Psalms 105:35 · Bible study
Psalms 105:35 Commentary: Complete Judgment and Deliverance
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does the psalmist emphasize the locusts consuming every plant and fruit in Egypt? This study explores total divine judgment and deliverance in Psalm 105:35.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The locusts destroyed every green plant and fruit crop in Egypt, as part of God's judgment leading to Israel's exodus.
- Key words: 'Akal (eat/devour), 'esev (herbage/vegetation), peri (fruit/produce), 'adamah (soil/ground).
- Main debate: No significant debate; all commentators agree the verse summarizes the locust plague from Exodus 10.
- Theological theme: God's sovereignty over creation and history, His thorough judgment on Egypt, and His protective deliverance of Israel.
- Best use: Teaching on God's justice and mercy, the Exodus narrative, and how divine judgment can lead to redemption.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They devoured every plant in their land and consumed the produce of their soil.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They ate up every plant in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
KJV King James Version 1769
And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And did eat up every herb in their land, And did eat up the fruit of their ground.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And it consumeth every herb in their land, And it consumeth the fruit of their ground.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And they devoured every herb in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works:
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y comieron toda la hierba de su país, y devoraron el fruto de su tierra.
E comeram toda a erva de sua terra; e devoraram o fruto de seus campos.
Qui dévorèrent toute l’ herbe du pays,
Und sie fraßen alles Gras in ihrem Lande und fraßen die Früchte auf ihrem Felde.
Die al het kruid in hun land opaten, ja, aten de vrucht hunner landbouwe op.
che divorarono tutta l’erba nel loro paese e mangiarono il frutto della loro terra.
I pożarły wszelkie ziele w ziemi ich, a pojadły urodzaje ziemi ich.
но смешались с язычниками и научились делам их;
吃盡了 他們地上 各樣的 菜蔬 和 田地 的出產。
And put an end to all the plants of their land, taking all the fruit of the earth for food.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 105:35
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators read this verse as a summary of the eighth plague, locusts devouring Egypt's vegetation. Barnes notes that the psalmist enumerates plagues in order without additional detail. Gill confirms the connection to Exodus 10:5 and 10:15, where the locusts consume what the hail spared. The Cambridge Bible points out that the Hebrew word for 'herbage' ('esev) includes all plant growth except trees, so the destruction is total. Across traditions, there is no dispute: this verse recounts a historical judgment that God used to compel Pharaoh to release Israel, and the psalmist includes it as one of God's mighty acts in the Exodus story.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The locusts consumed all vegetation in Egypt as a direct act of God's judgment, leading to the exodus of Israel.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the locust plague | All traditions agree it refers to the historical plague in Exodus 10, where locusts consumed the remaining vegetation after the hail (see Ex 10:5,15). | Some see the language as literal description; others allow for poetic hyperbole in 'every plant,' but no significant disagreement. |
| Purpose in the psalm's narrative | The plague is one of God's mighty acts demonstrating His power and faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham. | A few commentators (e.g., Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) discuss the order of plagues in the psalm vs. Exodus, but this does not affect the meaning of v.35. |
| Theological significance | God used the locusts as His instruments to judge Egypt and compel Israel's release. It shows His control over nature. | Some traditions emphasize judgment as a warning to all nations; others focus on God's protective care for His people during judgment. Both are present in the text. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 105 is a historical psalm that rehearses God's covenant faithfulness from Abraham to the conquest of Canaan. Verses 26, 38 recount the plagues in Egypt. The locust plague (Exodus 10:1, 20) came after hail had already destroyed much of the flax and barley (Exodus 9:31). Locusts then devoured what remained, every herb and fruit of the ground. In ancient Egypt, locusts were not unknown, but the scale was unprecedented: they covered the surface of the land so that it was dark, and they ate every green thing (Exodus 10:15). For an agricultural economy, this was catastrophic. The loss meant famine and economic collapse. Moreover, Egyptian religion associated fertility and crops with gods like Osiris and Seth. By using locusts to strip the land, God demonstrated His supremacy over Egypt's deities. The psalmist's emphasis on total consumption serves to highlight the thoroughness of God's judgment. Nothing was left to sustain the Egyptians, while the Israelites in Goshen were spared (Exodus 8:22). This sets the stage for the final, devastating plague on the firstborn (v. 36), after which Pharaoh finally lets the people go. In the psalm's larger narrative, the locust plague is another step in God's unwavering purpose to deliver His people and fulfill His covenant promises.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 105:35. The verse appears consistently in the Masoretic Text and ancient versions. The Douay-Rheims diverges by quoting a different line from the Septuagint (Vulgate) 'And they were mingled among the heathens,' but this is an error likely from a different section of the psalm.
Reception History
Psalm 105:35 has been read primarily within the context of the Exodus narrative. Jewish tradition includes the locust plague in the Passover Haggadah as one of the ten plagues, emphasizing God's judgment on Egypt. Christian interpreters from the patristic era onwards saw the plagues as types of final judgment and the locusts as symbols of destructive spiritual powers (e.g., Origen). In liturgical use, the psalm is often sung during Easter season as a celebration of deliverance. No specific commentary from the early church on this exact verse is widely cited, but the broader psalm has been used to teach God's faithfulness through history.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's judgment is thorough. Locusts consume every plant and fruit, nothing is left. The plague leaves no room for doubt: God's power extends over all creation, and His judgment is complete.
- God protects His own. The same plague that devastates Egypt does not touch Israel in Goshen. This verse implicitly points to God's care for His people amidst judgment.
- God's deliverance is comprehensive. The stripping of Egypt's resources leads to Israel's liberation with silver and gold (v. 37). God does not rescue halfway; He frees them fully and provides for their journey.
Five-point outline
- Context in the plague sequence: Locusts come after hail and before darkness, each plague escalating. The psalmist follows the historical order to show God's patient but relentless work.
- The nature of the devastation: The Hebrew words 'esev and peri (herb and fruit) cover every edible plant. This is not partial loss, it is total agricultural collapse.
- God as the speaker: 'He spoke, and the locusts came' (v. 34). The locusts are not a random disaster but a commanded army. God is sovereign over nature.
- Judgment with purpose: The goal is not mere destruction but to 'let my people go, that they may serve me' (Exodus 10:3). Judgment serves deliverance.
- Call to remembrance: The psalm invites Israel to remember these events and trust God's power in their own day.
Illustration hooks
- The modern experience of locust swarms in East Africa (e.g., 2020 outbreak) where a single swarm can cover hundreds of square kilometers and strip fields in hours. It helps people grasp the sudden, overwhelming loss Egypt faced.
- Losing a job or a harvest, total loss that leaves one dependent on others. This can illustrate how God sometimes uses complete stripping to break pride or reliance on false securities.
- The contrast between careful planning (saving crops, storing grain) and the locusts' total consumption. It points to human vulnerability and God's ultimate control.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God use such drastic measures to free His people? Couldn't He have just changed Pharaoh's heart directly?
- Does this mean God still uses natural disasters as judgment today? How do we understand that in light of the New Testament?
- How do we see God's protection in the middle of widespread suffering, what about those who are not spared?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 105:35 sits within a song that rehearses God's faithful acts from Abraham to the Promised Land. The locust plague is one of many judgments that led to Israel's exodus. In your group, read the surrounding verses (24, 45) to see the full story. Then consider how remembering God's past works shapes trust today.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does the verse say the locusts did? What words describe the extent of the destruction?
- Interpretation: Why do you think the psalmist includes the detail that they ate 'every plant' and 'the fruit of the ground'? What does that emphasize about the plague?
- Connection: How does this verse fit into the sequence of plagues in Exodus 7, 12? What purpose did the locusts serve in God's plan?
- Theological reflection: This verse shows God's power over creation. How does that affect how you view natural phenomena, both destructive and beneficial?
- Application: The Israelites were spared from the plagues (Exodus 8:22, 23). What does God's protection in judgment teach us about His care for His people today?
- Gospel connection: Some see the plagues as a foreshadowing of final judgment. How does God's deliverance through the Exodus point forward to Christ's deliverance from sin?
- Personal: Are there areas of your life where you need to recognize God's sovereignty, even in losses or difficulties? How can recounting His past faithfulness help?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that this passage simply lists the plagues in the order they happened, without adding any new details or explanations. He finds no special circumstances here that call for further comment.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that God's countless benefits after delivering Israel from Egypt were not random favors; they were designed to draw faithful covenant keeping and wholehearted service from the chosen people. The psalm celebrates this deliberate purpose, showing the covenant was more than mere words.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools clarifies two Hebrew words tied to the plague. The term for cankerworm likely refers to locusts in their larval stage, while the word for herbage covers all vegetable growth except trees.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note underscores that the locusts consumed every kind of vegetation, both wild grass and cultivated fruit, leaving nothing behind. This thorough devastation demonstrates the completeness of God's judgment and His absolute power over nature, fulfilling His threat without
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasises that the locusts completed the destruction by consuming what the earlier plague of hail had left behind. Nothing escaped: both the herbs in the fields and the fruit on the trees were entirely devoured, just as the Exodus account describes.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB reads the darkness here as a figure for God's judgment hanging over Egypt during all the plagues, not the literal ninth plague. On this view, "they rebelled not" means the Egyptians temporarily submitted whenever a plague struck, only to refuse again once it lifted.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that unlike Psalm 78, which used Israel's history as a warning, this psalm is a lyrical call to praise God in response to His covenant faithfulness. It follows the Pentateuch's narrative so closely that no strophic structure is discernible, presenting events in their order of occurrence rather than as doctrinal teaching.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry focuses on God's direct sovereignty over every detail of Israel's suffering and rescue. He notes that God himself turned the Egyptians' hearts to hate his people, then sent each plague by his own word, and finally brought Israel out with joy so they would keep his laws.