Isaiah 55:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 55:10
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
a shower · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
down
יֵרֵד֩ye.Red
H3381
to descend (literally · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
snow
וְהַשֶּׁ֜לֶגve.ha.She.leg
H7950
snow (probably from its whiteness) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
heaven
הַשָּׁמַ֗יִםha.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
returneth
יָשׁ֔וּבya.Shuv
H7725
to turn back (hence · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
watereth
הִרְוָ֣הhir.Vah
H7301
to slake the thirst (occasionally of other appetites) · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
earth
הָאָ֔רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
forth
וְהוֹלִידָ֖הּve.ho.li.Dah
H3205
to bear young · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
bud
וְהִצְמִיחָ֑הּve.hitz.mi.Chah
H6779
to sprout (transitive or intransitive · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
give
וְנָ֤תַןve.Na.tan
H5414
to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
seed
זֶ֙רַע֙ze.ra'
H2233
seed · noun, common masculine singular absolute
sower
לַזֹּרֵ֔עַla.zo.Re.a'
H2232
to sow · preposition with the article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
bread
וְלֶ֖חֶםve.Le.chem
H3899
food (for man or beast) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
eater
לָאֹכֵֽלla.'o.Khel
H398
to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Corinthians 9:9-11 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
Deuteronomy 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the g…
Isaiah 30:23 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…
Ezekiel 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be s…
Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain right…
Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will caus…
Psalms 65:9-13 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn,…
1 Samuel 23:4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 55:6–end
We have here a further account of that covenant of grace which is made with us in Jesus Christ, both what is required and what is promised in the covenant, and of those considerations that are sufficient abundantly to confirm our believing compliance with and reliance on that covenant. This gracious discovery of God's good-will to the children of men is not to be confined either to the Jew or to the Gentile, to the Old Testament or to the New, much less to the captives in Babylon. No, both the precepts and the promises are here given to all, to every one that thirsts after happiness, Isa 55:1. And who does not? Hear this, and live.
I. Here is a gracious offer made of pardon, and peace, and a…
The hearts of men, once barren of spirituality, shall be made, by the outpouring of the Spirit under Messiah, to bear fruits of righteousness (Isa 5:6; Deu 32:2; Sa2 23:4; Psa 72:6).
snow--which covers plants from frost in winter; and, when melted in spring, waters the earth.
returneth not--void; as in Isa 55:11; it returns not in the same shape, or without "accomplishing" the desired end.
bud--germinate.
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher - I am persuaded that כ caph, the particle of comparison, is lost in this place, from the likeness of the particle כי ki, immediately preceding it. So Houbigant and Secker. And their remark is confirmed by all the ancient Versions, which express it; and by the following passage of Psa 103:11, which is almost the same: -
הארץ על שמים כגבה כי haarets al shamayim chigboah ki יראיו על חסדו גבר yereaiv al chasdo gabar
"For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So high is his goodness over them that fear him."
Where, by the nature of the sentence, the verb in the second line ought to be the same with that in the first; גבה gabah, not גבר gabar: so Archbishop Sec…
For the rain and the snow do not return to heaven but accomplish in the earth the will of him that sends them. So the word that he shall send through his Christ, who is himself the Word and the Message, shall return to him with great power. For when he shall come and bring it, he shall come down like rain and snow, and through him all that is sown shall spring up and bear righteous fruit, and the word shall return to his sender; but not in vain shall his going have been, but thus shall he say in the presence of his sender, "Behold, I and the children that the Lord has given me." And this is the voice through which the dead shall live. And this is the voice of God that shall sound from on high and raise up all the dead.
(Verse 10, 11) And how does rain and snow descend from the sky, and it will not return there until it has soaked the earth and makes it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread for eating. So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it. LXX: Just as the rain and snow descend from the sky and do not return until they have soaked the earth, causing it to bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread for eating. So shall my word be that comes out of my mouth; it will not return until it accomplishes what I desire, and I will make its ways prosperous and fulfill my commands. Based on what has been said earlier, the meaning here is briefly: may the people of the nations not be incredulous, that after so many wicked deeds the impious may suddenly be saved. For my thoughts are not the same as human thoughts, and as far as the heavens are from the earth, so are my thoughts separated from human thoughts. For I am most merciful and abundant in forgiving. Would you like to hear another similarity? Just as rain and snow descend from the sky and do not return there but drench the earth, and make it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish what I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. According to the twofold interpretation of anagoge, the word of the Lord can refer to that one of whom it is written: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). He who does not turn to him empty, unless he has done the will of the Father; and has completed all things for which he was incarnate, and has reconciled the world to God. He who is said to come forth from the mouth, and from the womb and birth canal: not that God has these members, but that we learn the nature of the Lord through our words. Or certainly this must be said, that the sermon of the Gospel doctrine is called a shower, and the rains that are poured out upon good earth, spiritual clouds, to which the truth of God reaches. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses promises rain and showers, saying: Let the earth hear the words of my mouth; let my speech come down as the…
Dictionary and topics
Bread · Yielded by the earth — Yielded by the earth
Rain · Illustrative: Of the word of God — Illustrative: Of the word of God
Seed · Required to be watered by the rain — Required to be watered by the rain
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,.... Rain and snow come down from the clouds in the heavens, and do not return again until they have done what they are sent to do, or have produced the following effects; otherwise they may be exhaled into vapours, as they often are, and drawn up again by the sun:
but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud; or, "inebriateth the earth" (n); soaks into it, and reaches the seed that is sown in it, and causes that to spring up, and rise into stalk and ear:
that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; produce a sufficiency for food both for man and beast, and enough for seed to sow the…
Surely, as the rain cometh down. After having spoken of God's tender affection and inconceivable forbearance towards us, he again brings forward the promises, that, by relying on them, we may banish all doubt of being free from every danger. It would be of little avail to speak to us about the nature or the secret purpose of God, if we were not reminded of "the word," by which he reveals himself. Now, God speaks openly to us, so that it is unnecessary to make longer inquiry. We must therefore come to the word, in which his will is declared without obscurity, provided that all our senses are confined within those limits; for otherwise we remain in suspense, and doubt what he has determined co…
This is set forth under a figure drawn from the rain and the snow. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, till it has moistened the earth, and fertilized it, and made it green, and offered seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will my word be which goeth forth out of my mouth: it will not return to me fruitless, till it has accomplished that which I willed, and prosperously carried out that for which I sent it." The rain and snow come down from the sky, and return not thither till they have .... The perfects after אם כּי are all to be understood as such (Ewald, 356, a). Rain and snow return as vapour to the sky, but not without having first…
The Creator not only sends rain and snow but also his word (Hebrew dabar). In this context, dabar means his will or plan (see 14:24; 40:8). God’s written word, as an expression of God’s plan, accomplishes his purposes. God is effective in whatever he does (see 14:26-27; 46:10).
Rashi on Isaiah 55:10
For, just as the rain and the snow fall and do not return empty, but do good for you.
