Psalms 106:32-33

Context

106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,

and Moses suffered¹ because of them,

106:33 for they aroused² his temper,³

and he spoke rashly.⁴

[106:32] ¹tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.”

[106:33] ²tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints.

[106:33] ³tn Heb “his spirit.”

[106:33] ⁴tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.