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Psalm 106:33
because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
31That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
32They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
33because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
34They didn’t destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them,
35but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
Notice
At Meribah, Moses spoke rash words amid the people's rebellion, exposing how another person's conduct can become the setting for careless speech.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Where, if anywhere, do you recognize the pull toward Moses' rash speech?
Write on thisWhat distinction do you see between the people's rebellion and Moses' response?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Numbers 20:10–11Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”Numbers records Moses addressing the people as rebels before the rock; the psalm describes his speech at Meribah as rash.
Job 3:1After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.Both passages record speech amid trouble, though Job curses his birth while Moses speaks in response to rebellion.
James 3:2For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn’t stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also.Moses' rash speech is a specific instance of the stumbling in words that James describes.
Psalm 78:40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!Both passages recall the people's rebellion and the grief or trouble that accompanied it.
Psalm 39:1For the Chief Musician. For Jeduthun. A Psalm by David. I said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle …Psalm 39 resolves to guard the tongue in difficult company; Psalm 106 records Moses' rash speech amid rebellion.
Psalm 107:11because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.Both passages recount rebellion; Psalm 107 names God's words and counsel, while Psalm 106 also records Moses' rash response.
Job 2:10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all …Both accounts attend to speech under strain: Moses speaks rash words, while Job does not sin with his lips.
Psalm 141:3Set a watch, LORD, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.Moses' rash speech shows the danger addressed by the prayer for a watch over the mouth and lips.
Genesis 35:16–18They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.The connection is limited: Genesis describes Rachel's hard labor, while the psalm recounts Moses' troubled response to rebellion.
Job 38:2“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?Both passages expose faults in speech: Moses speaks rash words, and God's question challenges words spoken without knowledge.
Job 40:4–5“Behold, I am of small account. What will I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.Moses' rash speech contrasts with Job's decision to lay his hand on his mouth before answering God.
Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”Both passages connect distress with speech: Rachel demands children from Jacob, while Moses speaks rash words amid the people's rebellion.
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Encouragement
The people's rebellion mattered, and Moses' words still mattered. God's Word names the pressure he faced without excusing the rash speech that followed.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).