Mazmur 106:28-29

106:28 They worshiped ¹  Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. ² 

106:29 They made the Lord angry ³  by their actions,

and a plague broke out among them.

Mazmur 106:34-43

106:34 They did not destroy the nations, ⁴ 

as the Lord had commanded them to do.

106:35 They mixed in with the nations

and learned their ways. ⁵ 

106:36 They worshiped ⁶  their idols,

which became a snare to them. ⁷ 

106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. ⁸ 

106:38 They shed innocent blood –

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

The land was polluted by bloodshed. ⁹ 

106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,

and unfaithful in their actions. ¹⁰ 

106:40 So the Lord was angry with his people ¹¹ 

and despised the people who belong to him. ¹² 

106:41 He handed them over to ¹³  the nations,

and those who hated them ruled over them.

106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;

they were subject to their authority. ¹⁴ 

106:43 Many times he delivered ¹⁵  them,

but they had a rebellious attitude, ¹⁶ 

and degraded themselves ¹⁷  by their sin.

[106:28]  ¹ tn Heb “joined themselves to.”

[106:28]  sn They worshiped Baal of Peor. See Num 25:3, 5. Baal of Peor was a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal located at Peor.

[106:28]  ² tn Here “the dead” may refer to deceased ancestors (see Deut 26:14). Another option is to understand the term as a derogatory reference to the various deities which the Israelites worshiped at Peor along with Baal (see Num 25:2 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 49).

[106:29]  ³ tn Heb “They made angry [him].” The pronominal suffix is omitted here, but does appear in a few medieval Hebrew mss. Perhaps it was accidentally left off, an original וַיַּכְעִיסוּהוּ (vayyakh’isuhu) being misread as וַיַּכְעִיסוּ (vayyakh’isu). In the translation the referent of the pronominal suffix (the Lord) has been specified for clarity to avoid confusion with Baal of Peor (mentioned in the previous verse).

[106:34]  ⁴ tn That is, the nations of Canaan.

[106:35]  ⁵ tn Heb “their deeds.”

[106:36]  ⁶ tn Or “served.”

[106:36]  ⁷ sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3.

[106:37]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.

[106:38]  ⁹ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.

[106:39]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they committed adultery in their actions.” This means that they were unfaithful to the Lord (see Ps 73:27).

[106:40]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against his people.”

[106:40]  ¹² tn Heb “his inheritance.”

[106:41]  ¹³ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[106:42]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.”

[106:43]  ¹⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”).

[106:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”).

[106:43]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal.