Deuteronomy 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ¹ 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

Deuteronomy 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ² 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

Deuteronomy 23:4

23:4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired ³  Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

Job 29:19

29:19 My roots reach the water,

and the dew lies on my branches all night long.

Psalms 72:6

72:6 He ⁴  will descend like rain on the mown grass, ⁵ 

like showers that drench ⁶  the earth. ⁷ 

Proverbs 19:12

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ⁸  the roar of a lion, ⁹ 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 18:4

18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait ¹¹  and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ¹² 

like a cloud of mist ¹³  in the heat ¹⁴  of harvest.” ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 26:19

26:19 ¹⁶ Your dead will come back to life;

your corpses will rise up.

Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! ¹⁷ 

For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, ¹⁸ 

and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 44:3

44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground ²⁰ 

and cause streams to flow ²¹  on the dry land.

I will pour my spirit on your offspring

and my blessing on your children.

Micah 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ²²  Jacob will live ²³ 

in the midst of many nations. ²⁴ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ²⁵ 

[32:2]  ¹ tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[32:2]  ² tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[23:4]  ³ tn Heb “hired against you.”

[72:6]  ⁴ tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).

[72:6]  ⁵ tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.

[72:6]  ⁶ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to be an otherwise unattested noun. Many prefer to emend the form to a verb from the root זָרַף (zaraf). BHS in textual note b on this verse suggests a Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural יַזְרִיפוּ (yazrifu), while HALOT 283 s.v. *זרף prefers a Pilpel perfect, third masculine plural זִרְזְפוּ (zirzÿfu). The translation assumes the latter.

[72:6]  ⁷ sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

[19:12]  ⁸ sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ¹⁰ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

[18:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”

[18:4]  ¹² tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.

[18:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”

[18:4]  ¹⁴ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”

[18:4]  ¹⁵ sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.

[26:19]  ¹⁶ sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.

[26:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.

[26:19]  ¹⁹ sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).

[44:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)

[44:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[5:7]  ²² tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ²³ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ²⁴ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”