Psalms 106:12
in Psalms 106Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then believed they his words; They sang his praise.
KJV
Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
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This verse in Psalms 106
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThen believed they his words. That is to say, they believed the promise when they saw it fulfilled, but not till then. This is mentioned, not to their credit, but to their shame. Those who do not believe the Lord's word till they see it performed are not believers at all. Who would not believe when the fact stares them in the face? The Egyptians would have done as much as this. They sang his praise. How could they do otherwise?
This site's exposition
We have sinned like our fathers
on Psalms 106:6-12
The confession puts this generation with the fathers. In Egypt the fathers did not grasp His wonders, and at the Red Sea they rebelled on the edge of rescue. The rescue came for the sake of His name: He rebuked the sea, covered their foes, and they believed and sang.
This site's exposition
Then they believed His promises
Exodus 14:31 records that the people believed, and Exodus 15 is the song they sang. Promises renders the Hebrew for His words. The same word returns in verse 24, where they despised the pleasant land and did not believe His promise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Then believed they in His words" (ver. 12). The expression seemeth barely Latin, for he saith not "believed His word," or "on His words," but "in His words;" yet it is very frequent in Scripture. "And praised praise unto Him;" such an expression as when we say, "This servitude he served," "such a life he lived." He is here alluding to that well-known hymn, commencing, "I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and the rider hath He thrown into the sea."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. 30 Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. 31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Then believed they his words,.... And not till then; for this is observed, not to their commendation, but to show the slowness of their hearts to believe; they believed on sight, but not before, as Thomas did; whereas, "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed", Joh 20:29. When they saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore, then they believed the Lord, and his servant Moses; what he said by his servant Moses, that he would save them from the Egyptians, whom they should see no more, that is, alive, Exo 14:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
believed . . . his words--This is said not to praise the Israelites, but God, who constrained even so unbelieving a people momentarily to "believe" while in immediate view of His wonders, a faith which they immediately afterwards lost (Ps 106:13;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Their rebellion at the sea (Ex 14:11) was because they had not remembered nor understood God's miracles on their behalf. That God saved them in their unbelief was of His mere mercy, and for His own glory. the sea . . . the Red Sea--the very words in which Moses' song celebrated the scene of Israel's deliverance (Ex 15:4).
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Then believed they his words. That is to say, they believed the promise when they saw it fulfilled, but not till then. This is mentioned, not to their credit, but to their shame. Those who do not believe the Lord's word till they see it performed are not believers at all. Who would not believe when the fact stares them in the face? The Egyptians would have done as much as this. They sang his praise. How could they do otherwise? Their song was very excellent, and is the type of the song of heaven; but sweet as it was, it was quite as short, and when it was ended they fell to murmuring. "They sang his praise, "but "they soon forgat his works." Between Israel singing and Israel sinning there was scarce a step. Their song was good while it lasted, but it was no sooner begun than over.
Then believed they - Just while the miracle was before their eyes.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then believed they his words - In immediate view of his interpositions in their behalf in conducting them through the Red Sea, and in the destruction of their enemies. They sang his praise - In the song composed by Moses on the occasion of their deliverance. Exo. 15.
The words behind it
4 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּאֲמִ֥ינוּ | vaiyaaminu | and they believed | H539 → | 106 times |
| בִדְבָרָ֑יו | vidvarav | <in> words his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יָ֝שִׁ֗ירוּ | yashiru | they sang | H7891 → | 86 times |
| תְּהִלָּתֽוֹ׃ | tehilato | praise his | H8416 → | 56 times |
וַיַּאֲמִ֥ינוּand they believed
vaiyaaminuH539 →106 times
בִדְבָרָ֑יו<in> words his
vidvaravH1697 →1440 times
יָ֝שִׁ֗ירוּthey sang
yashiruH7891 →86 times
תְּהִלָּתֽוֹ׃praise his
tehilatoH8416 →56 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 14:31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
it leads to
- John 2:11
Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
- John 11:45
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.
- John 2:23–25
While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.
- John 8:30–32
As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
- Luke 8:13
The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall…
- John 2:11
Through
Luke 8:13The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall…
it leads to
- Hosea 6:4
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
- John 5:35
John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.
- Proverbs 12:12
The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.
- Hosea 6:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 106; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.