Bible Strands
Isaiah 63:11
Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Israel following their rebellion, which grieved God’s Holy Spirit and turned Him into their enemy. The people are called to recall the Exodus period under Moses as a benchmark of past divine action.
The words — וַ/יִּזְכֹּ֥ר (va/i.yiz.Kor) literally means "and it remembered," denoting the people's deliberate recollection of antiquity. אַיֵּ֣ה\׀ ('ai.Yeh) translates as "where?" and structures the verse as a direct inquiry into God's current location among them.
The thread — The sea crossing is recorded in Exodus 14:22, where Israel walked through the waters on dry ground. The distribution of the Holy Spirit to leaders is detailed in Numbers 11:17 and Numbers 11:25, where the Spirit rests upon Moses and is shared with others.
Why it lands — The text forces a direct comparison between historical divine intervention and present spiritual absence. It requires the reader to evaluate whether a community that has grieved the Spirit can still expect the same manifest presence.
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
Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
Cross-references
- Numbers 11:17 And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
- Exodus 14:22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- Numbers 11:25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.
- Psalms 77:20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
- Haggai 2:5 This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt. And My Spirit remains among you; do not be afraid.”
- Numbers 11:29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”
- Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Luke 1:54 He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful,
- Exodus 14:30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
- Exodus 32:11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?