A confession of the manifold sins and ingratitudes of the Israelites.

¹ Alleluia. Confess to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is with every generation.

² Who will declare the powers of the Lord? Who make a hearing for all his praises?

³ Blessed are those who keep judgment and who do justice at all times.

⁴ Remember us, O Lord, with good will for your people. Visit us with your salvation,

⁵ so that we may see the goodness of your elect, so that we may rejoice in the joy of your nation, so that you may be praised along with your inheritance.

⁶ We have sinned, as have our fathers. We have acted unjustly; we have wrought iniquity.

⁷ Our fathers did not understand your miracles in Egypt. They did not remember the multitude of your mercies. And they provoked you, while going up to the sea, even the Red Sea.

⁸ And he saved them for the sake of his name, so that he might make known his power.

⁹ And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up. And he led them into the abyss, as if into a desert.

¹⁰ And he saved them from the hand of those who hated them. And he redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹ And the water covered those who troubled them. Not one of them remained.

¹² And they believed his words, and they sang his praises.

¹³ As soon as they had finished, they forgot his works, and they would not endure his counsel.

¹⁴ And they coveted their desire in the desert, and they tempted God in a waterless place.

¹⁵ And he granted to them their request, and he sent abundance into their souls.

¹⁶ And they provoked Moses in the camp, and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed Dathan, and it covered the congregation of Abiram.

¹⁸ And a fire broke out in their congregation. A flame burned up the sinners.

¹⁹ And they fashioned a calf at Horeb, and they adored a graven image.

²⁰ And they exchanged their glory for the likeness of a calf that eats hay.

²¹ They forgot God, who saved them, who did great things in Egypt:

²² miracles in the land of Ham, terrible things at the Red Sea.

²³ And he said that he would destroy them, yet Moses, his elect, stood firm before him in the breach, in order to avert his wrath, lest he destroy them.

²⁴ And they held the desirable land to be nothing. They did not trust in his word.

²⁵ And they murmured in their tabernacles. They did not heed the voice of the Lord.

²⁶ And he lifted up his hand over them, in order to prostrate them in the desert,

²⁷ and in order to cast their offspring among the nations, and to scatter them among the regions.

²⁸ And they were initiated into Baal of Peor, and they ate the sacrifices of the dead.¹²

1. 105:28Initiated: That is, they dedicated, or consecrated themselves to the idol of the Moabites and Madianites, called Beelphegor, or Baal-Peor. Num. 25.3.(Challoner)
2. 105:28The dead: Viz., idols without life.(Challoner)

²⁹ And they provoked him with their inventions, and ruination was multiplied in them.

³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and placated him: and so the violent disturbance ceased.

³¹ And it was reputed to him unto justice, from generation to generation, even forever.

³² And they provoked him at the Waters of Contradiction, and Moses was afflicted because of them,

³³ for they exasperated his spirit. And so he divided them with his lips.¹

1. 105:33He distinguished with his lips: Moses, by occasion of the people’s rebellion and incredulity, was guilty of distinguishing with his lips; when, instead of speaking to the rock, as God had commanded, he said to the people, with a certain hesitation in his faith, Hear ye, rebellious and incredulous: Can we from this rock bring out water for you? Num. 20.10.(Challoner)

³⁴ They did not destroy the nations, about which the Lord had spoken to them.

³⁵ And they were mixed among the Gentiles. And they learned their works,

³⁶ and they served their graven images, and it became a scandal to them.

³⁷ And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

³⁸ And they shed innocent blood: the blood of their sons and of their daughters, which they sacrificed to the graven images of Canaan. And the land was infected with bloodshed,

³⁹ and was contaminated with their works. And they fornicated according to their own inventions.

⁴⁰ And the Lord became furiously angry with his people, and he abhorred his inheritance.

⁴¹ And he delivered them into the hands of the nations. And those who hated them became rulers over them.

⁴² And their enemies afflicted them, and they were humbled under their hands.

⁴³ Many times, he delivered them. Yet they provoked him with their counsel, and they were brought low by their iniquities.

⁴⁴ And he saw that they were in tribulation, and he heard their prayer.

⁴⁵ And he was mindful of his covenant, and he repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

⁴⁶ And he provided for them with mercies, in the sight of all those who had seized them.

⁴⁷ Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, so that we may confess your holy name and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, from ages past, even to all ages. And let all the people say: Amen. Amen.