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They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt—
Psalms 106:21 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
  • KJV They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
  • BSB They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt,
  • NKJV They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,
  • NASB They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. It matters because idolatry springs from forgetting God's saving acts.

Overview

In worshiping the calf, Israel forgot the God who had delivered them from Egypt (Exodus 32; Deuteronomy 6:12). Forgetting His mighty works left them vulnerable to false gods. The verse warns that spiritual amnesia toward God's salvation breeds unfaithfulness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Ps 78:42–51They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
  • Ps 78:11–12They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them.
  • Jer 2:32“Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number.
  • Ps 106:13They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel,
  • Deut 32:17–18They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods that they didn’t know, to new gods that came up recently, which your fathers didn’t dread.
  • Titus 3:4–6But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,
  • Ps 135:9Who sent signs and wonders into the middle of you, Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his servants;
  • Deut 4:34Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
  • Deut 10:21He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things, which your eyes have seen.
  • Titus 1:3but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;
  • Neh 9:10–11and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land; for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and made a name for yourself, as it is today.
  • Isa 45:21Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; There is no one besides me.
  • Deut 6:22and Yahweh showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes;
  • Deut 7:18–19you shall not be afraid of them. You shall remember well what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt;
  • Isa 12:2Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.”
  • Ps 74:13–14You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
  • Titus 2:10not stealing, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in all things.
  • Isa 63:8For he said, “Surely, they are my people, children who will not deal falsely;” so he became their Savior.
  • Hos 1:7But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
  • Luke 1:47My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 106:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 106:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.