Psalms 106:20 · Bible study
Psalms 106:20 Commentary: Exchanging Glory for a Grass-Eating Bull
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 106:20 describes Israel exchanging God's glory for a bull image.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Israel deliberately exchanged the worship of God, their true glory, for the image of a grass-eating bull, exposing the absurdity of idolatry.
- Key words: glory (H3519 kabod, honor, weight; refers to God himself), exchange (H4171 mur, to trade, substitute), image (H8403 tavnit, pattern, likeness), ox (H7794 shor, bull), eat (H398 akal, consume), grass (H6212 esev, vegetation, herbage).
- Main debate: A textual variant: some ancient sources read “his glory” rather than “their glory,” likely reflecting a scribal correction (Tiqqune Sopherim) from reverence to avoid saying God’s glory was changed. The meaning is similar.
- Theological theme: Idolatry as a foolish exchange of the self-sufficient Creator for a dependent creature; the irony of worshipping something that needs feeding.
- Best use: Teaching on the nature of idolatry, the character of God as independent sustainer, and the call to exclusive worship.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.
KJV King James Version 1769
Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Thus they changed their glory For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And change their Honour Into the form of an ox eating herbs.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
He sent his word, and healed them: and delivered them from their destructions.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Así trocaron su gloria por la imagen de un buey que come hierba.
E mudaram sua glória na figura de um boi, que come erva.
Ils échangèrent leur gloire
und verwandelten ihre Ehre in ein Gleichnis eines Ochsen, der Gras frißt.
En zij veranderden hun Eer in de gedaante van een os, die gras eet.
così mutarono la loro gloria nella figura d’un bue che mangia l’erba.
I odmienili chwałę swą w podobieństwo wołu, jedzącego trawę.
послал слово Свое и исцелил их, и избавил их от могил их.
如此將 他們榮耀 的主換 為吃 草 之牛 的像，
And their glory was changed into the image of an ox, whose food is grass.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:20
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that “their glory” refers to God himself, the true glory of Israel, as Wesley puts it: “God, who was indeed their glory.” The verb “exchanged” (H4171, mur) implies a deliberate trade: they swapped the worship of the all-sufficient God for a golden calf. The absurdity is sharpened by the detail that the bull “eats grass.” Barnes notes that this shows the folly of worshipping an animal that “had need of constant sustenance” instead of the independent God who provides for all. Gill adds that the ox “makes dung” while eating, a deliberately crude touch to expose the creature’s dependence and filth. Calvin sees the verse within the psalm’s larger confession: Israel turned God’s kindness into an occasion for rebellion. Clarke connects the verse to Paul’s argument in Romans 1:23, where all humanity exchanges God’s glory for images of corruptible things. The consensus is clear: this is not merely a historical note but a theological indictment of the irrational heart of idolatry.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse describes the absurd exchange of the self-sufficient God for a dependent creature, a point agreed across traditions.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'their glory' | All commentators agree 'their glory' refers to God himself, the true object of worship and source of Israel's honor. | Some (Cambridge Bible) note a scribal tradition that the original reading was 'his glory,' altered to 'their glory' out of reverence. The difference is minimal for interpretation. |
| Significance of the grass detail | Nearly all see the grass-eating detail as highlighting the absurdity: a dependent animal vs. the self-sufficient God. | A few (Gill, Targum) emphasize the ox's filth while eating to make the point more contemptible; others (Barnes) focus on its need for sustenance as a contrast to God's independence. |
| Connection to Romans 1:23 | Paul draws on this verse to argue that all humanity has exchanged God's glory for images. | Some see it as a direct quotation (Cambridge Bible notes Paul likely had this text in mind); others treat it as a general principle of idolatry. Both traditions affirm the link. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The immediate historical event is the golden calf at Horeb (Exodus 32). While Moses was on the mountain receiving the law, the people pressured Aaron to make a god for them. He complied, fashioning a calf from melted earrings. The psalmist places this incident as the third “principal sin” after the exodus (Keil & Delitzsch), using it to illustrate a pattern of ungrateful rebellion.
Psalm 106 is a communal confession of Israel’s repeated failures, probably composed for public worship after the exile. It moves through the wilderness years, the conquest, and the period of the judges, ending with a plea for deliverance. Verse 20 sits in a section (vv. 19, 23) that recalls the calf incident as a turning point: the people had just been delivered through wonders at the Red Sea, yet they “made a calf in Horeb” (v. 19). The choice of a calf is not random, in Egyptian religion, the bull was a symbol of fertility and power, associated with the god Apis. By fashioning a calf, Israel was reverting to the religious patterns of Egypt, the land God had just rescued them from. The psalmist’s irony is pointed: the God who had displayed his glory in salvation was traded for the likeness of a grass-eating animal.
Culturally, the prohibition of images (Exodus 20:4, 5) was central to Israel’s identity as a people who worshipped an invisible, transcendent God. To make an image of him was to reduce him to a creation that needs to be fed. The phrase “their glory” likely reflects the Hebrew conviction that God’s glory, his weighty presence and honor, was uniquely Israel’s privilege. Jeremiah 2:11 echoes this: “But my people have changed their glory for that which doesn’t profit.” The psalmist rubs in the absurdity by describing the bull’s meal: grass, the humblest of foods.
Textual Notes
The phrase “their glory” is identified by the Cambridge Bible as one of the “Tiqqune Sopherim,” or scribal corrections, where the original text is said to have read “his glory” and was altered out of reverence for God. Some Septuagint manuscripts preserve “his glory,” and the apostle Paul appears to follow that tradition in Romans 1:23 (“the glory of the incorruptible God”). The Targum reads “the glory of their Lord.” The change does not alter the core meaning: whether “his” or “their,” the glory belongs to God and was exchanged for a bull image.
Reception History
This verse has been central in Christian teaching on the nature of idolatry. The apostle Paul directly echoes it in Romans 1:23, arguing that humanity as a whole has suppressed the truth by exchanging God’s glory for images. Early church fathers like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus used the golden calf narrative to contrast the living God with dead idols, and this verse supplied the biting image of a grass-eating bull. In the Reformation, Calvin and others saw it as a warning against any attempt to represent God visibly, a principle that shaped Reformed worship. More recently, the verse appears in sermons on the foolishness of putting anything in God’s place, from career to comfort. Its raw, almost comical picture of a dependant, grass-munching bull continues to expose the absurdity of every idol.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Exchanging glory for an image, The verse captures the heart of idolatry: a deliberate trade of the infinite God for a finite symbol. Israel chose a visible, manageable god over the living, invisible one.
- The irony of the grass-eating bull, The detail of the bull eating grass is not accidental. It exposes the absurdity: they worshipped something that depends on grass for life, while the true God needs nothing and upholds all creation.
- Forgetting God’s deliverance, The surrounding verses (21, 23) show that the root of the exchange was amnesia. They “forgot God their Savior” who had done great things in Egypt. Idolatry begins with a failure of memory, not intellect.
Five-point outline
- What is “their glory”?, God himself, the one who made Israel his treasured possession, revealing his character in acts of salvation.
- How the exchange happened, They replaced worship of the Creator with worship of a creature, a bull made from their own possessions.
- The object of their worship, A bull that eats grass. Every detail (an ox, herbivore, in need of feed) is a critique of idolatry’s low view of God.
- Why it matters, Exchanging God for anything lesser is never a neutral transaction. It corrupts the worshipper, leading to further sins as seen in the rest of the psalm.
- The gospel reversal, Where Israel exchanged glory for shame, Christ exchanged his glory for our humanity (Phil 2:6, 8), not to hold onto an image but to restore us to the true God.
Illustration hooks
- A person trading a priceless heirloom for a common cup, not worth it, yet we do it spiritually.
- Our phones: we give them our attention, our time, even our identity. They cannot save, sustain, or satisfy.
- When we demand God to act on our terms (like Israel waiting for water), we are effectively choosing a god we can control over the real God.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know if I have made an idol out of something good (family, work, security)?
- Why does God care so much about how he is worshipped?
- What does this verse say about my daily priorities, am I exchanging God’s glory for a “grass-eating bull”?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 106:20 confronts us with the irrationality of idolatry. Israel, fresh from exodus wonders, swapped the God who split the sea for a bull that needs grass. This study helps your group see the absurd exchange of the infinite for the finite, and recognize those patterns in their own lives.
Discussion questions
- What does the phrase “their glory” refer to? How do the commentators identify it?
- Why do you think the psalmist adds the detail that the bull “eats grass”? What is the effect?
- Read Romans 1:22, 23. How does Paul expand on the same idea? What does that suggest about idolatry as a universal human problem?
- The golden calf was made from the people’s own jewelry (Ex 32:2, 4). In what ways do we use our own resources to construct “manageable” versions of God?
- Verse 21 says they “forgot God their Savior.” How does forgetting God’s past faithfulness lead to present idolatry? Share a time when remembering God’s help changed your perspective.
- What are some “grass-eating bulls” in your world, things that demand your devotion but cannot actually sustain you?
- How does the intercession of Moses (v. 23) point forward to Christ? What hope does that offer when we recognize our own exchanges of glory?
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 20:4 | “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: |
| Exodus 20:5 | you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, |
| Psalms 89:17 | For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted. |
| Isaiah 40:18 | To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? |
| Isaiah 40:25 | “To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One. |
| Jeremiah 2:11 | Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doesn’t profit. |
| Romans 1:22 | Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, |
| Romans 1:23 | and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things. |
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
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Thus they changed their glory - That is, their God, who was their glory; and they worshipped an ox in his stead. See the use St Paul makes of this, Rom 1:23 (note); see also the note there. The incorruptible God was thus served by all the heathen world.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses the absurdity in exchanging the independent, self-sustaining God for the image of an ox that depends on grass to survive. The detail that it eats grass underscores the folly: they traded the Provider for a creature that needs constant provision and would starve without it.
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.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes the absurd degradation of exchanging God’s own glory for the likeness of an ox, an animal that feeds on grass. This stark contrast highlights how far Israel fell: trading the Creator’s majesty for a grazing beast.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights the sheer absurdity of idolatry: Israel traded the all-sufficient, self-sustaining God for the image of an ox, a creature that lives on grass and defiles itself while eating. The point is not just sin but bewildering foolishness, exchanging infinite glory for something weak and filthy.
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.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange treats the psalm's structure as a deliberate liturgical movement: it opens with praise, then pivots sharply to confession and a historical recounting of Israel's repeated failures. He stresses that this progression from doxology to penitence is no accident—confession gains its force precisely because it follows and interrupts praise, showing how grace outruns sin.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the sharp contrast: Israel exchanged God, their true glory and provider who fed them, for a golden calf that had to be fed by human hands. He notes the foolishness of trading a self-sufficient God for an idol that depends on its worshipers for sustenance.