So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God disciplines you.
- KJV Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
- NKJV You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.
- NASB So you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.
- NLT Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.
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
Israel must consider that God disciplines them as a father disciplines his son. God's hardships are fatherly correction, not rejection.
Overview
The wilderness trials are reframed as loving fatherly discipline meant for Israel's good. Discipline is a mark of God's care and relationship, not his hostility. Hebrews 12 draws on this truth to comfort believers, showing that God's discipline proves they are his beloved children in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Rev 3:19Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- 2 Sam 7:14I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
- Job 5:17–18Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
- Prov 3:12for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.
- Heb 12:5–11And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- 1 Cor 11:32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
- Ps 94:12Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law,
- Ezek 18:28Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.
- Ps 89:32I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes.
- Deut 4:9Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.
- Ezek 12:3Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
- Deut 4:23Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.
- Isa 1:3The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:5 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.