How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness - Margin, Or, rebel against him. The Hebrew word may have the signification in the margin. The idea is, that they were perverse and rebellious; that they excited his displeasure, and gave occasion for his anger. See Psalms 78:17.
And grieve him in the desert - The word here rendered grieve means
(1) to work, to fashion;
(2) to suffer pain, to travail, to be afflicted; and then,
(3) to cause one to suffer pain, or to afflict.
The meaning here is that the conduct of the Hebrews was such as was suited to cause pain - as the conduct of a disobedient and rebellious child is.