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Psalm 95:7-11
New English Translation
Psalm 95:7-11
New English Translation
7 For he is our God;
we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep he owns.[a]
Today, if only you would obey him.[b]
8 He says,[c] “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah,[d]
like they were that day at Massah[e] in the wilderness,[f]
9 where your ancestors challenged my authority,[g]
and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I was continually disgusted[h] with that generation,
and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray;[i]
they do not obey my commands.’[j]
11 So I made a vow in my anger,
‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”[k]
Footnotes
- Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “of his hand.”
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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).
- Psalm 95:8 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
- Psalm 95:9 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
- 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.
- Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
- 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.
- 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).
Psalm 95:7-11
New International Version
Psalm 95:7-11
New International Version
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,(A)
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts(B) as you did at Meribah,[a](C)
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,(D)
9 where your ancestors tested(E) me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years(F) I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,(G)
and they have not known my ways.’(H)
11 So I declared on oath(I) in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”(J)
Footnotes
- Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
- Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.
New English Translation (NET)
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