Psalms 106:13 · Bible study
Psalms 106:13 Commentary: ‘They Soon Forgot His Works’
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What Israel's quick forgetfulness after the Red Sea teaches us about impatience, faith, and waiting for God's counsel.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Israel quickly forgot God's miracles and refused to trust His timing.
- Key words: מִהֲרוּ (hasted), שָׁכְחוּ (forgot), חִכּוּ (waited), עֵצָה (counsel).
- Main debate: Whether the forgetfulness was literal three days or a broader spiritual haste.
- Theological theme: The human tendency to forget God's faithfulness and the need to wait on His counsel.
- Best use: A warning against ingratitude and impatience; a call to remember God's works and trust His plan.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel,
KJV King James Version 1769
They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
They soon forgat his works; They waited not for his counsel,
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
They have hasted--forgotten His works, They have not waited for His counsel.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel:
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Apresuráronse, olvidáronse de sus obras; no esperaron en su consejo.
Porém logo se esqueceram das obras dele, e não esperaram pelo seu conselho.
Mais ils oublièrent bientôt ses œuvres,
Aber sie vergaßen bald seiner Werke; sie warteten nicht auf seinen Rat.
Doch zij vergaten haast Zijn werken, zij verbeidden naar Zijn raad niet.
Ben presto dimenticarono le sue opere; non aspettaron fiduciosi l’esecuzione dei suoi disegni,
Przecież prędko zapomnieli na sprawy jego, i nie czekali na rady jego.
Но воззвали к Господу в скорби своей, и Он спас их от бедствий их;
等不多時，他們就忘了 他的作為，不 仰望 他的指教，
But their memory of his works was short; not waiting to be guided by him,
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse diagnoses the root of Israel's wilderness rebellion: a swift, willful forgetfulness of God's wonders and a refusal to trust His timing. The Hebrew construction is striking, literally 'they made haste, they forgot' (מִהֲרוּ שָׁכְחוּ). As Barnes notes, the haste reveals impatience; they could scarcely allow God a day to act. Calvin sees this as the opening complaint in a national confession: Israel treated God's kindness as ordinary. Keil and Delitzsch observe that forgetting God's works and not waiting for His counsel are two sides of one failure, faith that loses sight of what God has done grows restless with what God is doing. Nearly every commentator ties the verse to Exodus 15:24, where three days after the Red Sea crossing the people grumble for water. Clarke and Gill agree: the speed of their forgetfulness is measured in hours, not years.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Israel quickly forgot God's mighty works and refused to wait for His guidance, demonstrating the human tendency toward impatience and unbelief even after experiencing God's deliverance.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| How quickly did Israel forget? | The forgetfulness was remarkably swift, within days of the Red Sea deliverance. | Some commentators (Clarke, Cambridge Bible) specify 'three days' based on Exodus 15:24. Others (Barnes, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) emphasize the Hebrew text's 'haste' as indicating impatient eagerness, not just chronological speed. |
| Meaning of 'did not wait for his counsel' | Israel failed to trust God's plan and timing. | Some (Gill, Keil & Delitzsch) interpret 'counsel' as God's plan for provision and guidance. Others (Barnes, Matthew Henry) see it as the command or direction God gave through Moses, they refused to obey. |
| Purpose of Psalm 106 | The psalm is a confession of Israel's sin and a plea for mercy, framed by praise. | Calvin and others view it as primarily a corporate confession for worship. Some (noted by Cambridge) suggest it was written during the captivity; Calvin argues against this by pointing to 1 Chronicles 16:34-36, where the opening and closing appear in David's psalm. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 106 is a historical retrospect, rehearsing Israel's rebellions from Egypt through the wilderness to the conquest. Verse 13 sits at a pivot: verses 9, 12 recount the stunning deliverance at the Red Sea, God rebuked the sea, led them through on dry ground, and drowned their enemies. The people sang praise. Then verse 13 opens with 'They soon forgot.'
The Hebrew phrase 'they made haste, they forgot' (מִהֲרוּ שָׁכְחוּ) captures the speed. Within three days of that song, at Marah (Exodus 15:22, 24), the congregation grumbled for water. They had seen God split a sea, but they could not trust Him for a drink. The verb 'waited' (חִכּוּ, from חָכָה) carries the sense of tense, firm expectation, the opposite of their frantic impatience. Keil and Delitzsch note that the root means 'to make firm,' transferred to a fixed, hopeful posture.
The 'counsel' (עֵצָה) of God refers to His plan and its unfolding. They wanted relief on their terms, not in His time. This pattern repeats almost immediately: at Marah, at Sin (Exodus 16), at Rephidim (Exodus 17), and later at Kibroth-hattaavah (Numbers 11). Psalm 106 was likely composed for public worship, perhaps during the post-exilic period, to remind the community that ingratitude and impatience lie at the root of covenant failure.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant text-critical variants for Psalm 106:13. The Masoretic Text is clear, and the ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) follow it closely. The Hebrew construction מִהֲרוּ שָׁכְחוּ ('they made haste, they forgot') is recognized as a distinctive double-verb phrase by all commentators.
Reception History
Psalm 106 has been used in Christian liturgy as a psalm of confession and remembrance. The early church read the Red Sea crossing as a type of baptism, so the swift forgetfulness became a warning against post-baptismal unbelief. Augustine drew on the pattern to teach the need for continual memory of God’s mercy. Calvin, in his commentary, used the psalm to illustrate the depth of human ingratitude even toward unmistakable grace. More broadly, verse 13 has been cited in sermons as a concise diagnosis of spiritual amnesia, a phrase that preachers have used to confront congregations with their own pattern of forgetting God’s works. No specific hymns or creedal formulations cite this exact verse, but it belongs to the larger tradition of lament and confession that shapes Christian worship.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Fragile memory. The people forgot God's recent, visible, glorious works in a matter of days. Spiritual amnesia is not a lapse but a choice, they made haste to forget.
- Impatient hearts. Not waiting for God's counsel means demanding immediate answers and refusing to trust His timing. It is functional unbelief.
- Merciful exposure. The psalmist confesses this sin openly. Naming the pattern is the first step toward change.
Five-point outline
- The gift of deliverance (vv9, 12)
- The speed of forgetfulness (v13a)
- The refusal to wait (v13b)
- The spiral into cravings (v14; cf. Numbers 11)
- The judgment that follows, and the grace that meets it (v15; the psalm's later pleas for restoration)
Illustration hooks
- A family receives an incredible answer to prayer, a job, a healing, then within the same week is anxious about the next problem. The memory of grace evaporates under fresh pressure.
- Children promised a holiday treat who demand it hourly. The waiting feels unbearable. Adults are no different when God's timeline stretches.
- Cell phone culture: we expect instant downloads. Waiting for God's counsel feels unnatural in a world that offers speed.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why do I so quickly lose faith after a spiritual high?
- Is impatience with God really a sin, or just human weakness?
- How can I learn to wait on God when I feel desperate and exhausted?
Leading a Discussion
This verse names a pattern every believer knows: we see God act, and then we forget. Before you judge Israel, consider how quickly your own faith falters when the next crisis hits. The small group can explore why this happens and how to grow in patient trust.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 106:13 in its immediate context (vv9, 15). What did God do for Israel before this verse? How did they respond at first?
- The Hebrew says literally “they made haste, they forgot.” What does the word “haste” add to the idea of forgetting?
- What does “his counsel” refer to in this setting? What does it mean to wait for someone’s counsel?
- Why is waiting on God so hard, especially after a clear answer to prayer or deliverance?
- In what situations do you find yourself most tempted to forget God’s past faithfulness?
- What practices help you hold onto memory of God’s works, journaling, testimony, community, Scripture?
- What is one area in your life right now where you need to wait for God’s counsel this week?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 15:17 | You will bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the place, Yahweh, which you have made for yourself to dwell in: the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have established. |
| Exodus 15:24 | The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” |
| Exodus 16:2 | The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; |
| Exodus 17:2 | Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?” |
| Exodus 17:7 | He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us, or not?” |
| Psalms 78:11 | They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them. |
| Psalms 107:11 | because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High. |
| Proverbs 1:25 | but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof; |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the Israelites forgot God’s great works within just three days, as demonstrated at the waters of Marah. Their impatience led them to refuse waiting for God to accomplish his purposes in his own time and way.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights the hastiness of Israel's forgetfulness. The literal sense is that they made haste to forget God's works, acting as if they could not wait to abandon trust in him. Instead of waiting for his guidance, they rushed ahead depending on their own wishes.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin observes that Psalm 106 is not primarily a reproof or complaint against Israel, but a confession of sins aimed at obtaining pardon. The psalm begins with praise to encourage hope, then acknowledges that God's people repeatedly abused his kindness, making them unworthy of continued blessing—so the writer asks forgiveness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that the Hebrew behind "they soon forgot" literally means "they made haste and forgot," underscoring the speed of Israel's loss of trust. Within three days of crossing the Red Sea they murmured for water, and within six weeks they murmured for food, refusing to wait for God's provision.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes how quickly the people forgot God's mighty works, using the word "incontinently" to stress the suddenness of their lapse. They did not pause to seek or wait for God's guidance before acting.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points to the Hebrew expression "they made haste, they forgot" to show how quickly Israel's memory failed. Within three days of the Exodus they grew impatient, demanding immediate entry into Canaan and refusing to wait for God's timing and guidance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that Israel's sin was not just forgetting God's works, but doing so hastily. Their desires were so urgent they could barely allow God a single day's delay, and when He did not answer immediately, impatience quickly turned to despair. They refused to wait for God's own timing and way of deliverance.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch traces Israel's wilderness sins back to one root: they abandoned faith in God's promise, forgot His confirming works, and refused to wait for His plan to unfold. The commentator interprets the judgment at Kibroth-hattaavah as a wasting disease sent because the people greedily gorged on meat rather than trusting God's timing.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that the Israelites complained only three days after crossing the Red Sea, failing to wait patiently for God to provide water in His own time and way. Their impatience faltered not in a long ordeal but within a very short span.