But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Parallel translations
- WEB but if the cloud wasn’t taken up, then they didn’t travel until the day that it was taken up.
- BSB If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up.
- NKJV But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.
- NASB but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up.
- NLT But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted.
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
If the cloud did not lift, Israel stayed put. They moved only at God's direction.
Overview
Just as the lifting cloud signaled departure, the cloud remaining meant Israel was to wait. Their obedience required patience to remain until God moved, not advancing on their own initiative. This teaches dependence on God's timing, trusting His guidance both to go and to stay as His presence directs.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Num 9:19–22And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.
- Ps 31:15My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 40:37 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.