“He had him ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He had him suck honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock,
Parallel translations
- WEB He made him ride on the high places of the earth. He ate the increase of the field. He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, oil out of the flinty rock;
- KJV He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;
- BSB He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
- NKJV “Hemade him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock;
- NLT He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God lifted Israel to the high places and fed them with the produce of the land, honey from the rock and oil from flinty stone. It matters because it celebrates God's lavish provision in the land.
Overview
The imagery of riding the heights and drawing sweetness even from rock depicts God's abundant, even surprising, generosity. Such blessings were entirely God's gift, not Israel's achievement. This bounty illustrates God's grace, foreshadowing the spiritual riches lavished on His people in Christ, from whom every good gift flows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 58:14then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father:” for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.
- Job 29:6when my steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured out streams of oil for me,
- Ps 81:16But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
- Deut 33:26“There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies.
- Deut 33:29You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
- Ezek 36:2Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because the enemy has said against you, Aha! and, The ancient high places are ours in possession;
- Isa 48:21They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
- Ezek 21:17I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 32:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.