Deuteronomy 8
New English Translation
The Lord’s Provision in the Desert
8 You must keep carefully all these commandments[a] I am giving[b] you today so that you may live, increase in number,[c] and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors.[d] 2 Remember the whole way by which he[e] has brought you these forty years through the wilderness so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not. 3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna.[f] He did this to teach you[g] that humankind[h] cannot live by bread[i] alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth.[j] 4 Your clothing did not wear out nor did your feet swell all these forty years. 5 Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child,[k] so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you must keep his[l] commandments, live according to his standards,[m] and revere him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of brooks,[n] springs, and fountains flowing forth in valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, 9 a land where you may eat food[o] in plenty and find no lack of anything, a land whose stones are iron[p] and from whose hills you can mine copper. 10 You will eat your fill and then praise the Lord your God because of the good land he has given you.
Exhortation to Remember That Blessing Comes from God
11 Be sure you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, ordinances, and statutes that I am giving you today. 12 When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, 13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything, 14 be sure[q] you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery, 15 and who brought you through the great, fearful wilderness of venomous serpents[r] and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow[s] from a flint rock and 16 fed you in the wilderness with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you[t] and eventually bring good to you. 17 Be careful[u] not to say, “My own ability and skill[v] have gotten me this wealth.” 18 You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors,[w] even as he has to this day. 19 Now if you forget the Lord your God at all[x] and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated. 20 Just like the nations the Lord is about to destroy from your sight, so he will do to you[y] because you would not obey him.[z]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsvot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).
- Deuteronomy 8:2 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man huʾ), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).
- Deuteronomy 8:3 sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).
- Deuteronomy 8:5 tn Heb “just as a man disciplines his son.” The Hebrew text reflects the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
- Deuteronomy 8:6 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
- Deuteronomy 8:6 tn Heb “by walking in his ways.” The “ways” of the Lord refer here to his moral standards as reflected in his commandments. The verb “walk” is used frequently in the Bible (both OT and NT) for one’s moral and ethical behavior.
- Deuteronomy 8:7 tn Or “wadis.”
- Deuteronomy 8:9 tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. NASB, NCV, NLT) or “bread” in particular (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
- Deuteronomy 8:9 sn A land whose stones are iron. Since iron deposits are few and far between in Palestine, the reference here is probably to iron ore found in mines as opposed to the meteorite iron more commonly known in that area.
- Deuteronomy 8:14 tn The words “be sure” are not in the Hebrew text; vv. 12-14 are part of the previous sentence. For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation and the words “be sure” repeated from v. 11 to indicate the connection.
- Deuteronomy 8:15 tn Heb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).
- Deuteronomy 8:15 tn Heb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 8:16 tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.
- Deuteronomy 8:17 tn For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 17 in the translation and the words “be careful” supplied to indicate the connection.
- Deuteronomy 8:17 tn Heb “my strength and the might of my hand.”
- Deuteronomy 8:18 tc Smr and Lucian add “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the standard way of rendering this almost stereotypical formula (cf. Deut 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4). The MT’s harder reading presumptively argues for its originality, however.
- Deuteronomy 8:19 tn Heb “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).
- Deuteronomy 8:20 tn Heb “so you will perish.”
- Deuteronomy 8:20 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
Deuteronomy 8
Revised Geneva Translation
8 “You shall keep all the Commandments which I command you this day, to do them, so that you may live and be multiplied and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers.
2 “And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His Commandments or not.
3 “Therefore, He humbled you and made you hungry and fed you with manna, which you did not know (nor did your fathers know it), so that He might teach you that man lived not by bread only. But by every Word that proceeds out of the Mouth of the LORD does a man live.
4 “Your clothing did not grow old upon you, nor did your foot swell, those forty years.
5 “Know, therefore, in your heart, that as a man nurtures his son, so the LORD your God nurtures you.
6 “Therefore, you shall keep the Commandments of the LORD your God, so that you may walk in His ways, and fear Him.
7 “For the LORD your God brings you into a good land, a land in which are rivers of water and fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and mountains,
8 “a land of wheat and barley and of vineyards and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of oil, olive and honey,
9 “a land in which you shall eat bread without scarcity and in which you shall lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and out of whose mountains you shall dig brass.
10 “And when you have eaten and filled yourself, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God, not keeping His Commandments and His Laws and His Ordinances which I command you this day.
12 “Lest when you have eaten and filled yourself and have built beautiful houses and dwelt in them
13 “and your beasts and the sheep are increased and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is increased,
14 “then your heart is lifted up and you forget the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage.
15 “He was your guide in that great and terrible wilderness, in which were serpents and scorpions and drought. There was no water. He brought forth water for you out of the rock of flint.
16 “He fed you in the wilderness with manna (which your fathers did not know) to humble you and to test you, so that He might do you good in the end,
17 “lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my own hand has prepared me for this abundance.’
18 “But remember the LORD your God. For it is He Who gives you power to get substance to establish His Covenant, which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
19 “And if you forget the LORD your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify to you this day that you shall surely perish.
20 “As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the Voice of the LORD your God.”
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