Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 106:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 106:23: The reason or consequence in “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses…” supports the surrounding claim in “Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy: Craving, jealousy, and the calf.”
Forgetting is fast: craving, a granted request, and jealousy in the camp
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 106:13–23. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 106:13–23
- Psalms 106:1–48
Read Psalms 106:23 with 106:13–23 and 106:1–48. Read alone, “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his…” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 106:13–23, the communal voice carries the movement “Craving, jealousy, and the calf” as part of “Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy.” Its historical-communal-lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 106:13–23 continues “Confession and rescue at the sea” within Psalm 106 by carrying “Craving, jealousy, and the calf.” The turn from “Then believed they his words; they sang his praise” to “They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 106:23 supplies a reason or consequence through “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood…” and must be read with the claim it supports.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 106:13–23; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 106:13–23, the communal voice carries the movement “Craving, jealousy, and the calf” as part of “Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy.” Its historical-communal-lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- Corporate confession resists self-exoneration but must not feed antisemitic stereotypes, collective guilt across generations, or coercive shame.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 106:23 does not allow “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his…” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse supplies a reason or consequence through “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood…” and must be read with the claim it supports. The complete movement is “Craving, jealousy, and the calf.” Corporate confession resists self-exoneration but must not feed antisemitic stereotypes, collective guilt across generations, or coercive shame.
What Remains True
Psalm 106:23 carries “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his…” inside the historical-communal-lament movement “Craving, jealousy, and the calf.” Its durable contribution is this: Wrong and rage may be named honestly before the LORD, yet judgment remains accountable to justice and never turns another person into disposable prey. The local movement is “Craving, jealousy, and the calf.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Corporate confession resists self-exoneration but must not feed antisemitic stereotypes, collective guilt across generations, or coercive shame.
How It Can Shape Life
- Within “Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy: Craving, jealousy, and the calf,” Psalm 106:23 supplies a reason or consequence through “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood…” and must be read with the claim it supports. A proportionate response is this: Name the actual harm behind “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his…”, seek protection and fair judgment, and refuse to enact the poem's anger against a critic, group, or imagined enemy.
Teach It Back
In your own words, place “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his…” inside “Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy: Craving, jealousy, and the calf.” Identify its historical-communal-lament role, the neighboring poetic movement, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, one proportionate action, and this boundary: Corporate confession resists self-exoneration but must not feed antisemitic stereotypes, collective guilt across generations, or coercive shame.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 106:13–23 — Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy: Craving, jealousy, and the calfSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 106:13–23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 106:13–23
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 106:13–23.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 106 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 106:13–23
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 106:13–23
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 106 for Psalms 106:13–23
Open NETS Psalms ↗