Psalms 107:38
in Psalms 107He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; And he suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
KJV
He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
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This verse in Psalms 107
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHe blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly,.... Not only their fields and vineyards are blessed with an increase, but these husbandmen themselves; as man at his first creation was bid to do, being blessed of God; and as the Israelites were in Egypt, Gen 1:28 and which may spiritually denote the great number of converts to Christian churches, especially in the latter day, Jer 30:
This site's exposition
He turns rivers into deserts
on Psalms 107:33-38
He turns rivers into deserts and fruitful land into fields of salt, and verse 34 gives the reason, the wickedness of the people. Verse 35 turns it the other way, with pools of water where the desert was, and the hungry settle there. He blesses them, and they multiply.
This site's exposition
they multiply greatly
Bless and multiply stand together as at Genesis 1:28, and Exodus 1:7 says the people of Israel multiplied greatly in Egypt. Deuteronomy 7:13 promises that He will bless their herds. The blessing comes from the LORD.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And He settled there the hungry, and they established a city for habitation, the church. There He sowed fields according to the fallen seed into good and rich land yielding a hundredfold, and planted vineyards. For the vines are the disciples of the Lord, who also bore fruit of birth. And He blessed them and they multiplied greatly. But the Lord, who saves both humans and animals, did not deem the smallest among them to be insignificant; for it is written: "And He did not diminish their cattle."
"And He blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly, and their cattle were not diminished" [Psalm 107:38]. This standeth. For "the foundation of God standeth sure; because the Lord knoweth them that are His." [2 Timothy 2:19] They are called "beasts of burden," and "cattle," that walk simply in the Church, yet are useful; not much learned, but full of faith. Therefore, whether spiritual or carnal, "He blessed them."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He blesses them also, so that they are, in a little time, multiplied greatly, and he diminishes not their cattle. As in the beginning, so still it is, by the blessing of God, that the earth and all the creatures increase and multiply ( Gen. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
When we are in any of these or the like distresses it will be comfortable to sing this psalm, with application; but, if we be not, others are, and have been, of whose deliverances it becomes us to give God the glory, for we are members one of another. Exhortation to Celebrate God's Praises. 1 O give thanks unto the L ORD , for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Those that were hungry are made to dwell in fruitful lands; there they take root, and gain a settlement, and prepare a city for habitation for themselves and theirs after them.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He punishes the wicked by destroying the sources of fertility, or, in mercy, gives fruitfulness to deserts, which become the homes of a busy and successful agricultural population. By a permitted misrule and tyranny, this scene of prosperity is changed to one of adversity.
He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. God's blessing is everything. It not only makes men happy, but it makes men themselves, by causing men to be multiplied upon the earth. When the Lord made the first pair he blessed them and said "be fruitful and multiply", and here he restores the primeval blessing. Observe that beasts as well as men fare well when God favours his people: they share with men in the goodness or severity of divine providence. Plagues and pests are warded off from the flock and the herd when the Lord means well towards a people; but when chastisement is intended, the flocks and herds rot from off the face of the earth. O that nations in the day of their prosperity would but own the gracious hand of God, for it is to his blessing that they owe their all.
He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. God's blessing is everything. It not only makes men happy, but it makes men themselves, by causing men to be multiplied upon the earth. When the Lord made the first pair he blessed them and said "be fruitful and multiply", and here he restores the primeval blessing. Observe that beasts as well as men fare well when God favours his people: they share with men in the goodness or severity of divine providence.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He blesseth them also - In the manner immediately specified. So that they are multiplied greatly - This was regarded as one of the highest blessings which God could confer, and hence, it was so often promised by him to the patriarchs, as a proof of his favor, that their seed should be as the stars of heaven, and as the sand upon the sea-shore. Gen 13:16; Gen 22:17; Gen 26:4; Gen 32:12. And suffereth not their cattle to decrease - The keeping of herds of cattle was also an important point in husbandry, and hence, it was a blessing that they were made to increase, and that they were kept from the diseases to which cattle are subject.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְבָרֲכֵ֣ם | vayvarakhem | and he blessed them | H1288 → | 330 times |
| וַיִּרְבּ֣וּ | vaiyirbu | and they multiplied | H7235 → | 227 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וּ֝בְהֶמְתָּ֗ם | uvehemtam | and cattle their | H929 → | 190 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַמְעִֽיט׃ | yamit | he made few | H4591 → |
וַיְבָרֲכֵ֣םand he blessed them
vayvarakhemH1288 →330 times
וַיִּרְבּ֣וּand they multiplied
vaiyirbuH7235 →227 times
מְאֹ֑דexceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
וּ֝בְהֶמְתָּ֗םand cattle their
uvehemtamH929 →190 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַמְעִֽיט׃he made few
yamitH4591 →
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
Genesis 12:2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 7:9
I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land.
- Galatians 3:14
He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
- Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Genesis 17:4–6
“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
- Genesis 28:3–4
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
- 2 Samuel 7:9
Through
Deuteronomy 7:14You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 23:26–33
No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.
- Psalms 127:3
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
- Deuteronomy 28:4
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 107; 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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 28:212-15.