Psalms 105:34
in Psalms 105He spoke, and the locusts came— young locusts without number.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He spake, and the locust came, And the grasshopper, and that without number,
KJV
He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,
⋯
This verse in Psalms 105
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe spake, and the locusts came,.... A great army of them, and covered the land, that it was even darkened by them; and were such as had never been seen before, or ever were since; this is the eighth plague, Exo 10:12, with these compare the locusts in Rev 9:
This site's exposition
gave them hail for rain
on Psalms 105:32-36
Hail and lightning break the vines and fig trees, and locusts finish whatever is left green. Two of the ten plagues never appear, the livestock sickness at Exodus 9:3 and the boils at Exodus 9:9. The firstborn are called the first of Egypt's own manly strength.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"He spoke the word, and the locust came, and the caterpillar, of which there was no number" [Psalm 105:34]. The locusts and the caterpillars are one plague: of which the one is the parent, the other the offspring.
"He spoke the word, and the locust came, and the caterpillar, of which there was no number" [Psalm 105:34]. The locusts and the caterpillars are one plague: of which the one is the parent, the other the offspring.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
God did not bring the same plague twice, but, when there was occasion for another, it was still a new one; for he has many arrows in his quiver. Locusts and caterpillars are God's armies; and, how weak soever they are singly, he can raise such numbers of them as to make them formidable, Joel i.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Or, rather, the "darkness" here is figurative (Jer 13:16), the literal plague of darkness (Ex 10:22, 23) being only alluded to as the symbol of God's wrath which overhung Egypt as a dark cloud during all the plagues. Hence, it is placed first, out of the historical order. Thus, "They rebelled not (that is, no longer) against His word," refers to the Egyptians.
He spoke, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number. One word from the Captain and the armies leap forward. The expression is very striking, and sets forth the immediate result of the divine word. The caterpillar is called the licker, because it seems to lick up every green thing as in a moment. Perhaps the caterpillar here meant is still the locust in another form. That locusts swarm in countless armies is a fact of ordinary observation, and the case would be worse on this occasion. We have ourselves ridden for miles through armies of locusts, and we have seen with our own eyes how completely they devour every green thing. The description is not strained when we read, "And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground." Nothing escapes these ravenous creatures, they even climb the trees to reach any remnant of foliage which may survive. Commissioned as these were by God, we may be sure they would do their work thoroughly, and leave behind them nothing but a desolate wilderness.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He spoke, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number. One word from the Captain and the armies leap forward. The expression is very striking, and sets forth the immediate result of the divine word. The caterpillar is called the licker, because it seems to lick up every green thing as in a moment. Perhaps the caterpillar here meant is still the locust in another form. That locusts swarm in countless armies is a fact of ordinary observation, and the case would be worse on this occasion.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֭מַר | ʾamar | he spoke | H559 → | 5305 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֣א | vaiyavo' | and it came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אַרְבֶּ֑ה | ʾarbeh | locust[s] | H697 → | 24 times |
| וְ֝יֶ֗לֶק | veyelek | and locust[s] | H3218 → | |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מִסְפָּֽר׃ | mispar | [was] a number | H4557 → | 134 times |
אָ֭מַרhe spoke
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
וַיָּבֹ֣אand it came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אַרְבֶּ֑הlocust[s]
ʾarbehH697 →24 times
וְ֝יֶ֗לֶקand locust[s]
veyelekH3218 →
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מִסְפָּֽר׃[was] a number
misparH4557 →134 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Joel 2:25I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:6
I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them.…
- Joel 1:4–7
What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joel 2:2–11
a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be…
- Zechariah 10:6
Through
Psalms 78:46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
it leads to
- Exodus 10:12–15
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has…
- Psalms 105:34–35
He spoke, and the locusts came— young locusts without number.
- Revelation 9:2–11
The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the…
- Amos 7:1–2
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.
- Exodus 10:12–15
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 105; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.