Psalms 106:27 · Bible study
Psalms 106:27 Commentary: God's Judgment Across Generations
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
A study of Psalm 106:27, examining God's threat to scatter Israel's offspring and its relation to sin's consequences, covenant curses, and exile.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God swore to exile Israel's descendants as a consequence of the wilderness generation's rebellion, fulfilled in the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman dispersions.
- Key words: "overthrow" (הפיל, to make fall); "offspring" (זרע, seed, descendants); "scatter" (זרה, to winnow, disperse).
- Main debate: Whether this verse implies God punishes children for parents' sins or describes the corporate outworking of covenant curses across generations.
- Theological theme: The seriousness of covenant unfaithfulness and the way sin's consequences can ripple through history, yet with an open door to repentance.
- Best use: A sobering call to national and corporate confession, grounded in the hope that God remembers his covenant and gathers the scattered.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
to disperse their offspring among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
WEB World English Bible 2000
that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
KJV King James Version 1769
To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, And scatter them in the lands.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And to cause their seed to fall among nations, And to scatter them through lands.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And that he would make their seed fall among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
They were troubled, and reeled like a drunken man; and all their wisdom was swallowed up.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y humillar su simiente entre las gentes, y esparcirlos por las tierras.
E que derrubaria sua semente entre as nações; e os dispersaria pelas terras.
De faire tomber leur postérité parmi les nations,
und würfe ihren Samen unter die Heiden und zerstreute sie in die Länder.
En dat Hij hun zaad zou nedervellen onder de heidenen, en hen verstrooien zou door de landen.
che farebbe perire la loro progenie fra le nazioni e li disperderebbe per tutti i paesi.
A żeby rozrzucił nasienie ich między pogan, i rozproszył ich po ziemiach.
они кружатся и шатаются, как пьяные, и вся мудрость их исчезает.
叫他們的後裔 倒 在列國之中，分散 在各地。
That their children might be mixed among the nations, and sent away into other lands.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:27
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 refers to the future dispersion of Israel as the outworking of God's covenant curses triggered by the wilderness rebellion. Barnes notes that the rebellion of the fathers would be remembered in distant generations, with the Babylonian captivity as a remote consequence. Gill specifies that the scattering was not fulfilled in the wilderness but occurred later, partly in the Babylonian exile and completely under the Romans. Keil and Delitzsch trace the threat to Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, and observe that Ezekiel 20:23 stands in close relationship to this verse. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown see the wilderness as destructive for the fathers, and residence among the heathen as destructive for the children, with the determination against the seed already implied in Numbers 14:31-33. The Cambridge Bible notes that the language echoes Ezekiel 20:23, where the Hebrew verb "make to fall" may have been accidentally repeated from verse 26. So the threat is not a sudden punishment of innocent children but the historical unfolding of divine judgment on a persistently rebellious nation.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Corporate covenant judgment: The verse is one of many covenant curses (Lev 26, Deut 28) that fall on the nation as a whole when it persists in rebellion; the children suffer not as innocent victims but as members of a covenant community that continues in sin.
- Individual culpability across generations: The verse shows that God holds later generations accountable for the sins of their fathers, consistent with Exodus 20:5 and the historical pattern of exile; each generation bears the weight of the covenant relationship and its breaking.
- Prophetic anticipation of exile: Barnes and Gill see this as a prophecy of the Babylonian and Roman captivities, where later generations experienced punishment for their own sins, but the wilderness rebellion set the trajectory that made exile inevitable.
What is clear: God swore that Israel's descendants would be scattered among the nations as a consequence of the nation's persistent rebellion — a judgment that took concrete shape in the historical exiles of Israel.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'overthrow their offspring' | The verse refers to the historical scattering of Israel among the nations, the exile(s). | Some see it as a direct punishment of the children for the fathers' sins (Wesley: 'He sware that he would punish their sins not only in their persons but in their posterity'). Others view it as the unfolding of covenant curses that affect the whole community when the nation persists in rebellion (Barnes, Gill, JFB). The tension remains between individual and corporate responsibility. |
| Relationship to individual responsibility | The broader biblical witness affirms both corporate solidarity and individual accountability. | Some emphasize Ezekiel 18 to argue that God does not punish children for parents' sins, each person answers for their own. Others point to Exodus 20:5 ('visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children') and passages like this one to show that sin has consequences that extend beyond the individual offender. |
| Timing of fulfillment | The threat was not carried out immediately in the wilderness. | Barnes and Gill point to the Babylonian captivity as the primary fulfillment, with Gill adding the Roman destruction as the complete fulfillment. Keil and Delitzsch see it as referring to the repeated exiles of Israel throughout history, rooted in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. |
| Textual variant in verse 27 | The Masoretic Text reads 'to make fall'; many interpreters connect it to Ezekiel 20:23. | Some scholars, following Keil and Delitzsch and the Cambridge Bible, suggest the original verb may have been 'to scatter' (הפיץ) rather than 'to make fall' (הפיל), since the words are similar in Hebrew and the context demands scattering. Others retain the Masoretic reading as a deliberate echo of verse 26 ('to make them fall in the wilderness'). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 106 is a national confession of sin that rehearses Israel's rebellions from Egypt to the wilderness to the promised land. This verse falls within the section recalling the sin at Kadesh Barnea (Numbers 13-14). The Israelites despised the pleasant land, refused to trust God's promise, and murmured in their tents. In response, God swore that the adults of that generation would die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29). But the threat of verse 27 reaches beyond that generation: it announces that their offspring, the very children who were spared to inherit the land, would one day be overthrown and scattered among the nations. This is not an immediate punishment but a prophetic warning embedded in the covenant. The language directly echoes the covenant curses of Leviticus 26:33 ("I will scatter you among the nations") and Deuteronomy 28:64 ("Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples"). Both passages threaten exile as the ultimate consequence of persistent disobedience. The psalmist, writing probably during or after the Babylonian exile, sees that his own generation is living out that ancient threat. The verse thus ties together Israel's history: the wilderness rebellion set a pattern of unfaithfulness that led to the nation's downfall. The scattering "in the lands" (plural) suggests multiple dispersions, Assyria, Babylon, and later Rome, fulfilling the oath God lifted his hand to swear.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Psalm 106:27 reads ul’hapil ("and to make fall"). Keil and Delitzsch, along with the Cambridge Bible, note that Ezekiel 20:23 uses the verb "to scatter" (ulahapitz) in a parallel context, and the two Hebrew verbs are visually similar (הפיל vs הפיץ). The Cambridge Bible calls this a probable scribal repetition from verse 26, where "make fall" first appears. Most English translations follow the Masoretic Text ("overthrow"), but the emendation to "scatter" is widely accepted in critical scholarship. The supplied sources do not resolve the question, but they make the variant clear.
Reception History
This verse has been read across Christian and Jewish traditions as a sobering reminder that sin has communal consequences. Jewish commentators like Kimchi explained the scattering as the discomfiture by Amalekites and Canaanites, while later rabbinic tradition saw it as anticipating the exilic dispersions. Early church fathers, such as Augustine, treated the verse as illustrating the solidarity of humanity under sin, a pattern that finds its resolution in Christ, who gathers the scattered. In the Reformation, Calvin read the psalm as a confession designed to move the people to repentance, not merely to condemn them. The verse has often been cited in discussions of corporate guilt and national repentance, particularly in contexts where a community is reckoning with its past. It also appears in hymns and liturgies that lament the exile and pray for restoration, though no specific hymn or work is named in the supplied data.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The reach of sin. One generation's unbelief can set consequences in motion that ripple forward for centuries. The wilderness generation's rebellion did not end with them.
- The certainty of God's word. What God swore in the wilderness came to pass in the exile. His threats are as reliable as his promises.
- A confession that leads to hope. Psalm 106 does not end with scattering, verse 47 cries out, "Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen." Judgment is not the final word.
Five-point outline
- A broken covenant. The wilderness generation despised the land and refused to trust God. Their sin broke the relationship and triggered the covenant curses.
- A solemn oath. God lifted his hand, a gesture of oath-taking, to swear judgment. This was no empty threat.
- Generational fallout. The children who entered the land later experienced the scattering that their parents' rebellion helped set in motion.
- Fulfillment in history. The Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, and ultimately the Roman dispersion, are the historical realization of this verse.
- A path back. The psalm itself moves from confession to petition, reminding the congregation that God remembers his covenant and hears the cry of the afflicted.
Illustration hooks
- A family business built on dishonest practices that eventually collapses, leaving debt and shame for the next generation. The children inherit the mess their parents made.
- A community that neglects its infrastructure over decades, failing roads, broken schools, crumbling levees. When the crisis comes, it is not the fault of those who now live there, but they bear the consequences.
- A national debt accumulated by one generation that future generations must repay. The weight of past choices becomes a present reality.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse mean God punishes me for my parents' or grandparents' sins?
- How do I square this with passages like Ezekiel 18 that say each person is responsible for their own sin?
- If God scattered Israel, does he still have a plan for them today?
Leading a Discussion
This verse challenges us to think about sin not only as an individual act but as something that shapes families, communities, and nations. The psalmist looks back at a rebellion centuries old and sees its consequences still unfolding. As you discuss, resist the urge to flatten the tension, hold together both God's justice and his mercy, both the weight of sin and the hope of restoration.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 106:24-27. What specific sin provoked God's response in these verses? Why was it so serious?
- The verb "overthrow" (Hebrew hiphil of naphal) means "to make fall." What images does that word bring to mind when you think of God's action here?
- Verse 27 mentions the scattering of offspring. Does this seem fair to you? How does it compare with Numbers 14:31, where God says the children would enter the land?
- Read Ezekiel 18:1-4. How does that passage about individual responsibility interact with the corporate judgment described here? Can both be true?
- Barnes notes that the rebellion of the fathers was "remembered in distant generations." In what ways do you see patterns of sin or faithfulness repeating in families or communities you know?
- The psalm moves from confession to petition (v.47). Why is it important that the community does not stay in lament but turns to prayer for restoration?
- How does knowing that Jesus took the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) affect how you read this verse today?
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)
| Leviticus 26:33 | I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. |
| Deuteronomy 4:26 | I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed. |
| Deuteronomy 4:27 | Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away. |
| Deuteronomy 28:37 | You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away. |
| Deuteronomy 28:64 | Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. |
| Deuteronomy 28:65 | Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul. |
| Deuteronomy 32:26 | I said that I would scatter them afar. I would make their memory to cease from among men; |
| Deuteronomy 32:27 | were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, lest they should say, ‘Our hand is exalted; Yahweh has not done all this.’” |
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.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees the Babylonian captivity not as a new punishment but as the distant consequence of the people's rebellion in the wilderness. The fathers' complaining set a pattern that echoed through generations, so the nation's overthrow and scattering were the inevitable fruit of an ancient, long-continued spirit of revolt against God.
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 Cambridge Bible notes a likely scribal error: the Hebrew words for "make to fall" and "scatter" are nearly identical, and the original reading "scatter" is preserved in Ezekiel 20:23. The "make to fall" form appears to have been accidentally repeated from an earlier verse.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And to destroy their seede among the nations, and to scatter them throughout the countries.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists the scattering mentioned here does not refer to events in the wilderness, contrary to some Jewish interpreters. He sees it as God's sworn judgment for later times, partially fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity and completely by the Romans, making the present dispersion of the Jews a standing proof of this prophecy.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB points out that the destruction facing the rebellious children will not come through the wilderness, as it did for their fathers, but through their exile among the nations. Residence among the heathen becomes their judgment, a fate already implied in the sentence passed on the earlier generation.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch traces the psalmist's language back to specific Pentateuchal passages, highlighting how the poet's choice of Hebrew words exposes the degrading nature of Baal Peor worship. They distinguish Phinehas' zealous act as a work of faith accounted for righteousness, and note that Moses' sin at Meribah was impatience tinged with unbelief, separate from the people's obstin
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this psalm as a liturgical prayer of confession that uses Israel’s history of rebellion to deepen true penitence. He emphasizes that the only hope for deliverance lies in God’s unearned mercy, and he highlights the role of intercessors like Phinehas who “step into the breach” as a divinely provided means of atonement.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws attention to the separate oath God swore regarding punishment: it would fall not only on the sinners themselves but also on their children. This was a distinct promise, made at a different time, that extended divine judgment beyond the present generation to their offspring.