106:16 In the camp they resented 1 Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest. 2
106:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed 3 the group led by Abiram. 4
106:18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked. 5
106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
106:20 They traded their majestic God 6
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
106:21 They rejected 7 the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
106:28 They worshiped 8 Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. 9
106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered 10 because of them,
106:33 for they aroused 11 his temper, 12
and he spoke rashly. 13
106:34 They did not destroy the nations, 14
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
106:35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways. 15
106:36 They worshiped 16 their idols,
which became a snare to them. 17
106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. 18
106:38 They shed innocent blood –
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted by bloodshed. 19
106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,
and unfaithful in their actions. 20
106:40 So the Lord was angry with his people 21
and despised the people who belong to him. 22
1 tn Or “envied.”
2 tn Heb “the holy one of the
3 tn Or “covered.”
4 tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.”
5 sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40.
6 tn Heb “their glory.” According to an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition, the text originally read “his glory” or “my glory.” In Jer 2:11 the
7 tn Heb “forgot.”
8 tn Heb “joined themselves to.”
sn They worshiped Baal of Peor. See Num 25:3, 5. Baal of Peor was a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal located at Peor.
9 tn Here “the dead” may refer to deceased ancestors (see Deut 26:14). Another option is to understand the term as a derogatory reference to the various deities which the Israelites worshiped at Peor along with Baal (see Num 25:2 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 49).
10 tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.”
11 tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints.
12 tn Heb “his spirit.”
13 tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
sn Verses 32-33 allude to the events of Num 20:1-13.
14 tn That is, the nations of Canaan.
15 tn Heb “their deeds.”
16 tn Or “served.”
17 sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3.
18 tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.
19 sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.
20 tn Heb “and they committed adultery in their actions.” This means that they were unfaithful to the
21 tn Heb “the anger of the
22 tn Heb “his inheritance.”