Psalms 104:12
in Psalms 104The birds of the air nest beside the springs; they sing among the branches.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation; They sing among the branches.
KJV
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
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This verse in Psalms 104
Commentary
11 notes on this verseOver them the birds of heaven shall dwell. Remember the parable of the mustard seed, and the birds that dwell in it. From the midst of the rocks they shall give voice. Each thing in its own tongue praises the Lord. In the Hebrew it has "of the trees."
This site's exposition
He sends forth springs in the valleys
on Psalms 104:10-13
The springs run where no man dug them, and every beast of the field drinks. The wild donkey is named too, an animal that serves nobody and drinks all the same. Birds nest beside the springs and sing in the branches.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then the Psalm goes on in its text, "Upon them the fowls of the heaven shall inhabit" [Psalm 104:12]. ...Upon the mountains, then, the fowls of the air shall have their habitation. We see these birds dwell upon the mountains, but many of them dwell in plains, many in valleys, many in groves, many in gardens, not all upon mountains. There are some fowls that dwell not save on the mountains. Some spiritual souls doth this name denote. Fowls are spiritual hearts, which enjoy the free air. In the clearness of heaven these birds delight, yet their feeding is on the mountains, there will they dwell. Ye know the mountains, they have been already treated of. Mountains are Prophets, mountains are Apostles, mountains are all preachers of the truth. ...But think not that those "fowls of heaven" follow their own authority; see what the Psalm saith: "From the midst of the rocks they shall give their voice." Now, if I shall say to you, Believe, for this said Cicero, this said Plato, this said Pythagoras: which of you will not laugh at me? For I shall be a bird that shall send forth my voice not from the rock. What ought each one of you to say to me? what ought he who is thus instructed to say? "If any one shall have preached unto you a gospel other than that ye have received, let him be anathema." What dost thou tell me of Plato, and of Cicero, and of Virgil? Thou hast before thee the rocks of the mountains, from the midst of the rocks give me thy voice. Let them be heard, who hear from the rock: let them be heard, because also in those many rocks the One Rock is heard: for "the Rock was Christ." Let them therefore be willingly heard, giving their voice from the midst of the rocks. Nothing is sweeter than such a voice of birds. They sound, and the rocks resound: they sound; spiritual men discuss: the rocks resound, testimonies of Scripture give answer. Lo! […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
From the midst of the rocks they shall give forth their voices. That is, from the midst of the two cherubim of which the Lord speaks, meaning from the space between them, that is, from the midst of the Two Testaments. The third firmness of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): By the springs that run among the hills some of the fowls of heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. They sing, according to their capacity, to the honour of their Creator and benefactor, and their singing may shame our silence.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,.... Another use of the springs, fountains, and rivers of water; by the sides and on the shores of these, some birds delight to be, and on trees that grow here do they build their nests; and here, having wetted their throats, they sit, and chirp, and sing: to doves, by rivers of water, is the allusion in Son 5:12. Which sing among the branches; of trees that grow by the sides of fountains and rivers; see Eze 17:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Once destructive, these waters are subjected to the service of God's creatures. In rain and dew from His chambers (compare Ps 104:3), and fountains and streams, they give drink to thirsting animals and fertilize the soil.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. How refreshing are these words! What happy memories they arouse of splashing waterfalls and entangled boughs, where the merry din of the falling and rushing water forms a sort of solid background of music, and the sweet tuneful notes of the birds are the brighter and more flashing lights in the harmony. Pretty birdies, sing on! What better can ye do, and who can do it better? When we too drink of the river of God, and eat of the fruit of the tree of fife, it well becomes us to "sing among the branches." Where ye dwell ye sing; and shall not we rejoice in the Lord, who has been our dwelling place in all generations. As ye fly from bough to bough, ye warble forth your notes, and so will we as we flit through time into eternity. It is not meet that birds of Paradise should be outdone by birds of earth.
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. How refreshing are these words! What happy memories they arouse of splashing waterfalls and entangled boughs, where the merry din of the falling and rushing water forms a sort of solid background of music, and the sweet tuneful notes of the birds are the brighter and more flashing lights in the harmony. Pretty birdies, sing on! What better can ye do, and who can do it better?
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation - All fowls love verdure, and have their residence where they can find wood and water.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation - Among them the fowls of the air dwell. That is, among the trees which spring up by the fountains and water-courses. The whole picture is full of animation and beauty. Which sing among the branches - Margin, as in Hebrew, “give a voice.” Their voice is heard - their sweet music - in the foliage of the trees which grow on the margin of the streams and by the fountains. There is scarcely to be found a more beautiful poetic image than this.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Beside them the fowl of the heavens dwell Beside the springs.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֲ֭לֵיהֶם | ʾaleihem | at them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עוֹף־ | ʾof- | [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| יִשְׁכּ֑וֹן | yishkon | it dwells | H7931 → | 129 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ין | mibein | from between | H996 → | 407 times |
| עֳ֝פָאיִ֗ם | ʾofayim | foliage | H6073 → | |
| יִתְּנוּ־ | yitenu- | they give forth | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| קֽוֹל׃ | kol | voice | H6963 → | 506 times |
עֲ֭לֵיהֶםat them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
עוֹף־[the] bird[s] of
ʾof-H5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֣יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
יִשְׁכּ֑וֹןit dwells
yishkonH7931 →129 times
מִבֵּ֥יןfrom between
mibeinH996 →407 times
עֳ֝פָאיִ֗םfoliage
ʾofayimH6073 →
יִתְּנוּ־they give forth
yitenu-H5414 →2011 times
קֽוֹל׃voice
kolH6963 →506 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 6:26Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
it leads to
- Psalms 147:9
He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 38:41
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 10:29–31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
- Luke 12:24–32
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!
- Psalms 145:15–16
The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season.
- Psalms 147:9
Through
Psalms 147:9He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
it leads to
- Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 104:27–28
All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.
- Luke 12:24
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 6:26
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 104; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 30, on Psalm 103; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.