God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 8:2
2Remember that for 40 years the Lord your God led you on your journey in the desert. He did this in order to humble you and test you. He wanted to know whether or not you would wholeheartedly obey his commands.
Deuteronomy 8:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
- New International Version (NIV)Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Context of Deuteronomy 8:2
1Be careful to obey every command I give you today. Then you will live, and your population will increase. You will enter and take possession of the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors with an oath. Remember that for 40 years the Lord your God led you on your journey in the desert. He did this in order to humble you and test you. He wanted to know whether or not you would wholeheartedly obey his commands. 3So he made you suffer from hunger and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had seen before. He did this to teach you that a person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that the Lord speaks. 4Your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t swell these past 40 years.
Read all of Deuteronomy 8Deuteronomy 8:2 word by word
וְזָכַרְתָּ֣ אֶת־כָּל־הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֹלִֽיכֲךָ֜ יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ זֶ֛ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר לְמַ֨עַן עַנֹּֽתְךָ֜ לְנַסֹּֽתְךָ֗ לָדַ֜עַת אֶת־אֲשֶׁ֧ר בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֛ הֲתִשְׁמֹ֥ר מִצְוֹתָ֖יו אִם־לֹֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- all the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
- which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- ledיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- thee these fortyאַרְבָּעִים'arbâ‛îym · fortyH705
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- to humbleעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
- to proveנָסָהnâsâh · to testH5254
- thee, to knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- in thine heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- whether thou wouldest keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
- his commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 8:2
- Deuteronomy 7:18Don’t be afraid of them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.
- Psalms 77:11I will remember the deeds of the Lord. I will remember your ancient miracles.
- Psalms 106:7When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles. They did not remember your numerous acts of mercy, so they rebelled at the sea, the Red Sea.
- Ephesians 2:11Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.”
- 2 Peter 1:12Therefore, I will always remind you about these qualities, although you already know about them and are well-grounded in the truth that you now have.
- 2 Peter 3:1Dear friends, this is the second letter I’m writing to you. In both letters I’m trying to refresh your memory.
- Deuteronomy 1:3On the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year ⌞after they had left Egypt⌟, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.
- Deuteronomy 2:7The Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched over you as you traveled through this vast desert. For 40 years now the Lord your God has been with you, and you haven’t needed a thing.
- Deuteronomy 29:5For 40 years I led you through the desert. During that time your clothes and shoes never wore out.
- Psalms 136:16Give thanks to the one who led his people through the desert— because his mercy endures forever.
- Amos 2:10I brought you out of Egypt. I led you through the desert for 40 years so that you could take possession of the land of the Amorites.
- 2 Chronicles 32:25But Hezekiah was conceited, so he didn’t repay the Lord for his kindness. The Lord became angry with him, with Judah, and with Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 33:12When he experienced this distress, he begged the Lord his God to be kind and humbled himself in front of the God of his ancestors.
- Job 33:17⌞He warns them⌟ to turn away from doing ⌞wrong⌟ and to stop being arrogant.
- Job 42:5I had heard about you with my own ears, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
- Isaiah 2:17Then arrogant people will be brought down, and high and mighty people will be humbled. On that day the Lord alone will be honored.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 8:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Thou shalt remember all the way - The various dealings of God with you; the dangers and difficulties to which ye were exposed, and from which God delivered you; together with the various miracles which he wrought for you, and his longsuffering towards you.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2to know what was in your heart: God already knew the deepest thoughts of the Israelites (Psalms 51:6; 139:1, 4, 23). He did not need to learn new information. Instead, he wanted their true character to be shown by their actions. in order to know … whether or not: The Old Testament often describes God in human ways. This is called anthropomorphism (speaking about God as if he has human qualities) and anthropopathism (speaking about God as if he has human…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness--The recapitulation of all their checkered experience during that long period was designed to awaken lively impressions of the goodness of God. First, Moses showed them the object of their protracted wanderings and varied hardships. These were trials of their obedience as well as chastisements for sin. Indeed, the discovery of their infidelity…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 8:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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