Deuteronomy 11:15

Translation
King James Version
And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
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KJV (with Strong's)
And I will send H5414 grass H6212 in thy fields H7704 for thy cattle H929, that thou mayest eat H398 and be full H7646.
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Complete Jewish Bible
and I will give your fields grass for your livestock; with the result that you will eat and be satisfied.'
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Berean Standard Bible
And I will provide grass in the fields for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.
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American Standard Version
And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full.
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World English Bible Messianic
I will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
Also I will send grasse in thy fieldes, for thy cattel, that thou maist eate, and haue inough.
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Young's Literal Translation
and I have given herbs in thy field for thy cattle, and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied.
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See also
Deuteronomy 6:11Psalms 104:14Joel 2:19Malachi 3:10Malachi 3:11Joel 2:22Deuteronomy 8:10
In the KJVVerse 5,224 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Deuteronomy 11:15 serves as a profound promise of divine provision, assuring the Israelites that their faithful obedience to the covenant would be met with abundant natural resources. This verse, situated within Moses' final, pivotal discourse before their entry into the Promised Land, highlights God's active and benevolent commitment to sustaining His people and their vital livestock through lush pasturage. It underscores their absolute dependence on His faithfulness for their prosperity and ensures complete satisfaction, portraying a comprehensive divine care that extends to every aspect of their agrarian existence.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: This verse is deeply embedded within a crucial section of Moses' second major address to Israel, specifically within Deuteronomy 11. It functions as a direct continuation and elaboration of the conditional blessings articulated in Deuteronomy 11:13-14. Moses is drawing a stark contrast between the irrigation-dependent agriculture of Egypt, which they were leaving, and the rain-dependent land of Canaan, which they were about to enter. The promise of "grass in thy fields" directly follows the assurance of "rain in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain" (Deuteronomy 11:14). The entire chapter serves as a powerful exhortation to choose life through obedience, meticulously outlining the blessings of faithfulness versus the curses of disobedience, thereby setting a foundational theological framework that culminates in the covenant renewal ceremony in Deuteronomy 28.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The Israelites stood on the precipice of entering Canaan, a land distinct geographically and climatically from the Nile-fed agricultural system of Egypt. Unlike Egypt, which relied on the predictable annual flooding of the Nile, Canaan's agrarian success was entirely contingent on seasonal rainfall—specifically, the "early rain" (autumn, crucial for planting) and the "latter rain" (spring, vital for ripening crops). This made the promise of rain, and consequently, the flourishing of grass, a direct and tangible indicator of divine favor and the very bedrock of their agrarian economy. Livestock, including cattle, sheep, and goats, were not merely animals but central pillars of their wealth, primary sources of food, and integral to their sacrificial system. Thus, the provision of abundant pasture was not just a convenience but an existential necessity for their entire societal well-being. Their recent nomadic past and the impending settled life in a land famously described as "flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8) profoundly underscored their complete reliance on God for sustenance in this new, unfamiliar environment.
  • Key Themes: Deuteronomy 11:15 powerfully reinforces several overarching themes woven throughout Deuteronomy and the broader Pentateuch. It speaks directly to Divine Provision and Sustenance, asserting God as the ultimate, active, and benevolent source of all life and prosperity, who directly intervenes in the natural world to care for His people. This provision is inextricably linked to the theme of Conditional Blessing, where Israel's faithfulness to the covenant stipulations directly impacts their physical well-being and agricultural abundance, a principle echoed consistently throughout the Mosaic Law (e.g., Leviticus 26). Furthermore, the verse highlights God's Holistic Care, demonstrating His concern not only for human needs but also for the entire ecosystem and economy of His people, including their vital livestock. Finally, it profoundly underscores the fundamental principle of Dependence on God, teaching Israel that their security, flourishing, and satisfaction would come not from their own strength, ingenuity, or military might, but from their unwavering reliance on the Lord's faithfulness and His sovereign hand, a lesson consistently reinforced from their wilderness wanderings (e.g., Deuteronomy 8:3).

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Send (Hebrew, nâthan', H5414): This primitive root means "to give," but is used with a broad latitude of application, including "to put," "to make," or in this context, "to send." Here, it emphasizes God's active, intentional, and sovereign initiative in providing. It is not a passive allowance of natural processes but a direct, purposeful act of divine bestowal, highlighting His personal and deliberate involvement in Israel's well-being and prosperity.
  • Grass (Hebrew, ʻeseb', H6212): Derived from an unused root meaning "to glisten" or "to be green," this term refers to tender, green growth, specifically pasture or young vegetation. Its use here signifies not just any vegetation, but lush, fresh, and abundant growth—the ideal fodder for cattle. In the broader biblical narrative, "ʻeseb" often appears in contexts of creation and divine provision, as seen in Genesis 1:11, emphasizing God's life-giving power and ongoing sustenance of His creation.
  • Full (Hebrew, sâbaʻ', H7646): This primitive root means "to sate," or "to fill to satisfaction," literally or figuratively. It conveys the idea of complete contentment, having more than enough, or even being surfeited. This goes beyond mere survival or basic sustenance, promising a generous abundance that leads to deep satisfaction and well-being. It suggests a state of prosperity where needs are not just met, but richly exceeded, a hallmark of God's covenant blessings and a demonstration of His overflowing generosity.

Verse Breakdown

  • "And I will send grass": This opening phrase immediately establishes God as the active subject and primary agent of provision. The future tense "I will send" is a divine promise, underscoring His unwavering commitment and omnipotent power to bring about this blessing. "Grass" represents the foundational element of their agrarian economy, absolutely essential for the sustenance of their livestock.
  • "in thy fields": This specifies the precise location of the promised blessing—the cultivated and pastured lands within the Promised Land. It directly connects the divine promise to their physical inheritance and daily life, assuring them that their very livelihood and the productivity of their land would be directly blessed by God's hand.
  • "for thy cattle,": This crucial clause highlights God's comprehensive and holistic care, extending His benevolent provision beyond human needs to include the animals that were integral to Israelite society, economy, and diet. It powerfully demonstrates the interconnectedness of their entire ecosystem and God's meticulous concern for all aspects of their well-being, recognizing the vital role livestock played.
  • "that thou mayest eat": This indicates the direct human benefit and purpose of the divine provision. The cattle consume the grass, converting it into milk, meat, and labor, which then directly sustains the people. It illustrates a divinely ordained chain of blessing, where God's initial provision for the land ultimately results in sustenance for His human covenant partners.
  • "and be full.": This final phrase encapsulates the desired and promised outcome: complete satisfaction, contentment, and abundance. It signifies not merely enough to survive, but enough to thrive, to be sated and deeply content, reflecting the overflowing generosity and superabundant nature of God's blessing when His people walk in faithful obedience to His covenant.

Literary Devices

Deuteronomy 11:15 is rich with literary techniques that amplify its message of divine provision and covenant faithfulness. The most prominent is Promise, as God directly declares His future, intentional action ("I will send"). This promise is inherently a Conditional Blessing, deeply embedded within the broader context of Deuteronomy 11, where Israel's obedience is explicitly linked to their material prosperity and well-being. The phrase "grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full" employs Synecdoche, where "grass" effectively stands for the entire agricultural bounty and the overall health of the ecosystem, which in turn directly supports human sustenance and flourishing. There is also a clear implied Cause and Effect relationship: God sends rain (as promised in Deuteronomy 11:14), which causes the grass to grow abundantly, which feeds the cattle, which then provides food and satisfaction for the people. This illustrates a divine economy of blessing. The repeated use of the second-person singular pronoun "thy" (referring to Israel as a collective entity) creates a profound sense of direct, personal address, fostering intimacy, accountability, and a powerful call to individual and national faithfulness.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Deuteronomy 11:15 powerfully articulates God's character as the benevolent, sovereign, and faithful Provider, whose active involvement ensures the sustenance and flourishing of His people. This promise is deeply rooted in the covenant relationship established at Sinai, where divine blessings are contingent upon human obedience, reflecting a fundamental theological principle woven throughout the Old Testament narrative. It underscores that true security, prosperity, and abundance are found not in human ingenuity, self-reliance, or accumulated wealth, but in humble, unwavering dependence on God's sovereign hand and His covenant faithfulness. The holistic nature of the provision, extending even to livestock, further emphasizes God's comprehensive and meticulous care for all aspects of life, mirroring His original design for creation where all living things are sustained by His word and benevolent provision.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Deuteronomy 11:15 offers timeless and profound principles for believers today, even as we live under the New Covenant. It calls us to cultivate a deep and abiding recognition of God as the ultimate source of all provision, whether it be the food on our tables, the health of our bodies, the resources for our work, or the very breath we breathe. In a contemporary world often driven by relentless self-sufficiency, consumerism, and pervasive anxiety over material needs, this verse serves as a powerful invitation to embrace a posture of profound dependence, humble gratitude, and unwavering trust in God's unfailing care. It challenges us to reflect on how our obedience—not to the specific agricultural laws of ancient Israel, but to the moral and spiritual commands of Christ and the principles of His Kingdom—aligns us with God's blessings and provision in our lives. While material prosperity is not guaranteed in the New Covenant in the same prescriptive way as in ancient Israel, the enduring principle remains: seeking God's kingdom and righteousness first often positions us to experience His generous and holistic care, fostering true contentment and freeing us from the burdens of worry. This verse encourages us to trust implicitly that the God who faithfully provided grass for cattle and food for Israel will also meet our needs, prompting us to live with open hands, ready to receive His abundance and to share it generously with others.

Questions for Reflection

  • How does recognizing God as the ultimate provider for your daily needs impact your sense of security, gratitude, and freedom from anxiety?
  • In what specific areas of your life might a perceived lack of "fullness" or satisfaction be connected to a lack of trust or obedience towards God's principles?
  • How can the principle of God's holistic care for "cattle" (representing all creation) inform your approach to environmental stewardship, compassion for animals, or care for the vulnerable in society?

FAQ

Why is the provision of "grass" so significant in this verse for ancient Israel?

Answer: The provision of "grass" (דֶּשֶׁא, ʻeseb') was profoundly significant because it was the foundational element of the ancient Israelite agrarian economy and a direct, tangible indicator of God's blessing. In Canaan, unlike the Nile-fed agriculture of Egypt, agricultural success and the sustenance of all livestock (cattle, sheep, goats) were entirely dependent on timely and sufficient rainfall. Without abundant grass, livestock would starve, leading directly to famine for the people who relied on these animals for food (meat, milk), clothing (wool, hides), labor, and even religious sacrifices. Therefore, God's promise to "send grass" was a direct assurance of life, prosperity, and the flourishing of their entire society, demonstrating His active, benevolent, and personal involvement in their daily existence. It symbolized the comprehensive abundance that flowed from covenant faithfulness, as detailed in the preceding verses, Deuteronomy 11:13-14.

Does this promise of material provision apply to believers today in the same way?

Answer: While the specific agricultural context of Deuteronomy 11:15 belongs to the Old Covenant with Israel, the underlying theological principle of God as a faithful and benevolent provider remains eternally true for New Testament believers. God still sustains His creation and provides for His people, as beautifully illustrated in Jesus' teachings about not worrying about food or clothing because God cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25-34). However, the New Covenant emphasizes spiritual blessings and a different relationship to material prosperity. While God promises to meet our needs "according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19), this is not always a guarantee of material abundance or freedom from hardship, as the Christian life often involves suffering and persecution for Christ's sake (2 Timothy 3:12). The core principle is that seeking God's kingdom and righteousness first aligns us with His will and provision, which may manifest differently (spiritually, emotionally, relationally, as well as physically) than in ancient Israel, but always perfectly for our ultimate good and His glory.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Deuteronomy 11:15, with its promise of abundant physical provision and the satisfaction of being "full," finds its ultimate and deeper fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is the true source of all life, sustenance, and spiritual satisfaction. While the Old Covenant promise focused on physical nourishment and prosperity in the land, Christ embodies the spiritual "grass" and "fullness" that truly satisfies the human soul's deepest longings. He declared Himself the bread of life, promising that whoever comes to Him "shall never hunger" and whoever believes in Him "shall never thirst," thereby transcending mere physical satiation to offer eternal spiritual nourishment and contentment. Just as God provided manna in the wilderness and promised grass in Canaan, Jesus miraculously fed the multitudes (Matthew 14:13-21), demonstrating His divine power to provide abundantly for physical needs. More profoundly, He offered His very body as the ultimate provision, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, ensuring that those who partake of Him through faith receive eternal life and spiritual abundance that never diminishes. Thus, the promise of being "full" in Deuteronomy 11:15 is fully realized in Christ, who offers not just temporary physical satisfaction, but an enduring spiritual fullness, peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), and a life "more abundantly" (John 10:10). He is the one through whom God continues to sustain all things, both physically and spiritually, for His people (Colossians 1:17), being the ultimate expression of God's benevolent provision.

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Commentary on Deuteronomy 11 verses 8–17

Still Moses urges the same subject, as loth to conclude till he had gained his point. "If thou wilt enter into life, if thou wilt enter into Canaan, a type of that life, and find it a good land indeed to thee, keep the commandments: Keep all the commandments which I command you this day; love God, and serve him with all your heart."

I. Because this was the way to get and keep possession of the promised land. 1. It was the way to get possession (Deu 11:8): That you may be strong for war, and so go in and possess it. So little did they know either of hardship or hazard in the wars of Canaan that he does not say they should go in and fight for it; no, they had nothing in effect to do but go in and possess it. He does not go about to teach them the art of war, how to draw the bow, and use the sword, and keep ranks, that they might be strong, and go in and possess the land; no, but let them keep God's commandments, and their religion, while they are true to it, will be their strength, and secure their success. (2.) It was the way to keep possession (Deu 11:9): That you may prolong your days in this land that your eye is upon. Sin tends to the shortening of the days of particular persons and to the shortening of the days of a people's prosperity; but obedience will be a lengthening out of their tranquillity.

II. Because the land of Canaan, into which they were going, had a more sensible dependence upon the blessing of heaven than the land of Egypt had, Deu 11:10-12. Egypt was a country fruitful enough, but it was all flat, and was watered, not as other countries with rain (it is said of Egypt, Zac 14:18, that it has no rain), but by the overflowing of the river Nile at a certain season of the year, to the improving of which there was necessary a great deal of the art and labour of the husbandman, so that in Egypt a man must bestow as much cost and pains upon a field as upon a garden of herbs. And this made them the more apt to imagine that the power of their own hands got them this wealth. But the land of Canaan was an uneven country, a land of hills and valleys, which not only gave a more pleasing prospect to the eye, but yielded a greater variety of soils for the several purposes of the husbandman. It was a land that had no great rivers in it, except Jordan, but drank water of the rain of heaven, and so, 1. Saved them a great deal of labour. While the Egyptians were ditching and guttering in the fields, up to the knees in mud, to bring water to their land, which otherwise would soon become like the heath in the wilderness, the Israelites could sit in their houses, warm and easy, and leave it to God to water their land with the former and the latter rain, which is called the river of God (Psa 65:9), perhaps in allusion to, and contempt of, the river of Egypt, which that nation was so proud of. Note, The better God has provided, by our outward condition, for our ease and convenience, the more we should abound in his service: the less we have to do for our bodies the more we should do for God and our souls. 2. So he directed them to look upwards to God, who giveth us rain form heaven and fruitful seasons (Act 14:17), and promised to be himself as the dew unto Israel, Hos 14:5. Note, (1.) Mercies bring with them the greatest comfort and sweetness when we see them coming from heaven, the immediate gifts of divine Providence. (2.) The closer dependence we have upon God the more cheerful we should be in our obedience to him. See how Moses here magnifies the land of Canaan above all other lands, that the eyes of God were always upon it, that is, they should be so, to see that nothing was wanting, while they kept close to God and duty; its fruitfulness should be not so much the happy effect of its soil as the immediate fruit of the divine blessing; this may be inferred from its present state, for it is said to be at this day, now that God has departed from it, as barren a spot of ground as perhaps any under heaven. Call it not Naomi: call it Marah.

III. Because God would certainly bless them with an abundance of all good things if they would love him and serve him (Deu 11:13-15): I will give you the rain of your land in due season, so that they should neither want it when the ground called for it nor have it in excess; but they should have the former rain, which fell at seed-time, and the latter rain, which fell before the harvest, Amo 4:7. This represented all the seasonable blessings which God would bestow upon them, especially spiritual comforts, which should come as the latter and former, rain, Hos 6:3. And the earth thus watered produced, 1. Fruits for the service of man, corn and wine, and oil, Psa 104:13-15. 2. Grass for the cattle, that they also might be serviceable to man, that he might eat of them and be full, Deu 11:15. Godliness hath here the promise of the life that now is; but the favour of God shall put gladness into the heart, more than the increase of corn, and wine, and oil will.

IV. Because their revolt from God to idols. would certainly be their ruin: Take heed that your hearts be not deceived, Deu 11:16, Deu 11:17. All that forsake God to set their affection upon, or pay their devotion to, any creature, will find themselves wretchedly deceived to their own destruction; and this will aggravate it that it was purely for want of taking heed. A little care would have prevented their being imposed upon by the great deceiver. To awaken them to take heed, Moses here tells them plainly that if they should turn aside to other gods, 1. They would provoke the wrath of God against them; and who knows the power of that anger? 2. Good things would be turned away from them; the heaven would withhold its rain, and then of course the earth would not yield its fruit. 3. Evil things would come upon them; they would perish quickly form off this good land. And the better the land was the more grievous it would be to perish from it. The goodness of the land would not be their security, when the badness of the inhabitants had made them ripe for ruin.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 8–17. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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