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Psalm 95[a]

95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us shout out praises to our Protector who delivers us.[b]
Let us enter his presence[c] with thanksgiving.
Let us shout out to him in celebration.[d]
For the Lord is a great God,
a great king who is superior to[e] all gods.
The depths of the earth are in his hand,[f]
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and worship.[g]
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
For he is our God;
we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep he owns.[h]
Today, if only you would obey him.[i]
He says,[j] “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah,[k]
like they were that day at Massah[l] in the wilderness,[m]
where your ancestors challenged my authority,[n]
and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I was continually disgusted[o] with that generation,
and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray;[p]
they do not obey my commands.’[q]
11 So I made a vow in my anger,
‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”[r]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 95:1 sn Psalm 95. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God as the creator of the world and the nation’s protector, but he also reminds the people not to rebel against God.
  2. Psalm 95:1 tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”
  3. Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “meet his face.”
  4. Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “with songs of joy.”
  5. Psalm 95:3 tn Heb “above.”
  6. Psalm 95:4 tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.
  7. Psalm 95:6 tn Heb “kneel down.”
  8. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “of his hand.”
  9. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (ʾim, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
  10. Psalm 95:8 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).
  11. Psalm 95:8 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.
  12. Psalm 95:8 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).
  13. Psalm 95:8 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
  14. Psalm 95:9 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
  15. Psalm 95:10 tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite or an imperfect. If the latter, it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the condition in the past. The translation reflects this interpretation of the verbal form.
  16. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
  17. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “and they do not know my ways.” In this context the Lord’s “ways” are his commands, viewed as a pathway from which his people, likened to wayward sheep (see v. 7), wander.
  18. Psalm 95:11 tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).

Psalm 95

Come,(A) let us sing for joy(B) to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud(C) to the Rock(D) of our salvation.
Let us come before him(E) with thanksgiving(F)
    and extol him with music(G) and song.

For the Lord is the great God,(H)
    the great King(I) above all gods.(J)
In his hand are the depths of the earth,(K)
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.(L)

Come, let us bow down(M) in worship,(N)
    let us kneel(O) before the Lord our Maker;(P)
for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,(Q)
    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
“Do not harden your hearts(R) as you did at Meribah,[a](S)
    as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,(T)
where your ancestors tested(U) me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years(V) I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,(W)
    and they have not known my ways.’(X)
11 So I declared on oath(Y) in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
  2. Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.

95 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

10 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:

11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.