Bible Strands
Psalms 105:34
He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist recounts God’s judgment against Egypt, describing the moment He issued a command that immediately preceded the swarm after striking their vines and fig trees. This declaration functions within a historical recitation directed at Israel to document divine sovereignty.
The words — The Hebrew אָמַר ('A.mar) means "he spoke," coupled with וַיָּבֹא (va/i.ya.Vo'), "and it came," to demonstrate instant execution. The phrase וְאֵין מִסְפָּר (ve./'Ein mis.Par), "and there was no number," literally establishes the swarm’s uncountable quantity.
The thread — This event aligns with Exodus 10:12, where God directs Moses to extend his hand to bring the locusts over Egypt. The same mechanism appears in Psalms 78:46 and Joel 2:25, where the swarm systematically consumes agricultural produce.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that divine speech produces immediate, unavoidable consequence. It compels the reader to accept that natural forces operate under direct command rather than autonomous chance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,
Cross-references
- Exodus 10:12 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 left behind.”
- Psalms 78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
- Joel 2:25 I 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.
- Joel 1:4 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.
- Revelation 9:3 And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.