Psalms 78:15

78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,

and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. ¹ 

Psalms 78:40

78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,

and insulted him ²  in the desert!

Psalms 78:52

78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;

he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

Psalms 106:14

106:14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving ³  for meat; ⁴ 

they challenged God ⁵  in the desert.

Psalms 106:26

106:26 So he made a solemn vow ⁶ 

that he would make them die ⁷  in the desert,

Psalms 136:16

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 55:7

55:7 Look, I will escape to a distant place;

I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)

Psalms 78:19

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ⁸ 

“Is God really able to give us food ⁹  in the wilderness?

Psalms 95:8

95:8 He says, ¹⁰  “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, ¹¹ 

like they were that day at Massah ¹²  in the wilderness, ¹³ 

Psalms 107:4

107:4 They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road;

they found no city in which to live.

Psalms 63:1

Psalm 63 ¹⁴ 

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. ¹⁵ 

63:1 O God, you are my God! I long for you! ¹⁶ 

My soul thirsts ¹⁷  for you,

my flesh yearns for you,

in a dry and parched ¹⁸  land where there is no water.

[78:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”

[78:40]  ² tn Or “caused him pain.”

[106:14]  ³ sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35.

[106:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.”

[106:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “they tested God.”

[106:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he lifted his hand to [or “concerning”] them.” The idiom “to lift a hand” here refers to swearing an oath. One would sometimes solemnly lift one’s hand when making such a vow (see Ezek 20:5-6, 15).

[106:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “to cause them to fall.”

[78:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[95:8]  ⁶ 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).

[95:8]  ⁷ 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.

[95:8]  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).

[95:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”

[63:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.

[63:1]  ⁸ sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.

[63:1]  ⁹ tn Or “I will seek you.”

[63:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I thirst.”

[63:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.