The Meaning of Psalms 95:11 Explained

Psalms 95:11

KJV: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

YLT: Where I sware in Mine anger, 'If they come in unto My rest !'

Darby: So that I swore in mine anger, that they should not enter into my rest.

ASV: Wherefore I sware in my wrath, That they should not enter into my rest.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Unto whom I sware  in my wrath  that they should not enter  into my rest. 

What does Psalms 95:11 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 95:11 mean?

So I swore in My wrath not they shall enter into My rest
אֲשֶׁר־ נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּי בְאַפִּ֑י אִם־ יְ֝בֹא֗וּן אֶל־ מְנוּחָתִֽי

אֲשֶׁר־  So 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּי  I  swore 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁבַע  
Sense: to swear, adjure.
בְאַפִּ֑י  in  My  wrath 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
יְ֝בֹא֗וּן  they  shall  enter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מְנוּחָתִֽי  My  rest 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מְנוּחָה 
Sense: resting place, rest.