95:8 He says, 1 “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, 2
like they were that day at Massah 3 in the wilderness, 4
95:9 where your ancestors challenged my authority, 5
and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
95:10 For forty years I was continually disgusted 6 with that generation,
and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray; 7
they do not obey my commands.’ 8
95:11 So I made a vow in my anger,
‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’” 9
1 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).
2 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.
3 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).
4 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
5 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
8 tn Heb “and they do not know my ways.” In this context the
9 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).