5. Then the Levites — Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah — said, “Stand up. Praise Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting.” Praise Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
6. You alone are Yahweh. You created the heavens,the highest heavens with all their host,the earth and all that is on it,the seas and all that is in them.You give life to all of them, and the heavenly host worships You.
7. You are Yahweh,the God who chose Abramand brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and changed his name to Abraham.
8. You found his heart faithful in Your sight, and made a covenant with himto give the land of the Canaanites,Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,Jebusites, and Girgashites —to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise,for You are righteous.
9. You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10. You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,all his officials, and all the people of his land, for You knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.You made a name for Yourselfthat endures to this day.
11. You divided the sea before them,and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depthslike a stone into churning waters.
12. You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,and with a pillar of fire by night,to illuminate the way they should go.
13. You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke to them from heaven.You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,and good statutes and commands.
14. You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,and gave them commands, statutes, and instructionthrough Your servant Moses.
15. You provided bread from heaven for their hunger;You brought them water from the rock for their thirst.You told them to go in and possess the landYou had sworn to give them.
16. But our ancestors acted arrogantly;they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
17. They refused to listenand did not remember Your wondersYou performed among them. They became stiff-necked and appointed a leaderto return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God,gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and rich in faithful love, and You did not abandon them.
18. Even after they had cast an image of a calffor themselves and said,“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,” and they had committed terrible blasphemies,