Bible Strands
Isaiah 63:13
who led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker is God addressing Israel while recounting the Exodus deliverance. He poses a rhetorical question about His guidance during the wilderness crossing after He divided the waters to secure everlasting renown.
The words — מוֹלִיכָ֖ם (mo.li.Kha/m) literally means "who caused to walk/ them," and בַּתְּהֹמ֑וֹת (ba./te.ho.Mot) literally means "in the deeps." The text establishes a guided passage through chaotic waters rather than a natural crossing.
The thread — The pattern of divine guidance through water without stumbling runs through Psalms 106:9, which records He led them through the depths as through a desert, and Habakkuk 3:15, which describes trampling the sea with horses. Jeremiah 31:9 later recalls this same motif by promising God will lead His people beside streams of water.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that survival in hostile terrain depended on external direction rather than human capability. It requires the reader to accept that guidance is the sole mechanism that prevents stumbling when navigating uncharted or dangerous paths.
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
That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 31:9 They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
- Psalms 106:9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.
- Habakkuk 3:15 You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.