Read the Bible

¹ Give thanks to the Lord and call out to him!
    Tell the nations what he has done!
² Sing to him; sing praises to him.
    Tell about the amazing things he has done.
³ Be proud of his holy name.
    You followers of the Lord, be happy!
⁴ Depend on the Lord for strength.
    Always go to him for help.
⁵ Remember the amazing things he has done.
    Remember his miracles and his fair decisions.
⁶ You belong to the family of his servant Abraham.
    You are descendants of Jacob, the people God chose.
⁷ The Lord is our God.
    He rules the whole world.
⁸ He will remember his agreement forever.
    He will always keep the promises he made to his people.
⁹ He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
    and the promise he made to Isaac.
¹⁰ He gave it as a law to Jacob.
    He gave it to Israel as an agreement that will last forever!
¹¹ He said, "I will give you the land of Canaan.
    It will be your very own."
¹² At the time God said this, there were only a few of his people,
    and they were strangers there.
¹³ They traveled around from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
¹⁴ But the Lord did not let anyone mistreat them.
    He warned kings not to harm them.
¹⁵ He said, "Don't hurt my chosen people.
    Don't harm my prophets."
¹⁶ He caused a famine in that country,
    and people did not have enough food.
¹⁷ But he sent a man named Joseph to go ahead of them.
    Joseph was sold like a slave.
¹⁸ They tied a rope around his feet
    and put an iron ring around his neck.
¹⁹ Joseph was a slave until what he said had really happened.
    The Lord's message proved that Joseph was right.
²⁰ So the king of Egypt set him free.
    That nation's leader let him out of jail.
²¹ He put Joseph in charge of his house.
    Joseph took care of everything the king owned.
²² Joseph gave instructions to the other leaders.
    He taught the older men.
²³ Then Israel came to Egypt.
    Jacob lived there in Ham's country.^[a]
24 Jacob's family became very large
    and more powerful than their enemies.
²⁵ So the Egyptians began to hate his people.
    They made plans against his servants.
²⁶ So the Lord sent Moses, his servant,
    and Aaron, his chosen priest.
²⁷ He used Moses and Aaron
    to do many miracles in Ham's country.
²⁸ He sent darkness to cover their land,
    but the Egyptians did not listen to him.
²⁹ So he changed the water into blood,
    and all their fish died.
³⁰ Their country was filled with frogs,
    even in the king's bedroom.
³¹ The Lord gave the command,
    and the flies and gnats came.
    They were everywhere!
³² He made the rain become hail.
    Lightning struck throughout their land.
³³ He destroyed their vines and fig trees.
    He destroyed every tree in their country.
³⁴ He gave the command, and the locusts and grasshoppers came.
    There were too many to count!
³⁵ They ate all the plants in the country,
    including all the crops in their fields.
³⁶ Then the Lord killed every firstborn in their country.
    He killed their oldest sons.
³⁷ He led his people out of Egypt.
    They were carrying gold and silver,
    and none of them stumbled or fell behind.
³⁸ Egypt was happy to see his people go,
    because they were afraid of them.
³⁹ The Lord spread out his cloud like a blanket.
    He used his column of fire to give his people light at night.
⁴⁰ They asked for food, and he sent them quail.
    He also gave them plenty of bread from heaven.
⁴¹ He split the rock, and water came bubbling out.
    A river began flowing in the desert!

⁴² The Lord remembered his holy promise
    that he had made to his servant Abraham.
⁴³ He brought his people out of Egypt.
    They came out rejoicing and singing their happy songs!
⁴⁴ Then he gave his people the lands of other nations.
    His people got what others had worked for.
⁴⁵ He did this so that his people would obey his laws
    and follow his teachings.

Praise the Lord!