He rained also meat on them as the dust; winged birds as the sand of the seas.
Parallel translations
- KJV He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
- BSB He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
- NKJV He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
- NASB When He rained meat upon them like the dust, Even winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
- NLT He rained down meat as thick as dust— birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!
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 rained meat as abundantly as dust and birds as numerous as sand. His provision overflowed beyond measure.
Overview
The hyperbolic images of dust and sand stress the sheer abundance of quail God sent. He answered their demand for meat lavishly, leaving no room to doubt His power. Yet, as the following verses show, abundance without faith becomes a snare rather than a blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 16:12–13“I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’”
- Num 11:18–19“Say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, and you will eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you will eat.
- Num 11:32The people rose up all that day, and all of that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails. He who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all out for themselves around the camp.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 78:27 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.