Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageFor just as rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without first soaking the earth, causing it to burst with life—giving seed to the sower and bread to the hungry—
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GFor as the rain and the snow descend from the skies and do not return there—but first drench the earth, making it bear and bud, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater—
KJV
King James VersionFor as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
BSB
Berean Standard BibleFor just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
Footnotes
Verses 10–11 form a single extended simile, carrying the reader through the agricultural cycle into the theology of divine speech. The progression—descend, drench, bear, bud, give—mirrors the movement of YHWH's word: it comes down, saturates human reality, and produces life before returning to its source. This passage carries one of Scripture's richest intertextual resonances with Yochanan (John) 1:1–14, where the *Logos* (Word) goes out, becomes flesh, and accomplishes the Father's purpose before returning to glory (Jn. 17:4–5). FOG emphasises the agricultural concreteness; FOG Message draws the theological trajectory toward the incarnate Word.
