Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
- KJV And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
- BSB After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.
- NKJV Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.
- NLT Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.
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
Seven thin heads of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprout up after them.
Overview
The blasted grain mirrors the thin cattle, again picturing years of famine. The hot east wind (the sirocco) was a known destroyer of crops in that region. The parallel imagery reinforces that abundance will give way to scarcity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Hos 13:15Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; and his spring will become dry, and his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
- Ezek 19:12But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong rods were broken off and withered. The fire consumed them.
- Ezek 17:10Yes, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew.”’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 41:6 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.