do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
- KJV Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
- NKJV “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
- NASB Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness,
- NLT The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
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
Do not harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah and Massah. Persistent unbelief and rebellion hardens the heart against God.
Overview
The psalm recalls Israel's rebellion in the wilderness, where they quarreled and tested God at Meribah and Massah (Exodus 17). Their hardened hearts serve as a sober warning to every generation. Hebrews cites this to urge believers to respond in faith to Christ today, lest they fall through the same unbelief (Hebrews 3:8, 13).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Exod 17:7He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Heb 3:8–9do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,
- Num 20:13These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.
- Num 14:11And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?
- Num 14:22not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times—
- Heb 3:15–19As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”
- Deut 6:16Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
- 1 Sam 6:6Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people on their way as they departed?
- Heb 12:25See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?
- Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- Jude 1:5Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.
- Exod 17:2So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
- Heb 3:13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
- Acts 19:9But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
- Exod 8:15When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- Dan 5:20But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
- Deut 1:34–35When the LORD heard your words, He grew angry and swore an oath, saying,
- Num 14:27“How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me.
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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 95:8 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
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