Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
- BSB They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.
- NKJV Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them.
- NASB They were hungry and thirsty; Their souls felt weak within them.
- NLT Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.
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
Hungry and thirsty, the wanderers grew faint and their soul failed within them.
Overview
The desert imagery deepens as the lost travelers suffer hunger, thirst, and fainting strength. This portrays the desperate extremity of those cut off from sustenance and hope. It mirrors the deep need of the soul that only God can satisfy, pointing to Christ as the bread of life and living water who relieves every spiritual famine.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 8:2–3I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
- Lam 2:19Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the LORD: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
- 1 Sam 30:11–12And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
- Isa 44:12The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
- Judg 15:18–19And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
- Jer 14:18If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know 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 Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 107:5 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.