I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
- BSB I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
- NKJV I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
- NASB I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
- NLT I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon.
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 promises to be like refreshing dew so Israel will blossom and take deep, strong roots. It pictures the flourishing life that comes from God's renewing grace.
Overview
Dew brought life-giving moisture in a dry land, symbolizing God's reviving presence. The lily blossoming and roots like those of Lebanon depict both beauty and stability restored by grace. This abundant flourishing is the fruit of reconciliation with God, foreshadowing the life believers have in Christ who is the source of their fruitfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 35:2It 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.
- Isa 27:6He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
- Eph 3:17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Matt 6:28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
- Isa 44:3For 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:
- Job 29:19My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.
- Isa 26:19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
- Mic 5:7And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
- Deut 32:2My 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 grass:
- 2 Sam 23:4And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.
- 2 Kgs 19:30And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
- Ezek 17:22–24Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
- Ps 72:6He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
- Prov 19:12The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
- Ps 72:16There 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.
- Song 4:5Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
- Luke 12:27Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
- Isa 18:4For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
- Song 2:1–2I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
- Song 2:16My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
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
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 14:5 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.