Deuteronomy 8:3

8:3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. ¹  He did this to teach you ²  that humankind ³  cannot live by bread ⁴  alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth. ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 9:5

9:5 It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness, ⁶  that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he ⁷  made on oath to your ancestors, ⁸  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 31:21

31:21 Then when ⁹  many disasters and distresses overcome them ¹⁰  this song will testify against them, ¹¹  for their ¹²  descendants will not forget it. ¹³  I know the ¹⁴  intentions they have in mind ¹⁵  today, even before I bring them ¹⁶  to the land I have promised.”

[8:3]  ¹ tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man hu’), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).

[8:3]  ² tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ³ tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).

[8:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).

[8:3]  ⁵ sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).

[9:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “uprightness of your heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”), though essentially synonymous here with יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”), carries the idea of conformity to an objective standard. The term יֹשֶׁר has more to do with an inner, moral quality (cf. NAB, NIV “integrity”). Neither, however, was grounds for the Lord’s favor. As he states in both vv. 4-5, the main reason he allowed Israel to take this land was the sinfulness of the Canaanites who lived there (cf. Gen 15:16).

[9:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

[9:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “fathers.”

[31:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”

[31:21]  ¹² tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

[31:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “which he is doing.”

[31:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.