For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Yes, forty years you sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing. Their clothes didn’t grow old, and their feet didn’t swell.
- KJV Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
- NKJV Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.
- NASB “Indeed, for forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not lacking; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell up.
- NLT For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!
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
For forty years God sustained them so they lacked nothing, their clothes and feet unworn. It matters because it testifies to God's complete, faithful provision.
Overview
Through four decades of wandering, God so cared for Israel that even their clothing and bodies did not give out. His provision was thorough and reliable despite their unworthiness. Such faithful sustaining of his people prefigures Christ's promise to supply every need of those who seek God's kingdom (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 2:7Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.
- Deut 8:4Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
- Deut 29:5For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.
- Ps 34:10Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
- Deut 8:2Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.
- Exod 16:35The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
- Amos 5:25Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
- Acts 13:18He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.
- Num 14:33–34Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 9:21 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
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