He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
What does Psalms 23:2 mean?
God does not only protect his people. He also gives them rest.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Psalms 23:2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures - Margin, "Pastures of tender grass." The Hebrew word rendered "pastures" means usually "dwellings," or "habitations." It is applied here properly to "pastures," as places where flocks and herds lie down for repose. The word rendered in the margin "tender grass" - deshe' - refers to the first shoots of vegetation from the earth - young herbage - tender grass - as clothing the meadows, and as delicate food for cattle, Job 6:5 . It differs from ripe grass ready for mowing, which is expressed by a different word - chatsyr.
Key words
- pastures of tender grass
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pastures of tender grass. (t) "tenerae herbae", Piscator, Amama, Gejerus, Michaelis; "in folds of budding grass", Ainsworth.
- pastures of tender grass
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pastures of tender grass. (t) "tenerae herbae", Piscator, Amama, Gejerus, Michaelis; "in folds of budding grass", Ainsworth.
Context in Psalms 23
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Psalms 23 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book I. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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