Psalms 106:15-25

15 And he gave to them the asking of them; and he sent fullness into the souls of them. (And so he gave them what they asked for; but he also sent leanness, that is, sickness, into their bodies.)

16 And they wrathed (against) Moses in the castles; (and against) Aaron, the holy (man) of the Lord. (And they envied Moses in their tents; and also Aaron, the holy man of the Lord.)

17 The earth was opened, and swallowed [down] Dathan; and covered on the congregation of Abiram. (And the earth opened up, and swallowed Dathan; and it covered up the company, or the family, of Abiram.)

18 And fire burnt on high in the synagogue of them; flame burnt [the] sinners. (And fire burned on high throughout their company, or their congregation; yea, the flame burned up the sinners.)

19 And they made a calf in Horeb; and worshipped a molten image. (And then they made a golden calf at Sinai; and so they worshipped a cast image.)

20 And they changed their glory; into the likeness of a calf eating hay. (And they exchanged the glory of God; for the metal likeness of a calf that eateth grass.)

21 They forgat God, that saved them, that did great works in Egypt, (They forgot their God, who saved them, and who did great works in Egypt,)

22 marvels in the land of Ham; fearedful things in the Red Sea. (yea, marvellous deeds in the land of Ham; and fearful things in the Red Sea/in the Sea of Reeds.)

23 And God said, that he would lose them; (and he would have,) if Moses, his chosen man, had not stood in the breaking of his sight. That he should turn away his ire; lest he lost them. (And God said, that he would destroy them; and he would have, if Moses, his chosen man, had not stood in the gap, or the breach, before him; so that he would turn away his anger, lest it destroy the people.)

24 And they had the desirable land for nought, (for) they believed not to his word, (And they considered the desirable land as worth nothing, for they did not believe his promise,)

25 and they grutched in their tabernacles (and they grumbled in their tents); (and) they heard not the voice of the Lord.

Psalms 106:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 106

This psalm is without the name of its author, as the Syriac interpreter observes. Aben Ezra, on Ps 106:47, says, that one of the wise men of Egypt (perhaps Maimonides) was of opinion that it was written in the time of the judges, when there was no king in Israel; and another, he says, thought it was written in Babylon: but he was of opinion it was wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or by a prophetic spirit, concerning their present captivity; and so Kimchi. The petition in Ps 106:47, "gather us from among the Heathen", has led most interpreters to conclude that it was written either in the Babylonish captivity, or, as some, in the times of Antiochus: but by comparing it with 1Ch 16:7, it appears that it was written by David, at the time of the bringing up of the ark to Zion; since the first and two last verses of it are there expressly mentioned, in the psalm he gave Asaph to sing on that occasion, Ps 106:34-36, who therein might have respect to the Israelites that had been taken captive by some of their neighbours, as the Philistines, and still retained; though there is no difficulty in supposing that David, under a prophetic spirit, foresaw future captivities, and represents those that were in them. As the preceding psalm treats of the mercies and favours God bestowed upon Israel, this of their sins and provocations amidst those blessings, and of the goodness of God unto them; that notwithstanding he did not destroy them from being a people; for which they had reason to be thankful.