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Psalm 99:6-8
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 99:6-8
New Catholic Bible
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among those who invoked his name;
they cried out to the Lord,
and he answered them.[a]
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;[b]
they obeyed his decrees and the law he gave them.
8 O Lord, our God,
you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but you punished their wrongdoings.[c]
Footnotes
- Psalm 99:6 The psalmist wishes to show that the Lord is a gracious King who hears the prayers of all who come to him with the right disposition. To do so, he mentions three great figures who at various stages interceded with the Lord for the nation (see Ex 32:30; Num 17:12f; 1 Sam 7:2-11).
- Psalm 99:7 Spoke to them from the pillar of cloud: the pillar of cloud was the symbol of God’s presence with his people during the Exodus (see Ex 13:21f), and God spoke to Moses (see Ex 33:9) and to Aaron (see Num 12:5) in the pillar of cloud. But though he spoke to Samuel, we have no record of it being in the pillar of cloud. Hence, the psalmist may here be alluding to the communication itself rather than how God communicated.
- Psalm 99:8 Punished their wrongdoings: among those punished for wrongdoings were Moses and Aaron, neither of whom was allowed to enter the Promised Land (see Ps 106:22f; Num 27:14; Deut 3:26).
