Bible Strands
Psalms 72:16
May there be an abundance of grain in the land; may it sway atop the hills. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon, the people of its cities like the grass of the field.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist concludes a royal prayer by petitioning for the king’s longevity and the nation’s agricultural prosperity.
The words — פִּסַּת (fi.sat) means a full measure or abundance, and יִרְעַשׁ (yir.'Ash) means to shake or sway, describing grain stalks bending under their own weight.
The thread — The motif of land yielding fruit and multiplying people appears in 1 Kings 4:20, the uncountable crowds of Revelation 7:9, and the promised offspring of Job 5:25.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to recognize that national stability and material provision are contingent upon divine blessing on just leadership, not human achievement.
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
There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 4:20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.
- Revelation 7:9 After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
- Job 5:25 You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
- Job 8:7 Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
- Psalms 72:6 May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
- Psalms 92:12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
- Psalms 104:16 The trees of the LORD have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,
- Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Isaiah 29:17 In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
- Isaiah 30:23 Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.