Bible Strands
Exodus 15:13
With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses speaks this declaration to the Lord immediately after the destruction of Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea. The moment marks the transition from miraculous deliverance to the beginning of the journey toward the promised land.
The words — The Hebrew נָחִיתָ (na.Chi.ta) literally means "you have guided," and בְּחַסְדְּךָ (be-chasdecha) translates to "in your covenant loyalty." These terms anchor the verse’s claim that divine direction flows from God’s faithful character rather than human merit.
The thread — The passage links God’s past redemption of Israel to His ongoing guidance toward a holy dwelling, paralleling the shepherd imagery in Psalms 77:20 and the divine shielding described in 1 Peter 1:5.
Why it lands — The text states that God leads the redeemed to His dwelling by His own strength, not by their own ability. It requires the reader to accept that covenant loyalty and divine power are the sole basis for spiritual movement and preservation.
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
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Cross-references
- Psalms 77:20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
- 1 Peter 1:5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Psalms 77:14 You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples.
- Psalms 78:52 He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
- Psalms 106:9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.
- Isaiah 63:12 who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
- Jeremiah 2:6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
- Genesis 19:16 But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD’s compassion for them.
- Psalms 80:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
- Ephesians 2:4 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,