Psalm 133:3
New International Version
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

New Living Translation
Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.

English Standard Version
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Berean Standard Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.

King James Bible
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

New King James Version
It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

New American Standard Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For the LORD commanded the blessing there—life forever.

NASB 1995
It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing— life forever.

NASB 1977
It is like the dew of Hermon, Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forever.

Legacy Standard Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there, Yahweh commanded the blessing—life forever.

Amplified Bible
It is like the dew of [Mount] Hermon Coming down on the hills of Zion; For there the LORD has commanded the blessing: life forevermore.

Christian Standard Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has appointed the blessing — life forevermore.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has appointed the blessing— life forevermore.

American Standard Version
Like the dew of Hermon, That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion: For there Jehovah commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Like the dew of Hermon that descends upon the mountain of Zion, because there LORD JEHOVAH commanded the blessing and the Life unto eternity.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
As the dew of Aermon, that comes down on the mountains of Sion: for there, the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever.

Contemporary English Version
It is like the dew from Mount Hermon, falling on Zion's mountains, where the LORD has promised to bless his people with life forevermore.

Douay-Rheims Bible
as the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon mount Sion. For there the Lord hath commandeth blessing, and life for evermore.

English Revised Version
Like the dew of Hermon, that cometh down upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
It is like dew on [Mount] Hermon, dew which comes down on Zion's mountains. That is where the LORD promised the blessing of eternal life.

Good News Translation
It is like the dew on Mount Hermon, falling on the hills of Zion. That is where the LORD has promised his blessing--life that never ends.

International Standard Version
It is like the dew of Hermon falling on Zion's mountains. For there the LORD commanded his blessing— life everlasting.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Like the dew of Hermon, That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing, Even life for ever.

Literal Standard Version
As dew of Hermon—That comes down on hills of Zion, | For there YHWH commanded the blessing—Life for all time!

Majority Standard Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.

New American Bible
Like dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion. There the LORD has decreed a blessing, life for evermore!

NET Bible
It is like the dew of Hermon, which flows down upon the hills of Zion. Indeed that is where the LORD has decreed a blessing will be available--eternal life.

New Revised Standard Version
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

New Heart English Bible
like the dew of Hermon, that comes down on the hills of Zion: for there the LORD gives the blessing, even life forevermore.

Webster's Bible Translation
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for ever.

World English Bible
like the dew of Hermon, that comes down on the hills of Zion; for there Yahweh gives the blessing, even life forever more.

Young's Literal Translation
As dew of Hermon -- That cometh down on hills of Zion, For there Jehovah commanded the blessing -- Life unto the age!

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
How Pleasant to Live in Harmony
2It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes. 3It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.

Cross References
Leviticus 25:21
But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.

Deuteronomy 3:9
which the Sidonians call Sirion but the Amorites call Senir--

Deuteronomy 4:48
extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

Deuteronomy 28:8
The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

Psalm 21:4
He asked You for life, and You granted it--length of days, forever and ever.

Psalm 42:8
The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 48:2
Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.


Treasury of Scripture

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for ever more.

as the dew of Hermon.

Deuteronomy 4:48
From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,

Deuteronomy 3:8,9
And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon; …

Joshua 13:11
And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;

for there the Lord

Psalm 42:8
Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

Leviticus 25:21
Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.

Deuteronomy 28:8
The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

even life

Psalm 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 21:4
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

John 4:14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Jump to Previous
Age Bestows Blessing Commanded Descended Descendeth Dew Evermore Falling Falls Forever Forevermore Gives Hermon Hills Life Mount Mountains Orders Psalm Song Zion
Jump to Next
Age Bestows Blessing Commanded Descended Descendeth Dew Evermore Falling Falls Forever Forevermore Gives Hermon Hills Life Mount Mountains Orders Psalm Song Zion
Psalm 133
1. The blessedness of unity among brothers














(3) As the dew . . .--Better, keeping the same word as in Psalm 133:2. like the dew of Hermon, which descended on the Mount Zion. This statement of the dew of a mountain in the north descending on a mountain in the south, appears so strange and impossible that our version inserted the words, "and as the dew." But the sentence is constructed in exactly the same form as Psalm 133:2, and the dew on Mount Zion must be as clearly the same dew as that on Mount Hermon, as the oil running down to the beard was the same as that poured on the head. Nor may we take "the mountains of Zion "in a general way for the mountains of the country lying round Hermon like spurs, as Van de Velde does in the passage from his Travels, quoted by Delitzsch. Mount Zion itself is intended (comp. Psalm 121:1; Psalm 125:2, for this plural) as the last clause," there Jehovah commanded the blessing," clearly shows. Delitzsch says on the passage, "This feature of the picture is taken from the natural reality, for an abundant dew, when warm days have preceded, might very well be diverted to Jerusalem by the operation of the cold current of air, sweeping down from the north over Hermon. We know, indeed, of our own experience how far a cold air coming from the Alps is perceptible and produces its effects." But setting aside the amount of scientific observation required for such a perception of fact, would any one speak of the dew of Mont Blanc descending on the Jura?

We must evidently take "the dew of Hermon" as a poetical synonym for "choice dew." No doubt the height of Hermon, and the fact of its being so conspicuous, determined the expression. This choice dew, from its freshness, abundance, and its connection with life and growth, is a symbol, as the sacred oil also is, of the covenant blessing in its nature. The descent of the moisture offered itself, as the flowing down of the oil did, as an emblem of the operation of the blessing". But the conclusion of the simile is only implied. No doubt the poet intended to write, "As the oil poured on Aaron's head flowed down to his beard, and as the dew of Hermon flowed down on Mount Zion, so the covenant blessing descended on Jehovah's people;" but at the mention of Mount Zion he breaks off the simile, to make the statement, "for there Jehovah," &c. Hebrew poetry did not greatly favour the simile, and often confuses it with metaphor. (See Notes, Psalm 58:9; Song of Solomon 8:12.) . . .

Verse 3. - As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion. The interpolation of the words, "and as the dew," is quite unwarrantable, and spoils the sense. It substitutes duality for unity, and destroys the parity of the two illustrations. Translate, "As the dew of Hermon, that cometh down upon the mountains of Zion." The psalmist sees the moisture which fertilizes the Holy Land, and makes it the fertile land that it is, all given forth from Hermon, the one great mountain at its head. As Dr. Kay well observes, "Physically, Hermon was to Canaan what Aaron was ceremonially to Israel - its head and crown, from which the fertilizing stores of heaven descended over the land. For not only does the one great river of Palestine, the Jordan, issue from the roots of Hermon, but the giant mountain is constantly gathering and sending off clouds, which float down even to Southern Zion." For there (i.e. in Zion) the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. The reference is to Leviticus 25:21, and perhaps to Deuteronomy 28:8.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
It is like the dew
כְּטַל־ (kə·ṭal-)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2919: Night mist, dew

of Hermon
חֶרְמ֗וֹן (ḥer·mō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2768: Hermon -- 'sacred', a mountain in southern Aram (Syria) and Northern Israel

falling
שֶׁיֹּרֵד֮ (še·yō·rêḏ)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the mountains
הַרְרֵ֪י (har·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2042: Hill, mountain

of Zion.
צִ֫יּ֥וֹן (ṣî·yō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6726: Zion -- a mountain in Jerusalem, also a name for Jerusalem

For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

there
שָׁ֨ם ׀ (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

the LORD
יְ֭הוָה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

has bestowed
צִוָּ֣ה (ṣiw·wāh)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order

the blessing
הַבְּרָכָ֑ה (hab·bə·rā·ḵāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1293: Benediction, prosperity

of life
חַ֝יִּ֗ים (ḥay·yîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life

forevermore.
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while


Links
Psalm 133:3 NIV
Psalm 133:3 NLT
Psalm 133:3 ESV
Psalm 133:3 NASB
Psalm 133:3 KJV

Psalm 133:3 BibleApps.com
Psalm 133:3 Biblia Paralela
Psalm 133:3 Chinese Bible
Psalm 133:3 French Bible
Psalm 133:3 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Psalm 133:3 Like the dew of Hermon that comes (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 133:2
Top of Page
Top of Page