Psalms 106:20 (KJV)

What does Psalms 106:20 mean?

Psalms 106:20 says that the people traded their greatest honor for the image of a grass-eating ox. This verse points out how the Israelites gave up their special relationship with God and instead worshiped a statue shaped like a calf.

The psalmist is speaking about the time when the Israelites made a golden calf at Mount Sinai, as told in Exodus. Instead of honoring God, who had rescued them from Egypt, they chose to worship an idol that looked like a common animal. The verse highlights the foolishness and loss involved in turning away from God to worship something far less valuable.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 106:20

• "changed" (וַיַּמִירוּ, vayyamiru): This word means to exchange or trade. It stresses that the people actively gave up something valuable for something worthless.
• "glory" (כְּבוֹדָם, kevodam): This word often means "honor" or "splendor." Here, it refers to the special honor the Israelites had in their relationship with God.
• "similitude" (תַּבְנִית, tavnit): This means a likeness, form, or image. The verse points out that the idol was just a man-made shape, not a living being.
• "ox" (שׁוֹר, shor): This is a common farm animal. The choice of an ox as the idol underlines how the people traded the glory of God for something ordinary and unremarkable.

Why Psalms 106:20 matters

• This verse helps clear up that the problem was not just making an idol, but exchanging a living relationship with God for a lifeless image.
• The emphasis on "glory" and "similitude" shows the deep loss involved in turning from God to something man-made.
• In the context of the psalm, this verse is part of a larger confession of Israel’s repeated failures, helping readers see the pattern of forgetting God’s goodness.