Psalms 106:40 Meaning: Can God Abhor His Own Inheritance?
Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.
Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
Therefore was the wrath of Jehovah kindled against his people, And he abhorred his inheritance.
And the anger of Jehovah Is kindled against His people, And He doth abominate His inheritance.
Then was the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance;
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 106:40 says God's anger burned and He abhorred His inheritance. But this honest confession sits within a story of covenant mercy that never gives up.
Context
Psalm 106 is a sweeping confession of Israel's history of rebellion and God's repeated deliverance. It recounts the exodus, the wilderness, and the entry into Canaan. By verses 34, 39, Israel has failed to drive out the pagan nations. Instead they learned their customs, served their idols, and even sacrificed their children to demons. The land was polluted with blood. Verse 40 captures God's reaction to that long line of rebellion. The following verses show the consequence: He gave them into the hands of their enemies. But the psalm does not end there. Verses 43, 46 record that when they cried out, He heard, remembered His covenant, and had compassion. The anger is real and severe, but it is not God's final posture toward His people.
Key Words
Two Hebrew verbs carry the weight of this verse. The word behind "burned" is charah, which pictures a fire being kindled. It is the same root used in Judges 2:14 when Yahweh's anger burned against Israel and He gave them over to raiders. This is no cool disappointment, it is a holy fire, a just reaction to evil that destroys the people He loves.
The verb "abhorred" is ta'av, a strong word used for loathing something repulsive, like idolatry or child sacrifice. It appears in Leviticus 20:23 where God says He abhorred the nations for doing these very things. The shock is that the object is "His inheritance" (nachalah), the people He personally chose, redeemed, and treasured. The combination forces a question: can the God who chose them also turn away? The psalm does not soften the tension. It lets the full weight of sin and the full reality of divine anger stand, because the mercy that follows is all the more staggering.
How Christians Read This Verse
John Calvin saw this psalm not as a complaint but as a confession, Israel honestly owning their sin while still hoping in God. Matthew Henry emphasized that God's abhorrence is directed at their sinful works, not at the elect remnant among them. He noted that God will not cast off His people finally, even when His providence looks like wrath. Baptist commentator John Gill agreed, distinguishing between the body of the people and the remnant according to grace; he said the language describes appearances of God's displeasure, not a change in His covenant love. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges places verses 40, 46 in the pattern of the judges era: apostasy, punishment, cry for help, and deliverance. Across these traditions, readers agree that the verse is brutally honest about sin’s consequences, but it sits inside a larger story of mercy.
A common misunderstanding
Living This Out
This verse invites you to take sin seriously. Not to pretend it is small, or to assume that God's love means He never reacts. When you see a pattern of failure in your own life, a sin you confess and then fall back into, the psalmist does not let you skip straight to the happy ending. He first tells the truth about what we have done and how God feels about it. But he also does not stop at verse 40. He keeps reading until the cry and the covenant remembrance. This week, you can be that honest with God about your worst failure. And you can also trust that His mercy is deeper than your worst moment, because He has bound Himself to you by covenant.
Main takeaway: God’s holy anger at sin is real, but it is never His final word toward His covenant people.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God loves us very much. When we do wrong things, it makes Him sad and angry. But He always waits to hear us say sorry, and He forgives us.
For ages 9, 12
This verse shows that God takes sin seriously. Israel kept turning away from Him to worship idols, and His anger burned against them. But the rest of the psalm tells us that even then, God heard their cry and kept His promise. He is faithful even when we are not. That does not make sin okay, it makes His mercy amazing.
Questions People Ask
Did God really hate His people in Psalm 106:40?
The word ‘abhorred’ is very strong, but it describes God’s reaction to Israel’s sin, not a final rejection. He treated them as detestable because of their idolatry and child sacrifice, but the very next verses show that when they cried out, He heard them, remembered His covenant, and had compassion. God’s anger was real, but it was not the end of His love for them.
What does ‘inheritance’ mean in this verse?
It refers to Israel as God’s own special possession, the people He chose, redeemed from Egypt, and made His own. That makes the verse even more piercing: the anger is directed at the people He loved most. But the same word also points to His covenant commitment. He chose them, and He does not abandon His inheritance, even when He must discipline them.
How can a loving God be angry and abhor His people?
Biblical anger is not like human temper. It is God’s holy opposition to evil that destroys the people He loves. His anger always serves His covenant purposes. He punishes to bring His people back, not to destroy them forever. The full story of the Bible shows that His love is deeper and longer-lasting than His anger.
What had Israel done to provoke God’s anger here?
The verses just before (Psa 106:34-39) list specific sins: they did not destroy the pagan nations as God commanded, but intermarried with them, served their idols, sacrificed their children to demons, and polluted the land with innocent blood. These were not small mistakes, they were a complete rebellion against God’s ways and a rejection of His holiness.
Does God still get angry with His people today?
Christians believe God’s character never changes. He still hates sin and opposes evil because He loves us. But the New Testament teaches that Jesus bore the full penalty for sin, so those who trust in Him do not face God’s wrath. Instead, they receive mercy. Still, God disciplines those He loves, calling them to repent and turn back to Him.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study