Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
Parallel translations
- WEB Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
- BSB Moreover, with an uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands—
- NKJV So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands,
- NASB Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands,
- NLT But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth.
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 swore in the wilderness that the rebellious generation would not enter the promised land. Their unbelief barred them from the inheritance.
Overview
This recalls the judgment after the spies' report, when that generation was condemned to die in the wilderness (Numbers 14). The 'glory of all lands' they forfeited was the very blessing God had sworn to give. Their exclusion is a sober warning that persistent unbelief shuts people out of God's rest (Hebrews 3:18-19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 95:11Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
- Ps 106:26Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:
- Deut 1:34–35And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
- Heb 4:3For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
- Num 14:23–30Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
- Heb 3:11So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
- Ezek 20:23I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
- Num 26:64–65But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
- Heb 3:18And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
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 promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 20:15 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.