New Living Translation
Deuteronomy 8:2
2Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would 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
1“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. 3Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell.
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 7:18But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.
- Psalms 77:11But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
- Psalms 106:7Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.
- Ephesians 2:11Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.
- 2 Peter 1:12Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught.
- 2 Peter 3:1This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory.
- Deuteronomy 1:3But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say.
- Deuteronomy 2:7For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’
- Deuteronomy 29:5For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.
- Psalms 136:16Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness. His faithful love endures forever.
- Amos 2:10It was I who rescued you from Egypt and led you through the desert for forty years, so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
- 2 Chronicles 32:25But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the Lord’s anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 33:12But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.
- Job 33:17He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.
- Job 42:5I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
- Isaiah 2:17Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries