Deuteronomy 1:31

and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, recounting their journey from Horeb toward the Promised Land. He pauses to remind them of God's recent provision and protection in the wilderness.

The words — The Hebrew term נְשָׂאֲךָ (neśāʾăkā) literally means "he carried you," paired with the comparative phrase כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaʾăšer), "just as." The text explicitly states that Yahweh carried the people through the wilderness (וּ/בַ/מִּדְבָּר, u/va/midbar) along their entire route until arrival.

The thread — This carrying motif appears in Isaiah 46:3, where God promises to sustain and carry Israel from the womb, and in Deuteronomy 32:10, where He guards them in the barren wilderness. The narrative echoes in Acts 13:18, which records God enduring their conduct during those same forty years in the desert.

Why it lands — The text establishes God's active, paternal provision before recounting the people's failure to trust Him in Deuteronomy 1:32. It demands recognition of divine faithfulness as the baseline for evaluating human response to God's guidance.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

Cross-references

Isaiah 46:3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.
Acts 13:18 He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 32:10 He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
Isaiah 63:9 In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Hosea 11:3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they never realized that it was I who healed them.
Exodus 19:4 ‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Numbers 11:14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
Exodus 16:1 On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the whole congregation of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.
Psalms 105:39 He spread a cloud as a covering and a fire to light up the night.