Bible Strands
Psalms 106:31
It was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the congregation while reviewing Israel’s wilderness failures, specifically highlighting Phinehas’s intervention that halted a plague following the Baal of Peor incident.
The words — The Hebrew verb תּחָשֵׁב (techašev) translates literally as “it was reckoned,” combined with לִצְדָקָה (litzdāqâ) for “to righteousness,” creating the exact phrase “reckoned to him as righteousness.”
The thread — The psalmist directly references Numbers 25:11 for the historical event, while the phrase “credited as righteousness” parallels Genesis 15:6 and appears in Deuteronomy 24:13 regarding righteous accounting.
Why it lands — The text states that Phinehas’s zealous action was formally counted as righteousness, establishing a precedent that God’s favor rests on active obedience rather than inherited status.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Cross-references
- Numbers 25:11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal.
- Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- Deuteronomy 24:13 be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.
- Mark 14:3 While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.