Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 106:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 106:6: Within “Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy: Confession and rescue at the sea,” the line “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we…” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
We have sinned with our fathers is the doorway, not they have sinned
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 106:6–12. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 106:6–12
- Psalms 106:1–48
Read Psalms 106:6 with 106:6–12 and 106:1–48. Read alone, “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have…” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 106:6–12, the communal voice carries the movement “Confession and rescue at the sea” 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 106:6–12 answers or redirects “Praise and a plea to share in salvation” within Psalm 106 by carrying “Confession and rescue at the sea.” The turn from “That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy…” to “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 106:6 adds the distinct poetic line “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly” within “Confession and rescue at the sea,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 106:6–12; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 106:6–12, the communal voice carries the movement “Confession and rescue at the sea” 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 106:6 does not allow “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have…” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse adds the distinct poetic line “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly” within “Confession and rescue at the sea,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The complete movement is “Confession and rescue at the sea.” Corporate confession resists self-exoneration but must not feed antisemitic stereotypes, collective guilt across generations, or coercive shame.
What Remains True
Book IV gives Psalm 106:6 a larger home, while “Confession and rescue at the sea” supplies its immediate one. Psalm 106:6 adds the distinct poetic line “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly” within “Confession and rescue at the sea,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. Therefore, Confession seeks mercy and changed life while preserving truth, consequences, restitution, safeguarding, and the dignity of people harmed. The local movement is “Confession and rescue at the sea.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Corporate confession resists self-exoneration but must not feed antisemitic stereotypes, collective guilt across generations, or coercive shame.
Teach It Back
Starting from the verse role—Psalm 106:6 adds the distinct poetic line “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly” within “Confession and rescue at the sea,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.—walk through the parallel lines of Psalms 106:6–12. State what remains true, how it shapes life, what remains uncertain, and why the poem does not authorize this use: 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 106:6–12 — Confession retells rebellion and persistent mercy: Confession and rescue at the seaSources 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 106:6–12, 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 106:6–12
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 106:6–12.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 106 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 106:6–12
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 106:6–12
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 106:6–12
Open NETS Psalms ↗