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He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.
Psalms 72:6 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
  • BSB May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
  • NKJV He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.
  • NASB May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth.
  • NLT May the king’s rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass, like the showers that water the earth.

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 king's coming is likened to refreshing rain on mown grass, bringing life and renewal.

Overview

His rule descends gently and life-givingly, like showers that revive the earth. The image conveys blessing, refreshment, and quiet power rather than harsh domination. Such gracious, life-giving reign points to Christ, whose coming brings refreshment and renewal to a weary world (Hosea 6:3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Hos 6:3Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
  • Deut 32:2My doctrine will drop as the rain. My speech will condense as the dew, as the misty rain on the tender grass, as the showers on the herb.
  • 2 Sam 23:4shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through clear shining after rain.’
  • Hos 14:5–7I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
  • Ps 65:10You drench its furrows. You level its ridges. You soften it with showers. You bless it with a crop.
  • Isa 14:3–5It will happen in the day that Yahweh will give you rest from your sorrow, from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve,
  • Prov 16:15In the light of the king’s face is life. His favor is like a cloud of the spring rain.
  • Isa 5:6I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned nor hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”
  • Ezek 34:23–26I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
  • Prov 19:12The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 72:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 72:6 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.