Back to Psalms 106

Psalms 106:16-18

They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint.

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint.

    The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

    A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.

  • KJV King James Version

    They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.

    The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

    And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    They were jealous also of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron the holy one of the LORD.

    The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

    And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

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Cross-references (10)

  • Numbers 16:1-50 (v16) Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons…
  • Deuteronomy 11:6 (v17) and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben—how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their…
  • Numbers 16:29-33 (v17) If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then Yahweh hasn’t sent me. But if Yahweh…
  • Numbers 26:10 (v17) and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died; at the time the fire devoured two hundred…
  • Numbers 16:35-40 (v18) Fire came out from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Eleazar…
Show all 10 cross-references
  • Hebrews 12:29 (v18) for our God is a consuming fire.
  • Leviticus 21:10-12 (v16) “ ‘He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who is consecrated to put on the…
  • Numbers 16:46 (v18) Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, carry it quickly to the congregation, and make…
  • Exodus 28:36 (v16) “You shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘HOLY TO YAHWEH.’
  • Leviticus 21:6-8 (v16) They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of…

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (17 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv16–17 16. And they envied He refers here very shortly…

16. And they envied He refers here very shortly to another transgression, and that, too, in such a way as to furnish both to himself and others ample grounds for deep consideration. For, as the people, in devising from time to time new modes of sinning, displayed so much cunning in their attempts to provoke God’s anger, so we ought the more to be filled with fear on that account. Moreover, when he says that they envied Moses and Aaron, his meaning is, that, acting under the influence of diabolic pride, they had risen up against God, and were endeavoring to throw off the yoke which he had laid upon them; according as Moses also said,

“What am I, and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against us?” (Numbers 16:11)

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As it was the will of God to rule the people by means of Moses and Aaron, not to submit to their rule was virtually to set themselves obstinately to resist the authority of God himself. There is therefore great importance attached to the term, envy, namely, that at the very time when God was treating the children of Israel with the utmost kindness and care, they yet were discontented with their lot, and rebelled against him. Could such madness serve any other purpose than to show, that, casting off all farther dependence upon the providence of God for their support, they aspire to rise above the very heavens? In this sense Aaron is called the saint of Jehovah, in order that we might know that both he and Moses were equally identified with God; for under the person of the one, the designation is applied to both, and in this way the prophet shows that they had been Divinely invested with that authority which they were exercising. In renouncing their authority, therefore, and, to the utmost of their power, dishonoring these saints, Dathan and Abiram were rebelling not against men, but against God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v17 By the greatness of the punishment the heinous offence…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Psa 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv16–18 So called here, not so much for his inherent…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–18 They envied Moses also in the camp,.... That he…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v16 The saint - So called, because he was consecrated…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v16 Verse 16. They envied Moses] A reference to the…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v16 Psa 106:16-18. They envied Moses also — His authority;…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv16–17 They envied Moses also in the camp - They…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v16 16. Envied Moses… and Aaron—The allusion is to the…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16. the saint of the Lord] The holy one…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–17 (16) Saint.—The holy one. The complaint of the disaffected…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16–18 They envied Moses also in the camp. The writer…
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Ver. 16. They envied Moses also in the camp.…
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v16 They envied Moses.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v16 In the camp
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v16 106:16-18 The people became jealous because they presumed to…
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