Psalms 78:19-20

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ¹ 

“Is God really able to give us food ²  in the wilderness?

78:20 Yes, ³  he struck a rock and water flowed out,

streams gushed forth.

But can he also give us food?

Will he provide meat for his people?”

Ezekiel 34:25

34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely ⁴  in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. ⁵ 

Hosea 13:5

13:5 I cared ⁶  for you in the wilderness,

in the dry desert where no water was. ⁷ 

[78:19]  ¹ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ² tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[78:20]  ³ tn Heb “look.”

[34:25]  ⁴ tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).

[34:25]  ⁵ sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).

[13:5]  ⁶ tc The MT reads יְדַעְתִּיךָ (yÿda’tikha, Qal perfect 1st person common singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix from יָדַע, yada’, “to know”), followed by KJV, ASV (“I did know thee”). The LXX and Syriac reflect an alternate textual tradition of רְעִיתִיךָ (rÿ’it’kha, Qal perfect 1st person common singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix from רָעָה, ra’ah, “to feed”), which is followed by most recent English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[13:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “land of intense drought” or “intensely thirsty land.” The noun תַּלְאֻבוֹת (tal’uvot) occurs in the OT only here. It probably means “drought” (BDB 520 s.v. תַּלְאֻבָה). The related Arabic verb means “to be thirsty” and the related Arabic noun means “a stony tract of land.” The plural form (singular = תַּלְאֻבָה, tal’uvah) is a plural of intensity: “a [land] of intense drought.” The term functions as an attributive genitive, modifying the construct אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”). The phrase is variously rendered: “land of (+ great KJV) drought” (RSV, NASB), “thirsty land” (NJPS), “thirsty desert” (CEV), “dry, desert land” (TEV), and the metonymical (effect for cause) “land of burning heat” (NIV).