Psalms 136:16
in Psalms 136He led His people through the wilderness. His loving devotion endures forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To him that led his people through the wilderness; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever:
KJV
To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 136
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
He led His people through the wilderness
on Psalms 136:16-22
The whole wilderness takes one line. The psalm names two kings, Sihon of the Amorites and Og of Bashan, whom Israel met east of the Jordan in Numbers 21. Their land is given to Israel as an inheritance and a heritage.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Who led His people through the wilderness" [Psalm 136:16]. Us too He leads through the drought and barrenness of this world, that we perish not therein.
"Who led His people through the wilderness" [Psalm 136:16]. Us too He leads through the drought and barrenness of this world, that we perish not therein.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); there he led them and fed them. Their camp was victualled and fortified by a constant series of miracles for forty years; though they loitered and wandered there, they were not lost. And in this the mercy of God, and the constancy of that mercy, were the more observable because they often provoked him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
To him which led his people through the wilderness,.... Where there was no path.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To him which led his people through the wilderness. He led them into it, and therefore he was pledged to lead them through it. They were "his people", and yet they must go into the wilderness, and the wilderness must remain as barren as ever it was; but in the end they must come out of it into the promised land. God's dealings are mysterious, but they must be right, simply because they are his. The people knew nothing of the way, but they were led; they were a vast host, yet they were all led; there were neither roads nor tracks, but being led by unerring wisdom they never lost their way. He who brought them out of Egypt, also led them through the wilderness. By Moses, and Aaron, and Jethro, and the pillar of cloud he led them. What a multitude of mercies are comprehended in the conduct of such an enormous host through a region wherein there was no provision even for single travellers; yet the Lord by his infinite power and wisdom conducted a whole nation for forty years through a desert land, and their feet did not swell, neither did their garments wax old in all the journey. For his mercy endureth for ever. Their conduct in the wilderness tested his mercy most severely, but it bore the strain; many a time he forgave them; and though he smote them for their transgressions, yet he waited to be gracious and speedily turned to them in compassion. Their faithfulness soon failed, but his did not: the fiery, cloudy pillar which never ceased to lead the van was the visible proof of his immutable love—
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
To him which led his people through the wilderness. He led them into it, and therefore he was pledged to lead them through it. They were "his people", and yet they must go into the wilderness, and the wilderness must remain as barren as ever it was; but in the end they must come out of it into the promised land. God's dealings are mysterious, but they must be right, simply because they are his.
Which led his people through the wilderness - It was an astonishing miracle of God to support so many hundreds of thousands of people in a wilderness totally deprived of all necessaries for the life of man, and that for the space of forty years.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To him which led his people through the wilderness - For all the manifestations of his care during a period of forty years. For his mercy ... - That is, his mercy was to be measured by all the protection extended over them; by all the provision made for their needs; by all that God did to defend them; by all his interposition when attacked by their enemies; by safely bringing them to the land to which he had promised to conduct them.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמוֹלִ֣יךְ | lemolikh | to [one who] led | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עַ֭מּוֹ | amo | <of> people his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֣ם | leolam | [is] for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | chasdo | covenant loyalty his | H2617 → | 247 times |
לְמוֹלִ֣יךְto [one who] led
lemolikhH1980 →1546 times
עַ֭מּוֹ<of> people his
amoH5971 →1873 times
בַּמִּדְבָּ֑רin the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְעוֹלָ֣ם[is] for ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃covenant loyalty his
chasdoH2617 →247 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 8:2Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your…
it leads to
- James 1:3
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
- Deuteronomy 8:16
He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble you and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper.
- 1 Peter 1:7
so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Exodus 16:4
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I…
- Deuteronomy 2:7
Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these…
- James 1:3
Through
Psalms 77:20You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
it leads to
- Exodus 13:21
And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel…
- Exodus 14:19
And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,
- Psalms 78:52
He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
- Exodus 13:21
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 136; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.