נָחָה

Genesis 24:27 נָחַ֣נִי he has led me

saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

Here: To lead or guide, as a shepherd or guide leads someone along a route. The servant reads the whole meeting at the well as God steering his steps to the right family.

Genesis 24:48 הִנְחַ֙נִי֙ he had led me

Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.

Exodus 13:17 נָחָ֣ם he led them

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

Here: 'To guide or lead', with the suffix 'them'. The verb pictures a guide or shepherd choosing the route (Ps 23:3, 'he leads me'). Its sound, nacham, is echoed two clauses later by yinnachem, 'be sorry'.

Exodus 13:21 לַנְחֹתָ֣ם to guide them

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 by day or night.

Here: A causative verb form: 'to lead them'. The same verb is used of a shepherd leading a flock (Ps 23:3) and of God leading Israel (Exod 15:13; Ps 77:20).

Exodus 15:13 נָחִ֥יתָ you have guided

With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.

Here: "You led / you have led." The same verb used for God leading Israel by the pillar of cloud and fire (Exod 13:21) and for the shepherd who "leads me in right paths" (Ps 23:3). The verb form normally marks a completed action, though in this song it may describe what is still ahead as already certain.

Exodus 32:34 נְחֵ֣ה lead

Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”

Here: 'Lead' in the sense of guiding someone along a route, the way a shepherd leads a flock. Until now Exodus has used this verb for God leading Israel (13:17, 21; 15:13). Here the job is handed to Moses.

Numbers 23:7 יַנְחֵ֨נִי he led me

And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

Here: 'He led me.' The verb form usually looks forward, but in Hebrew poetry it often tells past events. Balak 'led' or brought Balaam here. The same verb is used elsewhere for God guiding his people, so there may be a quiet irony: Balak led him, but God is directing the words.

Deuteronomy 32:12 יַנְחֶ֑נּוּ he guided it

The LORD alone led him, and no foreign god was with him.

1 Samuel 22:4 וַיַּנְחֵ֕ם and he led them

So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.

1 Kings 10:26 וַיַּנְחֵם֙ and he led them

Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

2 Kings 18:11 וַיַּנְחֵ֞ם and he led them

The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

Here: And he led them. The picture is a people conducted along a route to a destination. English versions usually say "settled" or "put," but this verb describes the leading. The same verb often describes God guiding his people.

Nehemiah 9:12 הִנְחִיתָ֖ם you led them

You led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they should travel.

Here: A causative form of the verb 'to lead, guide', addressed straight to God ('you'). The same verb is used for a shepherd leading his flock (Ps 23:3; Ps 77:20), and it repeats Exodus 13:21 'to lead them the way'.

Nehemiah 9:19 לְהַנְחֹתָ֣ם to lead them

You in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.

Here: 'To lead / guide them': taking someone along a route the way a shepherd or guide does. The same wording appears in Exod 13:21.

Job 12:23 וַיַּנְחֵֽם׃ and he led them

He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them.

Job 31:18 אַנְחֶֽנָּה׃ I guided her

though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

Job 38:32 תַנְחֵֽם׃ will you guide? them

Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?

Psalm 5:8 נְחֵ֬נִי lead me

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.

Here: A command, 'lead me', using the verb for guiding someone safely along a route, as a shepherd leads a flock or as God led Israel through the wilderness. It asks for a guide on a dangerous road, not only for advice.

Psalm 23:3 יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי he guides me

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.

Here: 'He leads me.' This is the shepherd going in front and setting the route. Israel used the same verb for God guiding the people through the wilderness (Exod 13:21; 15:13). It pairs with 'he leads me' (a different verb, nahal) in verse 2, and the same pair appears in the Song of the Sea (Exod 15:13) and Psalm 31:3.

Psalm 27:11 וּ֭נְחֵנִי and lead me

Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors.

Here: 'And lead me': a guide walking ahead of the traveller. It is the verb used for God leading Israel through the wilderness (Exod 13:21; 15:13) and for the shepherd in Ps 23:3.

Psalm 31:3 תַּֽנְחֵ֥נִי you guide me

For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.

Here: "You lead me" (or "lead me!"). The verb is used for leading along a route, as God led Israel in the wilderness. The form can be a request or a confident statement.

Psalm 43:3 יַנְח֑וּנִי may they lead me

Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain and to the place where You dwell.

Here: "Let them lead me" or "they will lead me". The Hebrew form can be read as a wish or as a confident expectation. The verb is the one used for God guiding Israel through the wilderness (Exod 13:17, 21; 15:13) and for the shepherd in Psalm 23:3.

Psalm 60:9 נָחַ֣נִי has he led me

Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

Psalm 61:2 תַנְחֵֽנִי׃ you will lead me

From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Here: 'You lead me / lead me.' The word is used for a shepherd or guide leading on a path (Ps 23:3; Exod 13:21). The form can be a statement of trust ('you will lead me') or, as most translations take it, a request. The speaker needs to be led because the rock is too high to reach alone.

Psalm 67:4 תַּנְחֵ֣ם you guide them

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples justly and lead the nations of the earth. Selah

Here: 'You lead them.' This is the shepherd's verb from Psalm 23:3 and the Exodus verb for leading Israel (Exodus 15:13). Here it is used of all the nations.

Psalm 73:24 תַנְחֵ֑נִי you guide me

You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.

Here: Causative form of "lead, guide," with "me" attached. The imperfect form describes ongoing or future action: "you lead me / you will lead me." It is the verb of the shepherd in Psalm 23:3 and of the cloud leading Israel through the wilderness (Exod 13:21).

Psalm 77:20 נָחִ֣יתָ you led

You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Here: "You led / you guided." A completed past act (perfect form) addressed straight to God. It is the verb of steering someone along the right way, used for a shepherd with sheep, and the same word Moses' Song of the Sea uses: "you led in your steadfast love the people you redeemed" (Exodus 15:13).

Psalm 78:14 וַיַּנְחֵ֣ם and he guided them

He led them with a cloud by day and with a light of fire all night.

Here: "And he led them." A past-narrative verb form that carries the story on from verse 13: he split the sea, brought them through, and then went on leading them. It is the verb of a guide who goes ahead and shows the way, and it governs both halves of the verse.

Psalm 78:53 וַיַּנְחֵ֣ם and he guided them

He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.

Psalm 78:72 יַנְחֵֽם׃ he led them

So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.

Psalm 107:30 וַ֝יַּנְחֵ֗ם and he guided them

They rejoiced in the silence, and He guided them to the harbor they desired.

Psalm 108:10 נָחַ֣נִי will he lead me

Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

Psalm 139:10 תַנְחֵ֑נִי it will lead me

even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.

Here: 'It will lead me.' This is the verb used for God leading Israel through the wilderness and for the shepherd leading in Psalm 23:3. It means leading someone along a road, not just giving advice.

Psalm 139:24 וּ֝נְחֵ֗נִי and lead me

See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.

Here: "And lead me": the guidance a shepherd or guide gives. It picks up v. 10, "even there your hand will lead me (tanḥēnî)." There God's leading was something the psalmist could not escape. Here he asks for it.

Psalm 143:10 תַּ֝נְחֵ֗נִי may it lead me

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Here: "Lead me / may it lead me". The prefix can mean either "she/it will lead" (with the spirit as subject) or "you will lead" (with God as subject), and either can be a wish. The verb is the one used for God guiding Israel through the wilderness and for a shepherd leading (Exodus 13:17, 21; Psalm 23:3).

Proverbs 6:22 תַּנְחֶ֬ה it will guide

When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

Here: 'She will lead.' The verb is used for a guide who goes ahead and picks the route, the same verb used of God leading Israel by the pillar of cloud and of the shepherd who 'leads me in right paths' (Psalm 23:3). The subject is feminine singular.

Proverbs 11:3 תַּנְחֵ֑ם it guides them

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the faithless destroys them.

Here: 'It leads them.' The picture is a guide leading travellers along a road. The Hebrew verb form describes something that happens again and again, a settled pattern.

Proverbs 18:16 יַנְחֶֽנּוּ׃ it leads him

A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

Here: 'It leads him.' The gift itself is pictured as the guide who escorts the giver into the great man's presence. The same verb is used of God in Ps 23:3, 'he leads me.'

Isaiah 57:18 וְאַנְחֵ֕הוּ and I will lead him

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,

Here: 'And I will lead him' is the language of a shepherd and of the Exodus (Exodus 15:13; Psalm 23:3). The one who kept wandering off on his own path will now be led by God along God's path, which picks up the 'way' to be built in verse 14.

Isaiah 58:11 וְנָחֲךָ֣ and he will lead you

The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Here: To lead someone along a route, the verb used for God leading Israel through the wilderness by the pillar of cloud and fire (Exod 13:17, 21; 15:13). The 'and' ties this promise to the 'if you…' conditions of verses 9b–10.