Psalm 106:32-42

32 They also ¹provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, So that it ²went hard with Moses on their account;

33 Because they ³were rebellious against His Spirit, He spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They ⁴did not destroy the peoples, As ⁵the LORD commanded them,

35 But ⁶they mingled with the nations And learned their practices,

36 And ⁷served their idols, ⁸Which became a snare to them.

37 They even ⁹sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the ¹⁰demons,

38 And shed ¹¹innocent blood, The blood of their ¹²sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was ¹³polluted with the blood.

39 Thus they became ¹⁴unclean in their practices, And ¹⁵played the harlot in their deeds.

40 Therefore the ¹⁶anger of the LORD was kindled against His people And He ¹⁷abhorred His ¹⁸inheritance.

41 Then ¹⁹He gave them into the hand of the nations, And those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies also ²⁰oppressed them, And they were subdued under their power.

Psalm 106:32-42 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.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 20:2-13; Psalms 81:7; Psalms 95:9
• 2. Numbers 20:12
• 3. Numbers 20:3, 10; Psalms 78:40; Psalms 107:11
• 4. Judg 1:21, 27-36
• 5. Deuteronomy 7:2, 16
• 6. Judges 3:5, 6
• 7. Judges 2:12
• 8. Deuteronomy 7:16
• 9. Deuteronomy 12:31; Deuteronomy 32:17; 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 17:17; Ezekiel 16:20, 21; 1 Corinthians 10:20
• 10. Leviticus 17:7
• 11. Psalms 94:21
• 12. Deuteronomy 18:10
• 13. Numbers 35:33; Isaiah 24:5; Jeremiah 3:1, 2
• 14. Leviticus 18:24; Ezekiel 20:18
• 15. Leviticus 17:7; Numbers 15:39; Judges 2:17; Hosea 4:12
• 16. Judges 2:14; Psalms 78:59
• 17. Leviticus 26:30; Deuteronomy 32:19
• 18. Deuteronomy 9:29; Deuteronomy 32:9
• 19. Judges 2:14; Nehemiah 9:27
• 20. Judges 4:3; Judges 10:12

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "strife"
• [b] Or "his spirit"
• [c] Lit "works"
• [d] Lit "works"
• [e] I.e. people
• [f] Or "Gentiles"
• [g] Lit "hand"