35 They remembered that God was their Rock. They remembered that God Most High had set them free.
36 But they didn't mean it when they praised him. They lied to him when they spoke.
37 Their hearts were not true to him. They weren't faithful to the covenant he had made with them.
38 But he was full of tender love. He forgave their sins and didn't destroy his people. Time after time he held back his anger. He didn't let all of his burning anger blaze out.
39 He remembered that they were only human. He remembered they were only a breath of air that drifts by and doesn't return.
40 How often they refused to obey him in the desert! How often they caused him sorrow in that dry and empty land!
41 Again and again they put God to the test. They made the Holy One of Israel sad and angry.