Bible Strands
Psalms 78:21
Therefore the LORD heard and was filled with wrath; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and His anger flared against Israel,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Asaph addresses the Israelite assembly to record God's response to their wilderness doubt, immediately following their question about whether He could supply bread and meat. The passage documents a historical moment where divine patience reaches its limit.
The words — The Hebrew לָכֵן (lakhen), "therefore," binds Yahweh's hearing (שָׁמַע) of their complaint to His fury (יִתְעַבַּר). The text then states that אֵשׁ (esh), "fire," was נִשְׂקָה (nishqah), "kindled," specifically against Jacob.
The thread — This sequence of God hearing complaints and responding with anger is paralleled in Numbers 11:1. The event is later cited as a historical example written for warning in 1 Corinthians 10:11.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that persistent doubt triggers judgment rather than provision. It confronts the direct consequence of refusing to rely on God's salvation, as the surrounding verses explicitly state.
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
Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
Cross-references
- Numbers 11:1 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
- Jude 1:5 Although 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.
- Numbers 11:10 Then Moses heard the people of family after family weeping at the entrances to their tents, and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was also displeased.
- Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains.
- Psalms 78:31 God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.
- 1 Corinthians 10:5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness.