Psalms 89:38

89:38 But you have spurned and rejected him;

you are angry with your chosen king.

Psalms 95:8

95:8 He says, “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah,

like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness,


tn The Hebrew construction (conjunction + pronoun, followed by the verb) draws attention to the contrast between what follows and what precedes.

tn Heb “your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 132:10, 17).

tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the following words are spoken by the Lord (see vv. 9-11).

sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.

sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1-7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).

tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”