who led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble?
Parallel translations
- WEB Who led them through the depths, like a horse in the wilderness, so that they didn’t stumble?
- KJV That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
- NKJV Who led them through the deep, As a horse in the wilderness, That they might not stumble?”
- NASB Who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;
- NLT Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling.
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 led His people through the depths of the sea as surely as a horse runs in open country, without stumbling. It matters because God's guidance is sure and protective.
Overview
The imagery stresses the ease and safety with which God brought Israel through the perilous sea, like a sure-footed horse over level ground. It celebrates God's faithful leading of His people through danger. This sure guidance anticipates the Good Shepherd, Christ, who leads His people safely through every peril to their inheritance (John 10:27-28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Jer 31:9They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
- Hab 3:15You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
- Ps 106:9He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.
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
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 63:13 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.