Psalm 95
New English Translation
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]
2 Let us enter his presence[c] with thanksgiving.
Let us shout out to him in celebration.[d]
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great king who is superior to[e] all gods.
4 The depths of the earth are in his hand,[f]
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down and worship.[g]
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
7 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]
8 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]
9 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
- 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.
- Psalm 95:1 tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”
- Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “meet his face.”
- Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “with songs of joy.”
- Psalm 95:3 tn Heb “above.”
- Psalm 95:4 tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.
- Psalm 95:6 tn Heb “kneel down.”
- Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “of his hand.”
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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).
- Psalm 95:8 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
- Psalm 95:9 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
- 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.
- Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
- 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.
- 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
Expanded Bible
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4] who ·saves us [gives us victory].
2 Let’s ·come [present ourselves] to him with ·thanksgiving [praise].
Let’s ·sing songs [shout psalms] to him,
3 because the Lord is the great God,
the great King over all gods [Ex. 15:11].
4 The deepest places on earth are ·his [L in his hand],
and the ·highest [peaks of the] mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it,
and he created the ·land [dry ground] with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s ·worship him [bow down] and ·bow down [bend the knee].
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us,
7 because he is our God
and we are the people ·he takes care of [L of his pasture],
the sheep ·that he tends [L of his hand; 74:1; 79:13; 100:3; John 10:11–14].
Today listen to ·what he says [L his voice]:
8 “Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your heart], as at Meribah [C “contending”; 81:7; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13],
as that day at Massah [C “testing”] in the ·desert [wilderness; Heb. 4:7].
9 There your ·ancestors [fathers] tested me
and tried me even though they saw what I did.
10 I ·was angry with [felt disgust for] ·those people [L that generation] for forty years.
I said, ‘They are ·not loyal to me [L a people whose hearts wander/go astray]
and have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’”
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