The Meaning of Psalms 95:10 Explained

Psalms 95:10

KJV: Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

YLT: Forty years I am weary of the generation, And I say, 'A people erring in heart -- they! And they have not known My ways:'

Darby: Forty years was I grieved with the generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways;

ASV: Forty years long was I grieved with that generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, And they have not known my ways:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Forty  years  long was I grieved  with [this] generation,  and said,  It [is] a people  that do err  in their heart,  and they have not known  my ways: 

What does Psalms 95:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 95:1-11 - Praise The Lord And Tempt Him Not
This psalm is deeply inwoven into the life of the Church, because of the worshipful strain which pervades it, and also because of the illuminating manner in which it is introduced into the argument of Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16. The works of God in creation are specially enumerated as incentives to praise. The sea, the hills, the deep places of the earth have often inspired the minstrel, but how much more the devout soul!
Let us remember, also, when we are tossed on the seas of life, or are called to descend into valleys of shadow, that faith will still dare to sing. But in the second stanza of the psalm, from Psalms 95:6 onward, we are confronted with the sad story of Exodus 17:1-16. There are Meribahs and Massahs in all lives, where we murmur against God's dealings and lose our inward rest. There is a sabbatism of the heart when the will is yielded to God's will, and the bean is cleansed from its wayward whims; when the very peace that fills the divine nature settles down on the heart. That experience is an entrance into God's rest. It remains unexhausted for all the people of God. Let us not miss it through default of faith! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 95

1  An exhortation to praise God
3  For his greatness
6  And for his goodness
8  And not to tempt him

What do the individual words in Psalms 95:10 mean?

Forty for years I was grieved with [that] generation and said a people who go astray in their hearts they [are] and they not do know My ways
אַרְבָּ֘עִ֤ים שָׁנָ֨ה ׀ אָ֘ק֤וּט בְּד֗וֹר וָאֹמַ֗ר עַ֤ם תֹּעֵ֣י לֵבָ֣ב הֵ֑ם וְ֝הֵ֗ם לֹא־ יָדְע֥וּ דְרָכָֽי

אַרְבָּ֘עִ֤ים  Forty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
שָׁנָ֨ה ׀  for  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
אָ֘ק֤וּט  I  was  grieved 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: קוּט 
Sense: to loathe, be grieved, feel a loathing.
בְּד֗וֹר  with  [that]  generation 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֹּור 
Sense: period, generation, habitation, dwelling.
וָאֹמַ֗ר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
עַ֤ם  a  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
תֹּעֵ֣י  who  go  astray 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: תָּעָה  
Sense: to err, wander, go astray, stagger.
לֵבָ֣ב  in  their  hearts 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֵבָב  
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.
הֵ֑ם  they  [are] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
וְ֝הֵ֗ם  and  they 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
יָדְע֥וּ  do  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
דְרָכָֽי  My  ways 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, first person common singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.