But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse highlights not just forgetting God's deeds, but the haste with which they forgot, implying an active, almost eager, turning away from His power. It also points out they didn't merely fail to wait for God's guidance, but actively refused to wait for His counsel, showing a preference for their own impulsive desires over His wise timing.
But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Just days after God miraculously delivered them from Egypt and guided them through the Red Sea, the Israelites became impatient and forgot His powerful deeds. They grumbled and sought their own immediate gratification instead of trusting God's timing and plans for their journey. This set the stage for a pattern of disobedience and divine judgment described throughout the rest of the psalm.
How quickly can awe turn to anger? This verse reveals a startling human tendency to forget God's mighty acts almost as soon as they happen.
The psalmist paints a stark picture of the Israelites' immediate forgetfulness after God's incredible deliverance from Egypt.
Why is waiting so hard, especially when we feel God is silent? This verse contrasts human impatience with God's deliberate, wise plans.
The second half of the verse tackles the Israelites' refusal to trust God's timing and wisdom.
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Understand the original words
ma'aseh · Hebrew Noun
Acts or deeds of God performed in history to deliver, sustain, or judge His people. These serve as objective evidence of His sovereignty, grace, and power.
etsah · Hebrew Noun
The divine wisdom, purpose, or instruction that God provides for His people. Failing to wait for this implies impatience and a refusal to trust in God's timing and guidance.
This verse captures a crucial spiritual danger: the human tendency to quickly forget God's powerful interventions and to become impatient, failing to trust His timing and His plans.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
God miraculously delivers the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through a series of powerful plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Marah's Bitter Waters
After three days in the wilderness, the Israelites find water at Marah, but it is bitter. They immediately complain and question God, forgetting the recent miracles.
c. 1446 BC
Wilderness of Sin
The Israelites begin to grumble about a lack of food, and God provides manna and quail. This marks a pattern of forgetting God's provision and questioning His ways.
c. 1446 BC
Quail and Plague at Kibroth-hattaavah
The Israelites crave meat and repeatedly complain. God sends quail, but their excessive consumption leads to a plague that kills many.
This passage directly follows Israel's miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, showing their immediate thirst and complaint, illustrating how quickly they 'forgot his works' and 'waited not for his counsel' even after such a monumental act of deliverance.
Numbers 11:4-6Here, the Israelites openly 'lust exceedingly' for meat, a clear example of their impatience and failure to trust God's provision, mirroring the 'waited not for his counsel' from Psalms 106:13.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3Moses reminds the people that God allowed them to hunger and then fed them with manna to teach them to live by God's word, directly addressing the danger of forgetting God's provision and the importance of His counsel.
Hebrews 3:7-11This New Testament passage quotes Psalm 95, which reflects on the wilderness generation's stubbornness and disobedience, directly linking their failure to 'wait for his counsel' to their inability to enter God's rest, echoing the theme in Psalms 106:13.
1 Corinthians 10:10Paul warns believers against grumbling and complaining, as exemplified by their forefathers in the wilderness, directly referencing their failure to trust God and His provision, which aligns with the core message of Psalms 106:13.
bensonPsalms 106:13: "They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:"
Psalm 106:13-15 . They soon forgat his works — Even within three days, Exodus 15:22 , and lost the impressions those works had made upon them. They that do not improve God’s mercies to them, nor endeavour, in some measure, to render to him according to the benefits done unto them, do indeed forget them. Hebrew, מהרו שׁכחו , meharu shachechu, they made haste, they forgat. So the margin. They turned aside quickly, as it…
gillPsalms 106:13: "They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:"
They soon forgat his works,.... The miracles he wrought in Egypt, the deliverance of them from thence with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, and the leading them through the Red sea as on dry land, and destroying all their enemies; all these they soon forgot, for they had gone but three days' journey into the wilderness after this, ere they began to murmur and show distrust of the power and providence of God, Exodus…
The verse highlights not just forgetting God's deeds, but the haste with which they forgot, implying an active, almost eager, turning away from His power. It also points out they didn't merely fail to wait for God's guidance, but actively refused to wait for His counsel, showing a preference for their own impulsive desires over His wise timing.
Just days after God miraculously delivered them from Egypt and guided them through the Red Sea, the Israelites became impatient and forgot His powerful deeds. They grumbled and sought their own immediate gratification instead of trusting God's timing and plans for their journey. This set the stage for a pattern of disobedience and divine judgment described throughout the rest of the psalm.
Just days after God miraculously delivered them from Egypt and guided them through the Red Sea, the Israelites became impatient and forgot His powerful deeds. They grumbled and sought their own immediate gratification instead of trusting God's timing and plans for their journey. This set the stage for a pattern of disobedience and divine judgment described throughout the rest of the psalm.
"But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel." — The verse highlights not just forgetting God's deeds, but the haste with which they forgot, implying an active, almost eager, turning away from His power. It also points out they didn't merely fail…
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Last reviewed October 2026