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Psalm 106:35
but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
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.
36They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
37Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
Notice
The words “learned their works” expose how influence reaches into conduct, as Israel adopts the practices of the nations among whom they live.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What habits have you learned from people whose approval matters to you?
Write on thisHow do the idols and sacrifices in the next verses clarify what Israel learned?
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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
2 Corinthians 6:14Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?Paul warns against bonds that join righteousness with iniquity; the psalm recounts Israel’s mixing with nations and adopting their practices.
Hosea 7:8Ephraim mixes himself among the nations. Ephraim is a pancake not turned over.Both passages describe God’s people mixing among the nations, with Hosea naming Ephraim and the psalm naming the practices Israel learned.
Proverbs 22:25lest you learn his ways and ensnare your soul.Both texts describe learning another person’s ways, and Proverbs warns that such learning can ensnare the soul.
Judges 3:5–6The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.Judges names the peoples among whom Israel lived; the psalm describes Israel mixing with the nations and learning their works.
1 Corinthians 15:33Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”Paul warns that evil companionships corrupt conduct; the psalm records Israel learning the works of the nations around them.
Exodus 23:32You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.Exodus forbids covenants with these peoples and their gods; the psalm records Israel mixing with the nations and learning their works.
1 Corinthians 5:6Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?Both concern harmful influence, though Paul uses yeast spreading through dough while the psalm describes practices learned from surrounding nations.
Leviticus 18:3You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not …Leviticus forbids adopting the practices of Egypt and Canaan; the psalm records Israel learning the works of other nations.
Judges 2:2–3You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to my voice. Why have you done this?Judges names Israel’s disobedience concerning the land’s inhabitants and altars; the psalm describes the mixing and learned practices within that disobedience.
Judges 1:27–36Manasseh didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its towns, nor Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants …Judges records Canaanites remaining among Manasseh’s towns; the psalm describes Israel mixing with the nations and adopting their practices.
Isaiah 2:6For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, with those who practice divination like the Philistines, and they …Both passages connect ties with surrounding peoples to adopted practices, with Isaiah naming divination and the psalm speaking of learned works.
1 Samuel 8:20that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”Samuel records Israel wanting to be like the nations through kingship; the psalm records Israel becoming like them through learned practices.
Where this verse fits
Temptation. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The surrounding verses name idols and the sacrifice of children. The warning concerns practices that defy God; belonging among his people does not make those practices harmless.
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).