Psalm 95:10 kjv
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Psalm 95:10 nkjv
For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.'
Psalm 95:10 niv
For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, 'They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.'
Psalm 95:10 esv
For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways."
Psalm 95:10 nlt
For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
'They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.'
Psalm 95 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference Note |
|---|---|---|
| Num 14:33-34 | "Your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years... according to the number of days, forty days, for each day a year, you shall bear your iniquity..." | Connects the forty years to the wilderness wandering and punishment. |
| Heb 3:7-11 | "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness... forty years..." | Direct New Testament quotation of Psalm 95, emphasizing the warning. |
| Heb 4:1-11 | "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it..." | Expands on the meaning of "God's rest" and the danger of unbelief. |
| Deut 1:34-35 | "Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath, saying, 'Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land...'" | Recounts God's judgment on the rebellious generation. |
| Exod 17:7 | "So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'" | Details an instance of testing God, a hallmark of their error. |
| Num 14:11 | "And the Lord said to Moses: 'How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?'" | Reveals God's direct questioning of their persistent unbelief. |
| Deut 8:2-3 | "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart..." | States the purpose of the forty years: testing their heart. |
| Ps 78:40-42 | "How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel." | Parallel psalm reflecting on Israel's rebellion and grieving God. |
| Ps 106:14-15 | "But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul." | Highlights their spiritual cravings and negative consequences. |
| Jer 17:9 | "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" | Speaks to the universal problem of the corrupt human heart, underlying Israel's error. |
| Prov 4:23 | "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." | Emphasizes the heart's foundational importance, contrasting Israel's failure. |
| Isa 55:8-9 | "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways..." | Contrast between divine ways and human thoughts, relating to "not known my ways." |
| Jer 7:24 | "But they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the stubbornness of their evil heart..." | Another reference to Israel's stubborn, evil heart leading to disobedience. |
| Ezek 36:26-27 | "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you... I will put My Spirit in you and cause you to walk in My statutes..." | Promise of a new heart and God's ways being known through His Spirit. |
| Isa 63:10 | "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself into their enemy, And He fought against them." | Explicitly states "grieved His Holy Spirit" due to rebellion. |
| Gen 6:6 | "And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart." | Demonstrates God's capacity for grief over human sin from early scripture. |
| 1 Cor 10:5-10 | "But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples..." | New Testament warns Christians by referencing Israel's wilderness failures. |
| Luke 19:41-42 | "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.'" | Jesus's lament over Jerusalem's failure to recognize God's ways. |
| Matt 13:14-15 | "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull..." | Connects spiritual dullness and hardened hearts to a lack of understanding. |
| Heb 12:25 | "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven..." | Universal warning against refusing God's voice, using the wilderness generation as a prior example. |
| 1 Pet 2:9-10 | "But you are a chosen generation... who once were not a people but are now the people of God; who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." | Contrast with the disobedient "generation" of Ps 95, emphasizing new covenant mercy. |
| Jude 1:5 | "But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe." | Clear statement about the judgment on the unbelieving generation. |
Psalm 95 verses
Psalm 95 10 Meaning
Psalm 95:10 conveys God's profound, sustained grief and weary displeasure with the generation of Israelites who, for forty years in the wilderness, repeatedly strayed from His path. Their core problem was not merely outward rebellion, but a deeply rooted error in their spiritual discernment and will ("their heart"), leading to an experiential failure to truly understand and obey His character, commands, and redemptive ways. This fundamental disconnect led to their exclusion from the promised rest.
Psalm 95 10 Context
Psalm 95 is a "Royal Psalm" and a "Wisdom Psalm" that begins with an enthusiastic call to worship God, recognizing Him as Creator and King (vv. 1-7a). This initial section emphasizes joy, praise, and thanksgiving for God's greatness and His shepherd-like care for His people. However, the psalm abruptly shifts in verse 7b to a solemn warning: "Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness..." This sharp transition sets the stage for verses 8-11, which recall the historical events of the wilderness wandering (specifically Massah and Meribah from Exod 17:1-7 and Num 20:1-13) and God's subsequent decree. Psalm 95:10, therefore, functions as God's retrospective complaint, justifying His sworn judgment against that generation by detailing the spiritual state that provoked it. Historically, it refers to the 40-year period (from Exodus to the borders of the Promised Land) during which the adult Israelites who left Egypt largely died in the wilderness due to their repeated unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion against God, despite witnessing His miraculous provisions and judgments. This specific historical context is crucial for understanding God's righteous anger and the warning delivered to all future generations.
Psalm 95 10 Word analysis
- Forty years (אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה - arba'im shanah): This numerical period is highly symbolic in biblical literature, often denoting a generation, a time of testing, judgment, or probation. Here, it specifically marks the duration of Israel's journey in the wilderness after the Exodus (Num 14:33-34). It emphasizes the long-suffering and enduring patience of God, juxtaposed with the persistent unbelief of the people over a significant span of time. It's not a short period of sin but a prolonged rebellion that tested God's forbearance.
- Was I grieved (אָקוּט - 'aqut): The root qūṭ means to feel disgust, loathing, abhorrence, weariness, or vexation. It implies a strong emotional reaction, not just sorrow, but an profound internal weariness with someone's behavior. God was not merely disappointed but was deeply weary and repulsed by their continuous murmuring and lack of faith after continually manifesting His power and love. This word reflects a deep-seated revulsion at their spiritual depravity despite His goodness.
- With this generation (עִם־דּוֹר - 'im dôr): Refers to the specific generation of Israelites who were adults when they left Egypt. This is the generation that witnessed the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna, and the water from the rock, yet consistently challenged God's presence and provision. This phrase singles out the historical recipients of God's patience and subsequent judgment, making it a cautionary tale for all who follow.
- And said, It is a people that do err (וָאֹמַר עַם תֹעֵי - va'omar 'am to'ey): "Err" (ta'ah) means to stray, wander, go astray, be deceived, or wander off the right path. It suggests a deviation not merely by mistake, but by willful inclination. God's declaration here is a profound indictment.
- In their heart (לֵבָב - levav): In Hebrew thought, the "heart" is the core of a person – the seat of intellect, will, emotion, moral character, and spiritual discernment. Therefore, "err in their heart" means their going astray was not superficial or accidental, but stemmed from a fundamental flaw in their spiritual understanding, moral compass, and internal disposition. It was a willful, inward departure from truth and righteousness, manifesting as an unwillingness to trust or submit to God. Their heart was "hardened."
- And they have not known (וְהֵם לֹא יָדְעוּ - vehem lo yadev'u): "Known" (yada') in biblical Hebrew often implies experiential, intimate, and covenantal knowledge, not merely intellectual awareness. Despite living under the Law, receiving countless miracles, and being the covenant people, they lacked genuine, saving knowledge of God's character, faithfulness, and commands. They knew about Him but did not truly know Him in a relational and obedient sense.
- My ways (דְרָכָי - drakhay): Refers to God's character, His laws, His methods of governance, His revealed will, His redemptive path, and the lifestyle He prescribed for His covenant people. Their failure to "know My ways" means they failed to internalize, understand, and conform to the divine standard for how to live and relate to Him. This resulted in a failure of faith and obedience, culminating in their judgment.
Psalm 95 10 Bonus section
The reference to "My rest" in verse 11 (implied as the consequence of their failure) is critically developed in the New Testament book of Hebrews. In Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, Psalm 95 is quoted and expanded upon, revealing that "God's rest" is not merely the geographical Promised Land (which Joshua's generation eventually entered), but a spiritual, eschatological rest—a cessation from one's own works and striving, a trusting surrender to God's finished work in Christ, and ultimately, eternal rest in God's presence. The wilderness generation's failure to enter Canaan serves as a powerful type and warning for New Covenant believers to diligently pursue and enter the greater spiritual rest offered in Christ through faith, avoiding the hardened heart of unbelief. This makes Psalm 95:10 perpetually relevant as a call to spiritual vigilance.
Psalm 95 10 Commentary
Psalm 95:10 encapsulates God’s judgment on a people whose persistent failure of faith was deeply internal. The phrase "err in their heart" is paramount, revealing that their sin wasn't just external misbehavior, but a core spiritual malady: a corrupt and misaligned will that resisted God's wisdom and goodness. Despite experiencing God's miraculous presence and provision for "forty years," they consistently failed to genuinely "know His ways" – not just His commands, but His very nature of faithfulness and righteousness. This lack of experiential knowledge of God bred unbelief and rebellion, wearying and grieving a patient God to the point of swearing that they would not enter His rest. This verse serves as a solemn warning against superficial religious practice devoid of true heart-faith, reminding all generations that obedience stems from genuine knowledge and trust in God's character and pathways.