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.

Psalms 72:6

72:6 He ²  will descend like rain on the mown grass, ³ 

like showers that drench ⁴  the earth. ⁵ 

Isaiah 4:2

The Branch of the Lord

4:2 At that time ⁶ 

the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; ⁷ 

the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight

to those who remain in Israel. ⁸ 

Micah 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ⁹  Jacob will live ¹⁰ 

in the midst of many nations. ¹¹ 

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. ¹² 

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

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

[72:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[4:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh yÿhvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23;5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23-24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26-29; and Amos 9:13-14).

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹² tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”