Deuteronomy 8 · Verse 3

Deuteronomy 8:3

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
Deuteronomy 8:3, King James Version

Deuteronomy 8:3 in other translations

BSBHe humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
WEBHe humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the LORD’s mouth.
ASVAnd he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
YLT‘And He doth humble thee, and cause thee to hunger and doth cause thee to eat the manna (which thou hast not known, even thy fathers have not known), in order to cause thee to know that not by bread alone doth man live, but by every produce of the mouth of Jehovah man doth live.
DARBYAnd he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with the manna, which thou hadst not known, and which thy fathers knew not; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by everything that goeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
BBEAnd he made low your pride and let you be without food and gave you manna for your food, a thing new to you, which your fathers never saw; so that he might make it clear to you that bread is not man's only need, but his life is in every word which comes out of the mouth of the Lord.
WebsterAnd he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

What does Deuteronomy 8:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 8:2-3

2-3. thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness--The recapitulation of all their checkered experience during that long period was designed to awaken lively impressions of the goodness of God. First, Moses showed them the object of their protracted wanderings and varied hardships. These were trials of their obedience as well as chastisements for sin. Indeed…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 8:2-3 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 He - suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee - God never permits any tribulation to befall his followers, which he does not design to turn to their advantage. When he permits us to hunger, it is that his mercy may be the more observable in providing us with the necessaries of life. Privations, in the way of providence, are the forerunners of mercy and goodness abundant.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 8:1-9

Obedience must be, 1. Careful, observe to do; 2. Universal, to do all the commandments; and 3. From a good principle, with a regard to God as the Lord, and their God, and with a holy fear of him. To engage them to this obedience. Moses directs them to look back. It is good to remember all the ways, both of God's providence and grace, by which he has led us through this wilderness, that we may cheerfully serve him…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 8:1-9 →

Deuteronomy 8:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַֽיְעַנְּךָ֮vay.'a.ne.Khaand he humbled youH6031
וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ֒vai.yar.'i.ve.Khaand he caused to hunger youH7456
וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤vai.ya.'a.khil.Khaand he caused to eat youH398
אֶת'et-<obj.>H853
הַמָּן֙ha.Manthe mannaH4478
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
יָדַ֔עְתָּya.Da'.tayou had knownH3045
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
יָדְע֖וּןya.de.'Unthey had known !H3045
אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ'a.vo.Tei.khaancestors yourH1
לְמַ֣עַןle.Ma.'anso asH4616
הוֹדִֽעֲךָ֗ho.di.'a.Khato make know youH3045
כִּ֠יkithatH3588
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַלֶּ֤חֶםha.Le.chemthe breadH3899
לְבַדּוֹ֙le.va.Doby only itH905
יִחְיֶ֣הyich.Yehhe livesH2421
הָֽאָדָ֔םha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120
כִּ֛יkiforH3588
עַל\־'al-onH5921
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
מוֹצָ֥אmo.Tza'<the> utterance ofH4161
פִֽי\־fi-[the] mouth ofH6310
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
יִחְיֶ֥הyich.Yehhe livesH2421
הָאָדָֽם\׃ha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 8:3

  • Matthew 4:4

    But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

  • Luke 4:4

    And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

  • Hebrews 13:5-6

    Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

  • Exodus 16:2-3

    And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

  • Psalms 78:23-25

    Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:3

    And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

  • Exodus 16:12-35

    I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. …

  • Luke 12:29-30

    And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

  • Psalms 105:40

    The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

  • Psalms 37:3

    Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

  • Psalms 104:27-29

    These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
fed thee.
Ex 16:2,3,12-35; Ps 78:23-25; 105:40; 1Co 10:3
doth.
Ps 37:3; 104:27-29; Mt 4:4; Lu 4:4; 12:29,30; Heb 13:5,6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 8:2

    And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

  • Deuteronomy 8:3

    And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

  • Deuteronomy 8:4

    Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.

Read all of Deuteronomy 8

Deuteronomy 8:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y te afligió, é hízote tener hambre, y te sustentó con maná, comida que no conocías tú, ni tus padres la habían conocido; para hacerte saber que el hombre no vivirá de solo pan, mas de todo lo que sale de la boca de Jehová vivirá el hombre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il t’a humilié, et t’a fait avoir faim; et il t’a fait manger la manne que tu n’avais pas connue et que tes pères n’ont pas connue, afin de te faire connaître que l’homme ne vit pas de pain seulement, mais que l’homme vivra de tout ce qui sort de la bouche de l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er demütigte dich und ließ dich hungern; und er speiste dich mit dem Man, das du nicht kanntest und das deine Väter nicht kannten, um dir kundzutun, daß der Mensch nicht von Brot allein lebt, sondern daß der Mensch von allem lebt, was aus dem Munde Jehovas hervorgeht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Afflixit te penuria, et dedit tibi cibum manna, quod ignorabas tu et patres tui: ut ostenderet tibi quod non in solo pane vivat homo, sed in omni verbo quod egreditur de ore Dei.