Psalms 144:13 · Bible study
Psalms 144:13 Commentary: Abundance as Gift and Prayer
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Discover the meaning of Psalm 144:13. Is it a prayer for plenty, a declaration of blessing, or a metaphor? Study commentary, grammar, and application.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A description (or petition) of abundant harvests and multiplying flocks as a sign of God’s covenant blessing
- Key words: m'zaveinu (our garners/granaries), tson (flocks), chutsot (open fields/pastures), maalifot (producing thousands)
- Main debate: Whether the verbs are indicative (declaration of present prosperity) or optative (prayer for future blessing), and whether the language is literal or metaphorical
- Theological theme: Covenant fruitfulness flows from deliverance; true happiness is in God, not in his gifts
- Best use: Teaching on God’s provision, the proper response to prosperity, and the connection between salvation and earthly blessings
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Our storehouses will be full, supplying all manner of produce; our flocks will bring forth thousands, tens of thousands in our fields.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision. Our sheep produce thousands and ten thousands in our fields.
KJV King James Version 1769
That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Whenour garners are full, affording all manner of store, Andour sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Our garners are full, bringing out from kind to kind, Our flocks are bringing forth thousands, Ten thousands in our out-places,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Our granaries full, affording all manner of store; our sheep bringing forth thousands, ten thousands in our pastures;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Nuestros graneros llenos, provistos de toda suerte de grano; nuestros ganados, que paran á millares y diez millares en nuestras plazas:
Nossos celeiros sejam cheios de todos os tipos de mantimentos; nosso gado seja aos milhares, e dezenas de milhares em nossos campos.
Nos greniers sont pleins,
daß unsere Kammern voll seien und herausgeben können einen Vorrat nach dem andern; daß unsere Schafe tragen tausend und zehntausend auf unsern Triften;
Dat onze winkelen vol zijnde, den enen voorraad na den anderen uitgeven; dat onze kudden bij duizenden werpen, ja, bij tienduizenden op onze hoeven vermenigvuldigen.
I nostri granai siano pieni e forniscano ogni specie di beni. Le nostre gregge moltiplichino a migliaia e a diecine di migliaia nelle nostre campagne.
Szpiżarnie nasze pełne niech wydawają wszelakie potrzeby; trzody nasze niech rodzą tysiące, niech rodzą dziesięć tysięcy w oborach naszych.
Царство Твое - царство всех веков, и владычество Твое во все роды. [Верен Господь во всех словах Своих и свят во всех делах Своих.]
我們的倉 盈滿，能 出 各樣的糧食；我們的羊 在田間 孳生千 萬。
Our store-houses are full of all good things; and our sheep give birth to thousands and ten thousands in our fields.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 144:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Psalm 144:13 describes a state of remarkable prosperity, full granaries and multiplying flocks, as part of a larger picture of national happiness under God's blessing (vv.12, 15). Adam Clarke insists the verbs are present tense: these are assertions of blessings already in hand, not petitions. Barnes and the Cambridge Bible note the grammatical particle asher (that/when/because) is ambiguous; the clause may express a goal (prayer for such blessing) or a result (what happens when God delivers). Keil and Delitzsch highlight late Hebrew forms like m'zaveinu (our garners) and the verb maalifot (producing thousands), arguing the passage is a borrowed fragment of an older poem describing the ideal state. All agree the ultimate point is clear: this prosperity flows from God’s deliverance, and the truly happy people are those whose God is the Lord (v.15).
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Prayer for future blessing: The particle asher is read as purpose/result; the KJV translation 'may be full' suggests an optative wish.
- Declaration of present prosperity: Adam Clarke argues the verb forms are present tense; the passage asserts blessings already possessed.
- Metaphor for spiritual abundance: Gill interprets barns as gospel provisions and sheep as believers, similar to early allegorical readings.
- Fragment of an ideal blessing poem: Keil & Delitzsch and Cambridge see vv.12–15 as a borrowed fragment describing a state of covenant prosperity, with ambiguous connection to the rest.
What is clear: The verse certainly describes a situation of great abundance (full stores, multiplying flocks) that is presented as a cause for happiness, and the ultimate source of such happiness is identified as God himself (v.15).
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical mood of the verbs | The Hebrew verb forms are participles, implying ongoing action; the particle asher introduces the clause. All agree this describes a state of abundance. | Some (KJV, Barnes) read asher as expressing purpose ('that our garners may be full'), making it a prayer. Others (Clarke, Keil & Delitzsch) read it as a statement of fact or result. The syntax is ambiguous. |
| Literal vs metaphorical interpretation | The primary sense is agricultural prosperity, reflecting the economy of ancient Israel. The passage is clearly about material blessing. | Gill applies the verse spiritually to the church's store of grace and growth in numbers. Calvin and most Reformed commentators keep the literal covenantal reading, while the allegorical tradition (some church fathers) sees deeper spiritual meanings. |
| Relationship to surrounding psalm | Verses 12, 15 form a distinct section that contrasts with the preceding war prayer (vv.1, 11). All note a shift in language and tone. | Cambridge and Keil & Delitzsch argue this is a separate fragment borrowed from another poem. Matthew Henry sees a logical flow: deliverance leads to peace and prosperity. The connection is disputed. |
| The identity of the 'our' (barns, sheep, etc.) | The speaker is likely the king or the nation personified. The blessings are communal, not individual. | The LXX changes pronouns to third person, making the abundance refer to the enemies, with v.15 contrasting Israel's true happiness. Most modern commentators reject this as a misreading, but it shows an ancient interpretive debate. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 144 sits at a hinge in the Psalter. The first eleven verses are a warrior’s song, God who trains hands for war, the king rescued from the deadly sword. Then with v.12 the tone shifts abruptly. The language itself changes: words appear that are rare or late, like m'zaveinu (our garners/granaries), zan (kind, sort), and aalifot (producing thousands). The Hebrew behind ‘our streets’ is chutsoteinu, from chuts, outside, open country, pastures. Barnes and Poole agree sheep would not give birth in city streets; the word means fields or sheep-walks.
In ancient Israel, wealth was measured in grain and livestock. The covenant promises in Deuteronomy 7:13 and 28:4 connect fruitfulness of flock and field to faithfulness. So this description of abundance echoes those covenant blessings. The particle asher that begins v.12 is ambiguous: it can mean ‘that’ (purpose), ‘when’ (temporal), or ‘because’ (causal). The KJV reads it as a prayer (‘that our garners may be full’), while Clarke reads it as a declaration (‘our garners are full’). The ambiguity may be intentional: the Psalmist looks forward to what God will do, but also proclaims what God has already done.
Structurally, vv.12, 15 form a self-contained unit, possibly an older blessing poem that the compiler attached here. The connection to the preceding prayer for deliverance is this: once the enemies are gone, the people can enjoy the full fruit of God’s blessing. The sequence moves from rescue to peace to prosperity, and finally to the confession that happiness is not in the abundance itself but in having Yahweh as God.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants in the Hebrew manuscripts for Psalm 144:13. The LXX reading alters the pronouns (making the prosperity refer to the enemies), but this is an interpretive divergence, not a textual one. The Masoretic text is stable.
Reception History
Psalm 144:13 has been received in two main streams. In the early church, allegorical interpretation took the barns as storehouses of divine wisdom and the sheep as the faithful multiplying in virtue. Medieval commentators continued this tradition. The Reformation brought a renewed emphasis on the literal, covenantal sense: Calvin and others read the psalm as David’s expression of confidence that God’s deliverance would result in tangible peace and prosperity for Israel. In modern scholarship, attention falls on the linguistic peculiarities of the passage (late Hebrew forms, hapax legomena), leading many to view vv.12, 15 as an independent blessing poem appended to the earlier Davidic material. Across traditions, the verse has been sung in hymns of harvest thanksgiving and used in prayers for the fruitfulness of church and mission.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Deliverance leads to abundance. The warrior becomes a caretaker. After rescue from enemies, the land yields its harvest. God’s salvation is not just from trouble but for blessing.
- Abundance is both material and spiritual. The barns and sheep are real, but they picture a deeper provision, grace that fills the church, gifts that multiply. Gill saw the sheep as believers increasing in number and faith.
- Happiness is in the Giver, not the gift. Verse 15 crowns the picture: “Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.” The full barns are a signpost, not the destination.
Five-point outline
- The source: God who saves kings (v.10) also fills barns.
- The variety: “All kinds of provision” (mi-zan el-zan), from kind to kind. God’s provision is not monotonous but richly diverse.
- The multiplication: Flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands, an image of fruitfulness that outpaces expectation.
- The security: No breaking in, no exile, no outcry (v.14). Peace surrounds the abundance.
- The response: Not hoarding or pride, but the confession that the Lord is our God (v.15).
Illustration hooks
- A farmer at harvest time, looking over full silos, remembering the drought years, gratitude mixed with awe.
- A church that saw its budget met just in time for a community project, the generosity of members multiplying like sheep in spring.
- A family gathering around a table spread with food, aware that every bite is a gift from God, not a right.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it okay to ask God for material prosperity, or is that selfish?
- Does this verse promise that every Christian will have full barns and healthy flocks? What about those who struggle?
- How do we enjoy God’s gifts without making them idols?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 144:13 sits within a vision of national happiness that many readers find surprising in the middle of a warrior’s psalm. This study invites your group to explore what the Bible says about material blessing, its limits, and its purpose.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 144:12, 15 aloud. What phrases stand out to you as describing the good life?
- Why does the psalmist list military deliverance (vv.1, 11) before agricultural prosperity? What is the connection?
- Some commentators read v.13 as a prayer (“may our barns be full”), others as a statement of fact (“our barns are full”). Which reading makes more sense in context? Why?
- How does this passage echo the blessings of Deuteronomy 28? What does that covenant background add to your understanding?
- Gill applies the verse spiritually: the barns hold gospel treasures, the sheep are believers multiplying. What strengths and weaknesses do you see in that approach?
- Verse 15 says happy are those whose God is the Lord, not just those who have full barns. How does that verse shape your reading of the whole section?
- In what ways is your community experiencing “full barns” right now? How might God be calling you to use that abundance for others?
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.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 30:29 | Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me. |
| Genesis 30:31 | Laban said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it. |
| Leviticus 26:5 | Your threshing shall continue until the vintage, and the vintage shall continue until the sowing time. You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. |
| Leviticus 26:10 | You shall eat old supplies long kept, and you shall move out the old because of the new. |
| Deuteronomy 7:13 | He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your livestock and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you. |
| Deuteronomy 7:14 | You will be blessed above all peoples. There won’t be male or female barren among you, or among your livestock. |
| Deuteronomy 8:3 | He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth. |
| Deuteronomy 28:4 | You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke insists the verbs in this verse describe blessings already received, not requests for future provision. The garners are full, the sheep are multiplying, all in the present tense. He also corrects the common translation: the Hebrew word for streets actually means sheep pens or enclosures, since lambs are not born in city streets.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the Hebrew word often translated "streets" actually means open country, pastures or fields, not urban roadways. He reads the verse as a prayer for agricultural abundance and flourishing flocks, which for ancient Palestine was the core image of national prosperity and wealth.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin draws a contrast between this psalm and Psalm 18, noting that Psalm 18 is completely triumphant while this one mixes praise with fear and anxiety. David still has remaining enemies who cause him apprehension, so his prayer reflects ongoing dependence even after great victories.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that verses 12-14 were likely borrowed from another poem and loosely appended, creating a harsh grammatical connection. The preferred reading takes these verses as describing the temporal prosperity that follows deliverance from enemies, with verse 15 declaring that the truly happy people are those whose God is the Lord.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note reads this as a prayer for unmistakable, overflowing abundance. It envisions storehouses packed with every kind of provision and flocks multiplying by the thousands in the city streets—visible, tangible evidence of God's blessing on the whole community.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads the prayer for full garners and multiplying sheep as both literal agricultural blessing and a type of the church's spiritual increase. He notes that the Hebrew word for sheep itself implies fruitfulness, making the image of flocks producing thousands a fitting picture of how God's people will grow in grace and numbers.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch reads the description of sons, daughters, and plentiful flocks as Israel's own domestic prosperity, not an enemy's. They interpret the daughters as modest treasures hidden in corners, like carved ornaments. The final blessing is not a contrast but an escalation: material abundance is good, but calling the Lord one's God is infinitely greater.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that Psalm 144 is a coherent whole by David, not a patchwork of borrowed fragments. He sees David reusing his own earlier psalms with fresh feeling, not lifeless copying, and insists the closing verses describe the earthly prosperity God gives His covenant people, not a contrast between spiritual and material blessings.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that David praises God for mercies already received and then prays for more, treating fresh blessings as reasons for fresh songs of thanks. He notes that we should praise God for mercies promised as well as those already given, using the best instruments to express holy joy.