Deuteronomy 32:2 BSB

Deuteronomy 32:2

Let my teaching fall like rain and my speech settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

My doctrine shall drop as the rain; My speech shall distil as the dew, As the small rain upon the tender grass, And as the showers upon the herb.

KJV

My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

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Commentary

3 voices

Origen of Alexandria

HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 16.2.3.See also AMBROSE ON DEUTERONOMY 28:12 (253)

Therefore let us seek in the Scriptures what is "the rain" which is given only to the saints and concerning which "it is commanded to the clouds that they do not pour their rain" upon the unjust. Therefore Moses and the Lawgiver himself teach us what this rain is. For he himself says in Deuteronomy, "Consider, O heaven, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words from my mouth; let my speech be awaited like rain." Are these words my speech? Do we pervert violently the meaning of divine law by arguments of rhetoric?

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

"It shall be a beating sweeping rain to the rebellious;" so one of the Chaldee paraphrasts expounds the first clause. Rain is sometimes sent for judgment, witness that with which the world was deluged; and so the word of God, while to some it is reviving and refreshing--a savour of life unto life, is to others terrifying and killing--a savour of death unto death.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

My doctrine - לקחי likchi, from לקח lakach, to take, carry away; to attract or gain over the heart by eloquence or persuasive speech. Hence the Septuagint translate the word αποφθεγμα, an apophthegm, a sententious and weighty saying, for the regulation of the moral conduct such, properly, are the sayings in this inimitable ode. Shall drop as the rain - It shall come drop by drop as the shower, beginning slowly and distinctly, but increasing more and more till the plenitude of righteousness is poured down, and the whole canon of Divine revelation completed.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

12 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
יַעֲרֹ֤ף	ya.'a.Rof	may it drop	H6201 →
כַּמָּטָר֙	ka.ma.Tar	like the rain	H4306 →
לִקְחִ֔י	lik.Chi	teaching my	H3948 →
תִּזַּ֥ל	ti.Zal	may it distil	H5140 →
כַּטַּ֖ל	ka.Tal	like the dew	H2919 →
אִמְרָתִ֑י	'im.ra.Ti	speech my	H565 →
כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם	kis.'i.Rim	like showers of rain	H8164 →
עֲלֵי־	'a.lei-	on	H5921 →
דֶ֔שֶׁא	De.she'	grass	H1877 →
וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים	ve.khir.vi.Vim	and like copious showers	H7241 →
עֲלֵי־	'a.lei-	on	H5921 →
עֵֽשֶׂב׃	'E.sev	vegetation	H6212 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Hosea 14:5
I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
leads to
- Isaiah 35:2
  It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the…
- Isaiah 27:6
  In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit.
- Ephesians 3:17
  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Matthew 6:28
  And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.
Through
Psalms 72:6
May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
leads to
- Hosea 6:3
  So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water…
Through
Micah 5:7
Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.
leads to
- Psalms 72:6
  May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
- Isaiah 44:3
  For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Micah 5:3
  Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel.

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Continue: Deuteronomy 32 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Deuteronomy

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Deuteronomy