Psalm 95:7-11

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “of his hand.”
2. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (ʾim, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
3. Psalm 95:8 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the following words are spoken by the Lord (see vv. 9-11).
4. Psalm 95:8 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
5. Psalm 95:8 sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1-7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).
6. Psalm 95:8 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
7. Psalm 95:9 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
8. Psalm 95:10 tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite or an imperfect. If the latter, it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the condition in the past. The translation reflects this interpretation of the verbal form.
9. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
10. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “and they do not know my ways.” In this context the Lord’s “ways” are his commands, viewed as a pathway from which his people, likened to wayward sheep (see v. 7), wander.
11. Psalm 95:11 tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).