Psalm 106:35-39
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The verse highlights that Israel's failure wasn't just about living among other nations, but actively learning and adopting their ways. This implies that even proximity to other cultures, if not handled with intentional spiritual discernment, can lead to internal compromise and the adoption of practices contrary to God's commands.
but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Psalm recounts Israel's repeated failures to obey God, even after witnessing His mighty acts. This verse highlights a crucial turning point: instead of eradicating the Canaanite nations as commanded, the Israelites began to live among them, intermarrying and adopting their customs. This dangerous mingling, a direct disobedience, directly led them to embrace the idolatrous practices and pagan worship of their neighbors, ultimately drawing God's judgment upon them.
God gave Israel a clear command: separate from the nations around them. But what happens when we start to 'mix' our ways with the world?
The passage in Psalm 106 paints a stark picture of Israel's disobedience. After conquering the Promised Land, they were commanded to drive out the Canaanites, not to live among them.
Why the Strict Command?
The 'Mingling'
Instead of obedience, Israel chose to 'mix with the nations.' This wasn't just about living side-by-side; it involved:
This gradual integration, far from being a sign of maturity or tolerance, was the first step down a dangerous path.
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It wasn't long before Israel started adopting the habits and practices of the very people God told them to separate from. What does this teach us about influence?
The core of the problem wasn't just the mixing, but the learning that followed. When Israel failed to uphold their unique identity and God's commands, they inevitably absorbed the culture around them.
From Contact to Conformity
The psalm highlights a tragic progression:
This led them to serve idols, engage in horrific rituals like child sacrifice, and defile the land. The commentary rightly points out that this pattern is a timeless illustration: 'What occurred in their case has often occurred since in the history of the people of God, that by "mingling" with the world they have learned to practice their "works."'
Understand the original words
arab · Hebrew Verb
To mingle, join with, or associate closely; in a covenantal context, it often refers to the illicit integration of Israel with pagan nations, leading to spiritual defilement.
goyim · Hebrew Noun
Used for foreign or heathen nations outside the covenant of Israel; often associated with idolatry, pagan practices, and moral corruption.
‘atsab · Hebrew Noun
In a biblical context, idols refer to any physical or abstract object, image, or concept that is worshipped or served in the place of, or alongside, the one true God. They are frequently characterized as worthless, powerless, and a source of spiritual deception.
moqesh · Hebrew Noun
A metaphor for a trap, lure, or enticement that leads individuals or communities away from obedience to God and into sin, judgment, or spiritual ruin. It represents the deceptive power of sinful practices to ensnare the heart and life.
shed · Hebrew Noun
Supernatural, malevolent spiritual entities that oppose God and lead humanity into rebellion, idolatry, and destruction. In the Old Testament, these are often associated with the false gods worshipped by pagan nations.
naqi dam · Hebrew Noun Phrase
Refers to the taking of a life that has not committed a capital crime or is morally blameless in a specific context. The shedding of such blood is a grave moral abomination that cries out for divine justice and brings defilement upon the land.
tame’ · Hebrew Adjective/Verb
To be made ceremonially or morally impure. It denotes a state of corruption or contagion that separates a person or a nation from the presence, blessing, and holiness of God.
zanah · Hebrew Verb
A frequent prophetic metaphor used to describe apostasy, spiritual unfaithfulness, and the abandonment of the covenant relationship with God in favor of worldly or idolatrous pursuits. It highlights the betrayal of God's exclusive love and authority.
This verse highlights the dangerous consequence of disobedience, showing how failing to fully separate from the surrounding pagan cultures led Israel into adopting their corrupt practices, a pattern that ultimately contributed to their exile.
c. 1406 BC
Israel Enters the Promised Land
After 40 years in the wilderness, Joshua leads the Israelites into Canaan, God's promised land.
c. 1406-1350 BC
Initial Conquest of Canaan
The Israelites conquer significant portions of Canaan, but fail to completely drive out all the inhabitants as commanded.
c. 1350-1070 BC
Period of the Judges
A chaotic era where Israel repeatedly falls into sin, serves other gods, and faces oppression from surrounding nations.
c. 1070 BC— this verse
Incomplete Expulsion of Canaanites
The Israelites failed to completely remove the native Canaanite populations from the land, contrary to God's clear command.
Ongoing
Cultural Contamination
Through intermarriage and general interaction, Israelites adopt the customs, religious practices, and idolatry of the Canaanites.
c. 975 BC
Solomon's Reign and Idolatry
Even King Solomon, in his later years, is led astray by foreign wives to worship other gods, setting a precedent for the divided kingdom.
586 BC
Babylonian Exile
Due to continued unfaithfulness, the people of Judah are conquered and exiled to Babylon, losing their land and temple.
This passage directly illustrates the consequence of Israel mingling with the Canaanites, showing how they began to worship their gods, directly mirroring the 'learning their works' mentioned in Psalms 106:35.
Romans 12:2This New Testament passage echoes the warning against conforming to the world's practices, providing a spiritual parallel to Israel's assimilation into the surrounding nations' 'works'.
Ezra 9:1-2This event in Ezra's time shows a later generation of Israelites repeating the same sin of mingling with foreign nations through marriage, highlighting the persistent danger of adopting the ways of those around you.
2 Corinthians 6:14This verse provides a strong New Testament principle against 'unequal yokes' or close association with those who do not share faith, underscoring the core danger implied in Israel becoming 'mingled' with the heathen.
pulpitPsalms 106:35: "But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works."
Verse 35. - But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. This was the effect of the continuous contact. "Evil communications corrupted good manners." The command to exterminate, which to moderns seems so terribly severe, and almost cruel, was undoubtedly based upon God's foreknowledge of the fact, that otherwise there would be contact, and if contact, then contamination. (For the actual fact, see Judge…
cambridgePsalms 106:35: "But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works."
35 . But mingled themselves with the nations (R.V.), by matrimonial alliances ( Ezra 9:2 ) and intercourse generally ( Jdg 3:5-6 ).
The verse highlights that Israel's failure wasn't just about living among other nations, but actively learning and adopting their ways. This implies that even proximity to other cultures, if not handled with intentional spiritual discernment, can lead to internal compromise and the adoption of practices contrary to God's commands.
The Psalm recounts Israel's repeated failures to obey God, even after witnessing His mighty acts. This verse highlights a crucial turning point: instead of eradicating the Canaanite nations as commanded, the Israelites began to live among them, intermarrying and adopting their customs. This dangerous mingling, a direct disobedience, directly led them to embrace the idolatrous practices and pagan worship of their neighbors, ultimately drawing God's judgment upon them.
The Psalm recounts Israel's repeated failures to obey God, even after witnessing His mighty acts. This verse highlights a crucial turning point: instead of eradicating the Canaanite nations as commanded, the Israelites began to live among them, intermarrying and adopting their customs. This dangerous mingling, a direct disobedience, directly led them to embrace the idolatrous practices and pagan worship of their neighbors, ultimately drawing God's judgment upon them.
"but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood,…" — The verse highlights that Israel's failure wasn't just about living among other nations, but actively learning and adopting their ways. This implies that even proximity to other cultures, if not…
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Last reviewed October 2026
