And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Parallel translations
- WEB He humbled you, and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.
- BSB He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
- NKJV So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
- NASB And He humbled you and let you go hungry, and fed you with the manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, in order to make you understand that man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord.
- NLT Yes, 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God humbled Israel with hunger then fed them manna to teach that man lives by every word from God's mouth, not bread alone. True life comes from dependence on God's word.
Overview
The manna taught Israel that physical provision flows from God and that his word is the deeper source of life. Dependence on God, not self-sufficiency, is the lesson of the wilderness. Jesus quoted this verse to resist Satan and revealed himself as the true bread of life, on whom God's people ultimately depend.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 4:4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
- Luke 4:4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
- Heb 13:5–6Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
- 1 Cor 10:3And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
- Ps 78:23–25Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
- Exod 16:2–3And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
- Exod 16:12–35I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
- Luke 12:29–30And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
- Ps 37:3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
- Ps 105:40The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
- Ps 104:27–29These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 8:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.