Bible Strands
Psalms 106:33
For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Israel, recounting the moment at the waters of Meribah where the people angered the LORD and brought trouble upon Moses. The speaker reviews their historical failure to obey divine commands before moving forward.
The words — The Hebrew הִמְר֥וּ (himru) translates literally to “they rebelled toward,” while וַ֝יְבַטֵּ֗א (vaybattēa) means “he spoke rashly.” These terms directly describe the people’s defiance against God’s Spirit and Moses’ unguarded verbal response.
The thread — This account parallels Numbers 20:10 where Moses addresses the assembly at the rock, Psalm 78:40 which notes repeated wilderness disobedience, and Psalm 39:1 which warns against sinning with the tongue.
Why it lands — The verse demands sober accountability for both corporate rebellion and individual speech, showing how unguarded words and hardened hearts disrupt divine purpose.
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
Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Cross-references
- Numbers 20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
- Psalms 39:1 For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”
- Psalms 78:40 How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
- Psalms 107:11 because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
- James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
- Job 2:10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
- Psalms 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
- Genesis 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
- Genesis 35:16 Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
- Job 38:2 “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?