Psalms 106:21 · Bible study
Psalms 106:21 Commentary: When We Forget God Our Savior
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why do we forget God after He saves us? Psalm 106:21 reveals the human tendency to forget God's great acts and calls us to remembrance.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The Israelites willfully forgot God as their deliverer despite witnessing his mighty works in Egypt, revealing a pattern of ingratitude and unbelief.
- Key words: forgot (H7911, to neglect/willfully disregard), God (H0410, the mighty God), Savior (H3467, deliverer), great things (H1419, magnificent acts).
- Main debate: Whether this forgetting was an active rejection of God (Gill, Calvin) or a passive neglect (some modern readers); the ancient context sees it as culpable sin.
- Theological theme: Grace and ingratitude; the danger of spiritual memory loss; covenant faithfulness requires deliberate remembrance.
- Best use: As a confession of sin in personal or corporate worship, and as a catalyst for the discipline of remembering God's saving acts.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt,
WEB World English Bible 2000
They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
KJV King James Version 1769
They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
ASV American Standard Version 1901
They forgat God their Saviour, Who had done great things in Egypt,
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
They have forgotten God their saviour, The doer of great things in Egypt,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
They forgot God their Saviour, who had done great things in Egypt,
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of men.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Olvidaron al Dios de su salud, que había hecho grandezas en Egipto;
Esqueceram-se de Deus, o salvador deles, que tinha feito coisas grandiosas no Egito,
Ils oublièrent Dieu, leur sauveur,
Sie vergaßen Gottes, ihres Heilands, der so große Dinge in Ägypten getan hatte,
Zij vergaten God, hun Heiland, Die grote dingen gedaan had in Egypte;
Dimenticarono Dio, loro salvatore, che avea fatto cose grandi in Egitto,
Zapomnieli na Boga, wybawiciela swego, który czynił wielkie rzeczy w Egipcie;
Да славят Господа за милость Его и за чудные дела Его для сынов человеческих!
忘了 神─他們的救主；他曾在埃及 行 大事，
They had no memory of God their saviour, who had done great things in Egypt;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:21
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 this verse exposes the depth of Israel's ingratitude. Barnes notes that the sentiment matches Psalm 78:11-12, where the people forgot God's works. Gill emphasizes that they did not merely forget the acts but forgot God himself, the one who had saved them. Cambridge Bible calls attention to the emphasis on ingratitude. Keil and Delitzsch trace the root evil to falling away from faith and failing to wait for God's counsel. The forgetting is not absent-mindedness but a willful turning from the God who had shown himself powerful in Egypt. Calvin, reading the whole psalm as a confession, sees this as a recognition of sin in order to seek pardon. The commentators thus agree: spiritual forgetfulness is a serious sin, one that strips God of his glory and leaves the soul vulnerable to further rebellion.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse clearly states that the Israelites sinned by forgetting God, their Savior, despite the great acts they witnessed in Egypt. This forgetting is presented as the root of further rebellion and as a reason for divine judgment, though the psalm also moves toward confession and hope.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the forgetting | It is a sin of ingratitude and faithlessness. | Some emphasize it as active rebellion against God (Gill, Calvin), while others see it as a failure to maintain focus (Matthew Henry). Both are culpable, but the nuance affects pastoral application. |
| Significance of 'God their Savior' | The title recalls the entire exodus deliverance, including the plagues and Red Sea crossing. | Disagreement exists over whether this refers specifically to the act of deliverance from Egypt or to God's ongoing saving character throughout Israel's history. |
| Root cause of forgetting | The root is a failure to trust God's promise and wait for his plan (Keil & Delitzsch). | Some locate the cause in the people's craving for immediate gratification (the lusting in v.14), while others point to the influence of surrounding pagan cultures (especially later in the psalm). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 106 is a historical psalm that recounts Israel's rebellions from the exodus to the exile. Verse 21 sits within a section describing the golden calf incident (vv. 19-23). The "great things in Egypt" refer to the plagues and the deliverance through the Red Sea (cf. v. 22). The Hebrew verb "forgot" (shakhach, H7911) carries the sense of neglect and willful disregard, not just memory loss. This forgetting stood in direct violation of God's command to remember his works (Deut 6:22; 7:18-19). The surrounding context in Psalms 106 shows a pattern: the people "soon forgot his works" (v. 13), "did not wait for his counsel," and then "made a calf" and worshipped it. The phrase "God their Savior" draws on the root yasha (H3467), a verb of deliverance used especially in exodus contexts. The sin is compounded by the fact that they had seen firsthand "wondrous works in the land of Ham" and "terrible things by the Red Sea" (v. 22). Israel's problem was not a lack of evidence but a failure of covenantal memory. The psalm functions as a confession of sin, as Calvin notes: it is not a reproach but a humble admission of failure. This confession aims to restore the relationship, not to excuse the sin. The historical setting of the psalm may be post-exilic, as some suggest from verse 47, but the events recalled are from the wilderness period. The community uses this history to pray for present mercy.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 106:21. The verse is stable across Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient versions.
Reception History
This verse has been used in Christian preaching and liturgy to warn against spiritual amnesia. In the early church, fathers like Augustine referenced it in discussions of grace and human forgetfulness. The Reformation era saw reformers such as Calvin cite it as evidence of human depravity and the need for constant recollection of God's works. In Jewish tradition, the psalm as a whole is recited during Passover and other occasions of national confession. The verse continues to serve as a call to cultivate the discipline of remembering God's saving acts.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Forgetting the person of God. The text says "They forgot God." Not just his works, but God himself. The sin is personal: they turned from the living God to an idol of their own making (v. 19, the calf).
- Forgetting the saving character of God. "God their Savior", he had demonstrated his power to save. Forgetting him meant disregarding his identity as deliverer, which invited other sources of security.
- Forgetting the mighty acts of God. "Who had done great things in Egypt." The plagues, the crossing of the sea, the provision in the wilderness, all were testimonies to God's faithfulness. To forget them was to treat them as irrelevant.
Five-point outline
- Ingratitude: They forgot the one who saved them.
- Idolatry: They exchanged God for images (v. 20).
- Disobedience: They did not listen to his voice (v. 25).
- Persistent rebellion: This forgetting led to a pattern of sin.
- God's response: He declared he would destroy them, yet mercy came through Moses' intercession (v. 23).
Illustration hooks
- A child rescued from a fire forgets to thank the rescuer because the new toys distract. We are that child.
- Married couples who forget their wedding vows drift apart. Spiritual memory keeps covenant commitment alive.
- A person who survives a serious illness quickly returns to old habits. Deliverance loses its power when we stop reflecting on it.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why do I remember my grievances but so easily forget God's answers to prayer?
- How can I keep the exodus story of my own life, my salvation, fresh and active in my heart?
- Is spiritual forgetfulness a sin or just a natural part of being human?
Leading a Discussion
This verse reveals a danger all of us face: spiritual amnesia. Israel saw God's power with their own eyes, and still they forgot him. In this psalm, the writer confesses that sin on behalf of the people. As we discuss, consider: where in my life have I stopped remembering the God who has saved me?
Discussion questions
- What specific "great things in Egypt" did the Israelites witness? List them from the exodus account.
- Why does the verse say they forgot "God" before mentioning they forgot the works? What is the difference?
- How does forgetting God as Savior lead to the specific sins described in the following verses (the calf, murmuring, etc.)?
- Read Deuteronomy 6:20-25. What commands are given to prevent exactly this kind of forgetfulness?
- In what ways might Christians today "forget God their Savior" while still attending church and practicing religion?
- What practical disciplines help you remember the great things God has done in your life?
- How does this confession of sin in Psalm 106 move toward hope? What does it mean that the psalmist is praying this on behalf of the people?
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)
| Deuteronomy 4:34 | Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? |
| Deuteronomy 6:22 | and Yahweh showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes; |
| Deuteronomy 7:18 | you shall not be afraid of them. You shall remember well what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: |
| Deuteronomy 7:19 | the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which Yahweh your God brought you out. So shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. |
| Deuteronomy 10:21 | He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. |
| Deuteronomy 32:17 | They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods that they didn’t know, to new gods that came up recently, which your fathers didn’t dread. |
| Deuteronomy 32:18 | Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten God who gave you birth. |
| Nehemiah 9:10 | and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and made a name for yourself, as it is today. |
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
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes points out that the offense here is not simply forgetting God in general, but forgetting the specific saving acts He did for them. He ties it directly to the exodus deliverance and notes that the same complaint appears in an earlier Psalm.
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
21, 22 . These verses emphasise the ingratitude of the Israelites. The land of Ham as in Psa_105:23 ; Psa_105:27 from Psa_78:51 .
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights Israel's specific sin: they forgot God as their own Savior, despite the great deliverance He had just performed in Egypt. Their forgetfulness was not vague neglect but a direct, ungrateful dismissal of the One who had visibly saved them.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that Israel's sin went beyond merely forgetting God's mighty works; they forgot God Himself, the only true and living God. What made this especially grievous was that they turned from the very God who had just saved them from Egypt through spectacular signs and wonders.
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 this psalm as a liturgical prayer of confession built on a deliberate structure: it opens with a doxology that shifts into praise of the righteous, then a personal plea for favor, and finally a detailed historical confession of Israel's repeated sins. He notes the Babylonian Exile as its likely setting, and points to the psalm's formal features—repetitive suffixes, synonym clusters, and continuous thought—as marks of an established prayer pattern already in use by Jeremiah's time.