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Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Psalms 106:33 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
  • BSB For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.
  • NKJV Because they rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with his lips.
  • NASB Because they were rebellious against His Spirit, He spoke rashly with his lips.
  • NLT They made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly.

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

Because they rebelled against God's Spirit, Moses spoke rashly. It matters because even Moses faltered under the people's provocation.

Overview

Provoked by Israel's contention, Moses spoke and acted rashly at Meribah, for which he was barred from the land (Numbers 20:10-12). The verse attributes the occasion to the people's rebellion while still acknowledging Moses's fault. It reminds us that even the best leaders are sinners needing grace, and points to the need for a flawless Mediator.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Num 20:10–11And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
  • Ps 107:11Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
  • Ps 78:40How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
  • Jas 3:2For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
  • Ps 39:1I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
  • Job 2:10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
  • Ps 141:3Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
  • Job 40:4–5Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
  • Gen 30:1And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
  • Job 38:2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
  • Job 42:7–8And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
  • Gen 35:16–18And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

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 106:33YouTube · 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 106:33 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.