They will sprout among the grass like willows by flowing streams.
Parallel translations
- WEB and they will spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
- KJV And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
- NKJV They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.’
- NASB And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.’
- NLT They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.
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
The blessed offspring will flourish like grass and willows by flowing streams. It pictures the vigorous, abundant life that the Spirit brings.
Overview
Where God pours His Spirit, His people thrive like well-watered plants. The imagery conveys growth, vitality, and security. This flourishing of the Spirit-blessed people anticipates the fruitful life Christ gives to those who abide in Him as branches in the vine.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 58:11The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Ps 1:3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- Ps 92:13–15Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Ezek 17:5He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil; he placed it by abundant waters and set it out like a willow.
- Acts 4:4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
- Ps 137:1–2By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
- Isa 61:11For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
- Acts 2:41–47Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.
- Acts 5:14Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.
- Lev 23:40On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
- Job 40:22The lotus plants conceal him in their shade; the willows of the brook surround him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 44:4 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.