22. wonderful works in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.
23. So He said He would have destroyed them —if Moses His chosen onehad not stood before Him in the breachto turn His wrath away from destroying them.
24. They despised the pleasant landand did not believe His promise.
25. They grumbled in their tentsand did not listen to the Lord’s voice.
26. So He raised His hand against them with an oaththat He would make them fall in the desert
27. and would disperse their descendants among the nations,scattering them throughout the lands.
28. They aligned themselves with Baal of Peorand ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
29. They provoked the Lord with their deeds,and a plague broke out against them.
30. But Phinehas stood up and intervened,and the plague was stopped.
31. It was credited to him as righteousnessthroughout all generations to come.
32. They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,and Moses suffered because of them;
33. for they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34. They did not destroy the peoplesas the Lord had commanded them