Psalm 136:16 kjv
To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:16 nkjv
To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever;
Psalm 136:16 niv
to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:16 esv
to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;
Psalm 136:16 nlt
Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
? His faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 136 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 8:2-3 | "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness... that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone..." | God led and provided to teach dependency |
| Deut 8:15-16 | "who led you through the great and terrible wilderness... who brought you water from the flinty rock... fed you manna..." | God's specific provisions in the wilderness |
| Neh 9:19-21 | "Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness... their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell these forty years." | God's sustained care and provision |
| Psa 78:52 | "But He led forth His own people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock." | God's gentle, pastoral leadership |
| Isa 63:11-14 | "Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? ...who led them by the right hand of Moses... who led them through the depths..." | Remembering God's past guidance and deliverance |
| Hos 13:5 | "I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought." | God's intimacy with Israel in hardship |
| Jer 2:6 | "Nor did they say, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness..." | Acknowledging God's saving historical act |
| Acts 13:18 | "And for forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness." | God's patience and enduring mercy |
| Exod 13:21 | "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire..." | God's constant presence and guidance |
| Exod 16:35 | "And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land..." | God's daily provision for sustenance |
| Exod 17:6 | "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." | God's miraculous provision of water |
| Num 9:15-23 | (Details of the cloud and fire by day and night) | God's visible, sovereign leading |
| 1 Cor 10:1-4 | "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud... all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." | Christ's presence and provision in the wilderness |
| Heb 3:7-19 | (Warns against hardened hearts and falling in the wilderness) | Wilderness as a time of testing faith |
| Heb 4:1-11 | (Rest after wilderness journey as a shadow of greater spiritual rest) | Promise of rest after the journey |
| Lam 3:22-23 | "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." | God's unfailing mercy (hesed) |
| Psa 100:5 | "For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations." | God's enduring goodness and mercy |
| Psa 107:1 | "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." | General praise for God's eternal mercy |
| Psa 23:3 | "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake." | God's present guidance and restoration |
| Psa 32:8 | "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." | God's promise of personal guidance |
| Deut 2:7 | "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing." | God's presence and complete provision |
| Rom 15:8 | "Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers," | Christ fulfilling Old Testament promises based on God's truth/mercy |
| Eph 2:4-5 | "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..." | God's rich mercy leading to salvation |
Psalm 136 verses
Psalm 136 16 Meaning
Psalm 136:16 declares that the LORD God is worthy of thanks because He "led His people through the wilderness." This verse commemorates a pivotal act in Israel's history: God's steadfast guidance and provision for the Israelites during their forty years of wandering in the desert after their liberation from Egyptian bondage. The accompanying refrain, "For His mercy endures forever," emphasizes that this act was motivated by and is a continuing testament to God's eternal, unwavering covenant loyalty and love.
Psalm 136 16 Context
Psalm 136 is a liturgical psalm, likely used in communal worship or festivals of thanksgiving. It functions as a litany, with each declaration of God's deeds followed by the congregational refrain "For His mercy endures forever." The psalm meticulously recounts God's benevolent actions, beginning with creation (vv. 1-9), moving through His powerful redemption of Israel from Egypt (vv. 10-15), continuing with their wilderness journey (v. 16), their conquest and inheritance of the land (vv. 17-22), their preservation and provision (vv. 23-25), and concluding with a call to praise the God of heaven (v. 26).
Verse 16 specifically contextualizes the forty-year wilderness sojourn of the Israelites, a period following their miraculous escape from the Red Sea (vv. 13-15) and preceding their victorious entry into the Promised Land (vv. 17-22). The "wilderness" (Hebrew: midbar) was not a void, but a challenging, arid, and dangerous region. The very act of God leading them through it for decades, rather than abandoning them or allowing them to perish, highlighted His supreme power and unfailing care. This continuous guidance implicitly challenged contemporary pagan beliefs, which often saw gods tied to specific fertile lands and limited in their sphere of influence. Yahweh, the God of Israel, demonstrated His sovereign authority over nature and His commitment to His covenant people even in the most inhospitable environments, something no regional deity could claim. The memory of divine guidance and provision during such a long and perilous journey cemented God's unique identity as the reliable, merciful deliverer.
Psalm 136 16 Word analysis
- To Him who led: The Hebrew verb for "led" is yalak (הלך), meaning "to walk," but in this context, it is used in the hiphil stem, implying "to cause to walk" or "to guide." This signifies active, intentional, and sustained divine leadership. It's not passive accompaniment but powerful direction and escort through a difficult path. God wasn't merely a bystander but the initiator and sustainer of their journey.
- His people: Refers specifically to the Israelites, identifying them as those in a unique covenant relationship with God. They are His chosen and set-apart possession, for whom He exercises special care. This designation underscores the personal nature of God's actions.
- through the wilderness: The Hebrew word for "wilderness" is midbar (מדבר), which can refer to an arid, uncultivated pasture land, a steppe, or a desert. It was a place of extreme hardship, scarcity, and danger (Deut 8:15). God leading them through it emphasizes perseverance, overcoming obstacles, and not merely to an immediate destination but via a protracted, challenging journey requiring daily dependence on Him. This implies not just a physical leading but also a moral and spiritual one, as the wilderness was a place of testing.
- For His mercy endures forever: This is the unvarying refrain of Psalm 136, crucial for interpreting every preceding declaration. "Mercy" here translates the Hebrew word chesed (חסד), one of the richest theological terms in the Old Testament. Chesed is often translated as "steadfast love," "unfailing love," "loyal love," "kindness," or "mercy." It refers to a love that is bound by covenant faithfulness and demonstrated through benevolent actions, especially in deliverance and preservation. Its endurance "forever" (Hebrew: le‘olam) signifies its unchanging, eternal quality, implying that God's faithful love is the consistent and reliable foundation for all His mighty acts, past, present, and future.
Psalm 136 16 Bonus section
The repeated refrain "For His mercy endures forever" (Hebrew: ki le'olam chasdo) functions not just as a refrain but as a theological statement that grounds all of God's actions. It signifies that His acts of power and deliverance, even those that involve severe discipline or leading through hardship, are always expressions of His steadfast love. The wilderness period, though challenging, was ultimately an act of chesed to refine and mature His people, to teach them obedience, and to prepare them for the Promised Land. This speaks to the Christian walk where difficulties are not devoid of God's mercy but often serve as tools in His loving, redemptive plan to draw believers closer to Him and mold them into Christ-likeness. Just as God brought physical and spiritual life out of the desert for Israel, He often works similarly in our lives.
Psalm 136 16 Commentary
Psalm 136:16 highlights a crucial phase in Israel's foundational history: the period of wilderness wandering. This verse does not focus on the dramatic liberation from Egypt or the Red Sea crossing, but on the sustained, day-to-day guidance through forty years of unforgiving terrain. It underscores that God's mercy extends beyond initial deliverance to include long-term preservation and patient leadership through prolonged trials. The journey through the midbar was fraught with peril, a test of faith, and a place where Israel learned total dependency on God for water, food, and direction. Yet, God's "hesed" ensured they were never abandoned. He guided them with cloud and fire, provided manna and water from rocks, and protected their health and clothing. This demonstrates that God's loyalty is not conditional on Israel's faithfulness, but is rooted in His own character and covenant promise. For believers today, this passage testifies that God’s steadfast love continues to guide His people through the "wilderness seasons" of life, providing for needs, exercising patience in rebellion, and ultimately leading them towards His promised inheritance. It reassures us that God's commitment to His own is enduring and unfailing, regardless of the challenges.