Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Psalms » Chapter 72 » Verse 16

Psalms 72:16 King James Version (KJV)

16 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.


Psalms 72:16 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

16 There shall be an handful H6451 of corn H1250 in the earth H776 upon the top H7218 of the mountains; H2022 the fruit H6529 thereof shall shake H7493 like Lebanon: H3844 and they of the city H5892 shall flourish H6692 like grass H6212 of the earth. H776


Psalms 72:16 American Standard (ASV)

16 There shall be abundance of grain 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.


Psalms 72:16 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

16 There is a handful of corn in the earth, On the top of mountains, Shake like Lebanon doth its fruit, And they flourish out of the city as the herb of the earth.


Psalms 72:16 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

16 There shall be abundance of corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the city shall bloom like the herb of the earth.


Psalms 72:16 World English Bible (WEB)

16 There shall be abundance of grain throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field.


Psalms 72:16 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

16 May there be wide-stretching fields of grain in the land, shaking on the top of the mountains, full of fruit like Lebanon: may its stems be unnumbered like the grass of the earth.

Cross Reference

Isaiah 32:20 KJV

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

Revelation 7:9 KJV

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

1 Corinthians 3:6-9 KJV

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

Acts 4:4 KJV

Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

Acts 2:41 KJV

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Acts 1:15 KJV

And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Mark 16:15-16 KJV

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Matthew 13:31-33 KJV

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Hosea 14:5-7 KJV

I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

Jeremiah 33:22 KJV

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

Isaiah 44:3-5 KJV

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

Isaiah 35:2 KJV

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

Isaiah 32:15 KJV

Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

Isaiah 30:23 KJV

Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.

Isaiah 29:17 KJV

Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?

Isaiah 2:2-3 KJV

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Psalms 104:16 KJV

The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

Psalms 92:12-14 KJV

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

Psalms 72:6 KJV

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

Job 8:7 KJV

Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Job 5:25 KJV

Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.

1 Kings 4:20 KJV

Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

Revelation 7:14 KJV

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Commentary on Psalms 72 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


PSALM 72

Ps 72:1-19. For, or literally, "of Solomon." The closing verse rather relates to the second book of Psalms, of which this is the last, and was perhaps added by some collector, to intimate that the collection, to which, as chief author, David's name was appended, was closed. In this view, these may consistently be the productions of others included, as of Asaph, sons of Korah, and Solomon; and a few of David's may be placed in the latter series. The fact that here the usual mode of denoting authorship is used, is strongly conclusive that Solomon was the author, especially as no stronger objection appears than what has been now set aside. The Psalm, in highly wrought figurative style, describes the reign of a king as "righteous, universal, beneficent, and perpetual." By the older Jewish and most modern Christian interpreters, it has been referred to Christ, whose reign, present and prospective, alone corresponds with its statements. As the imagery of the second Psalm was drawn from the martial character of David's reign, that of this is from the peaceful and prosperous state of Solomon's.

1. Give the king, &c.—a prayer which is equivalent to a prediction.

judgments—the acts, and (figuratively) the principles of a right government (Joh 5:22; 9:39).

righteousness—qualifications for conducting such a government.

king's son—same person as a king—a very proper title for Christ, as such in both natures.

2, &c. The effects of such a government by one thus endowed are detailed.

thy people … and thy poor—or, "meek," the pious subjects of his government.

3. As mountains and hills are not usually productive, they are here selected to show the abundance of peace, being represented as

bringing—or, literally, "bearing" it as a produce.

by righteousness—that is, by means of his eminently just and good methods of ruling.

4. That peace, including prosperity, as an eminent characteristic of Christ's reign (Isa 2:4; Isa 9:6; 11:9), will be illustrated in the security provided for the helpless and needy, and the punishment inflicted on oppressors, whose power to injure or mar the peace of others will be destroyed (compare Isa 65:25; Zec 9:10).

children of the needy—for the needy (compare sons of strangers, Ps 18:45 [Margin]).

5. as long as … endure—literally, "with the sun," coeval with its existence, and before, or, in presence of the moon, while it lasts (compare Ge 11:28, "before Terah," literally, "in presence of," while he lived).

6. A beautiful figure expresses the grateful nature of His influence;

7, and, carrying out the figure, the results are described in an abundant production.

the righteous—literally, "righteousness."

flourish—literally, "sprout," or, "spring forth."

8. The foreign nations mentioned (Ps 72:9, 10) could not be included in the limits, if designed to indicate the boundaries of Solomon's kingdom. The terms, though derived from those used (Ex 23:31; De 11:24) to denote the possessions of Israel, must have a wider sense. Thus, "ends of the earth" is never used of Palestine, but always of the world (compare Margin).

9-11. The extent of the conquests.

They that dwell in the wilderness—the wild, untutored tribes of deserts.

bow … dust—in profound submission. The remotest and wealthiest nations shall acknowledge Him (compare Ps 45:12).

12-14. They are not the conquests of arms, but the influences of humane and peaceful principles (compare Isa 9:7; 11:1-9; Zec 9:9, 10).

15. In his prolonged life he will continue to receive the honorable gifts of the rich, and the prayers of his people shall be made for him, and their praises given to him.

16. The spiritual blessings, as often in Scripture, are set forth by material, the abundance of which is described by a figure, in which a "handful" (or literally, "a piece," or small portion) of corn in the most unpropitious locality, shall produce a crop, waving in the wind in its luxuriant growth, like the forests of Lebanon.

they of the city … earth—This clause denotes the rapid and abundant increase of population—

of—or, "from"

the city—Jerusalem, the center and seat of the typical kingdom.

flourish—or, glitter as new grass—that is, bloom. This increase corresponds with the increased productiveness. So, as the gospel blessings are diffused, there shall arise increasing recipients of them, out of the Church in which Christ resides as head.

17. His name—or, "glorious perfections."

as long as the sun—(Compare Ps 72:5).

men shall be blessed—(Ge 12:3; 18:18).

18, 19. These words close the Psalm in terms consistent with the style of the context, while Ps 72:20 is evidently, from its prosaic style, an addition for the purpose above explained [see on Ps 72:1].

20. ended—literally, "finished," or completed; the word never denotes fulfilment, except in a very late usage, as in Ezr 1:1; Da 12:7.