O Lord, when you are good to your people; O let your salvation come to me;

5 So that I may see the well-being of the people of your selection, and have a part in the joy of your nation, and take pride in your heritage.

6 We are sinners like our fathers, we have done wrong, our acts are evil.

7 Our fathers did not give thought to your wonders in Egypt; they did not keep in memory the great number of your mercies, but gave you cause for wrath at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

8 But he was their saviour because of his name, so that men might see his great power.

9 By his word the Red Sea was made dry: and he took them through the deep waters as through the waste land.

10 And he took them safely out of the hands of their haters, and kept them from the attacks of those who were against them.

11 And the waters went over their haters; all of them came to an end.

12 Then they had faith in his words; they gave him songs of praise.

13 But their memory of his works was short; not waiting to be guided by him,

14 They gave way to their evil desires in the waste land, and put God to the test in the dry places.

15 And he gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease into their souls.

16 They were full of envy against Moses among the tents, and against Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

17 The earth opening put an end to Dathan, covering up Abiram and his band.

18 And a fire was lighted among their tents; the sinners were burned up by the flames.

19 They made a young ox in Horeb, and gave worship to an image of gold.

20 And their glory was changed into the image of an ox, whose food is grass.

21 They had no memory of God their saviour, who had done great things in Egypt;

22 Works of wonder in the land of Ham, and things of fear by the Red Sea.

23 And he was purposing to put an end to them if Moses, his special servant, had not gone up before him, between him and his people, turning back his wrath, to keep them from destruction.

24 They were disgusted with the good land; they had no belief in his word;

25 Talking against him secretly in their tents, they did not give ear to the voice of the Lord.

26 So he made an oath against them, to put an end to them in the waste land:

27 That their children might be mixed among the nations, and sent away into other lands.

28 And they were joined to Baal-peor, and took part in the offerings to the dead.

29 So they made him angry by their behaviour; and he sent disease on them.

30 Then Phinehas got up, and made prayer for them; and the disease went no farther.

31 And all the generations coming after him kept the memory of his righteousness for ever.

32 They made God angry again at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled because of them;

33 For they made his spirit bitter, and he said unwise things.

34 They did not put an end to the peoples, as the Lord had said;

35 But they were joined to the nations, learning their works.

36 And they gave worship to images; which were a danger to them:

37 They even made offerings of their sons and their daughters to evil spirits,

38 And gave the blood of their sons and their daughters who had done no wrong, offering them to the images of Canaan; and the land was made unclean with blood.

39 So they became unclean through their works, going after their evil desires.

40 Then the wrath of the Lord was burning against his people, and he was angry with his heritage.

41 And he gave them into the hands of the nations; and they were ruled by their haters.

42 By them they were crushed, and made low under their hands.

43 Again and again he made them free; but their hearts were turned against his purpose, and they were overcome by their sins.

44 But when their cry came to his ears, he had pity on their trouble:

45 And kept in mind his agreement with them, and in his great mercy gave them forgiveness.

46 He put pity into the hearts of those who made them prisoners.

47 Be our saviour, O Lord our God, and let us come back together from among the nations, so that we may give honour to your holy name, and have glory in your praise.

48 Praise be to the Lord God of Israel for ever and for ever; and let all the people say, So be it. Give praise to the Lord.

1 Alleluia! Celebrate l’Eterno, perch’egli è buono, perché la sua benignità dura in perpetuo.

2 Chi può raccontare le gesta dell’Eterno, o pubblicar tutta la sua lode?

3 Beati coloro che osservano ciò ch’è prescritto, che fanno ciò ch’è giusto, in ogni tempo!

4 O Eterno, ricordati di me, con la benevolenza che usi verso il tuo popolo; visitami con la tua salvazione,

5 affinché io vegga il bene de’ tuoi eletti, mi rallegri dell’allegrezza della tua nazione, e mi glori con la ua eredità.

6 Noi e i nostri padri abbiamo peccato, abbiamo commesso l’iniquità, abbiamo agito empiamente.

7 I nostri padri non prestarono attenzione alle tue maraviglie in Egitto; non si ricordarono della moltitudine delle tue benignità, ma si ribellarono presso al mare, al Mar rosso.

8 Nondimeno egli li salvò per amor del suo nome, per far conoscere la sua potenza.

9 Sgridò il Mar rosso ed esso si seccò; li condusse attraverso gli abissi come attraverso un deserto.

10 E li salvò dalla mano di chi li odiava, e li redense dalla mano del nemico.

11 E le acque copersero i loro avversari; non ne scampò neppur uno.

12 Allora credettero alle sue parole, e cantarono la sua lode.

13 Ben presto dimenticarono le sue opere; non aspettaron fiduciosi l’esecuzione dei suoi disegni,

14 ma si accesero di cupidigia nel deserto, e tentarono Dio nella solitudine.

15 Ed egli dette loro quel che chiedevano, ma mandò la consunzione nelle loro persone.

16 Furon mossi d’invidia contro Mosè nel campo, e contro Aaronne, il santo dell’Eterno.

17 La terra s’aprì, inghiottì Datan e coperse il sèguito d’Abiram.

18 Un fuoco s’accese nella loro assemblea, la fiamma consumò gli empi.

19 Fecero un vitello in Horeb, e adorarono un’immagine di getto;

20 così mutarono la loro gloria nella figura d’un bue che mangia l’erba.

21 Dimenticarono Dio, loro salvatore, che avea fatto cose grandi in Egitto,

22 cose maravigliose nel paese di Cham, cose tremende al Mar rosso.

23 Ond’egli parlò di sterminarli; ma Mosè, suo eletto, stette sulla breccia dinanzi a lui per stornar l’ira sua onde non li distruggesse.

24 Essi disdegnarono il paese delizioso, non credettero alla sua parola;

25 e mormorarono nelle loro tende, e non dettero ascolto alla voce dell’Eterno.

26 Ond’egli, alzando la mano, giurò loro che li farebbe cader nel deserto,

27 che farebbe perire la loro progenie fra le nazioni e li disperderebbe per tutti i paesi.

28 Si congiunsero anche con Baal-Peor e mangiarono dei sacrifizi dei morti.

29 Così irritarono Iddio colle loro azioni, e un flagello irruppe fra loro.

30 Ma Fineas si levò e fece giustizia, e il flagello fu arrestato.

31 E ciò gli fu imputato come giustizia per ogni età, in perpetuo.

32 Lo provocarono ad ira anche alle acque di Meriba, e venne del male a Mosè per cagion loro;

33 perché inasprirono il suo spirito ed egli parlò sconsigliatamente con le sue labbra.

34 Essi non distrussero i popoli, come l’Eterno avea loro comandato;

35 ma si mescolarono con le nazioni, e impararono le opere d’esse:

36 e servirono ai loro idoli, i quali divennero per essi un laccio;

37 e sacrificarono i loro figliuoli e le loro figliuole ai demoni,

38 e sparsero il sangue innocente, il sangue dei loro figliuoli e delle loro figliuole, che sacrificarono agl’idoli di Canaan; e il paese fu profanato dal sangue versato.

39 Essi si contaminarono con le loro opere, e si prostituirono coi loro atti.

40 Onde l’ira dell’Eterno si accese contro il suo popolo, ed egli ebbe in abominio la sua eredità.

41 E li dette nelle mani delle nazioni, e quelli che li odiavano li signoreggiarono.

42 E i loro nemici li oppressero, e furono umiliati sotto la loro mano.

43 Molte volte li liberò, ma essi si ribellavano, seguendo i loro propri voleri, e si rovinavano per la loro iniquità.

44 Tuttavia, volse a loro lo sguardo quando furono in distretta, quando udì il loro grido;

45 e si ricordò per loro del suo patto, e si pentì secondo la moltitudine delle sue benignità.

46 Fece loro anche trovar compassione presso tutti quelli che li aveano menati in cattività.

47 Salvaci, o Eterno, Iddio nostro, e raccoglici di fra le nazioni, affinché celebriamo il tuo santo nome, e mettiamo la nostra gloria nel lodarti.

48 Benedetto sia l’Eterno, l’Iddio d’Israele, d’eternità in eternità! E tutto il popolo dica: Amen! Alleluia.