He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.

PSALMS 107:35KJV
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Psalms 107:35 (KJV)

What does Psalms 107:35 mean?

Psalms 107:35 describes God’s power to transform lifeless, barren places into sources of abundant water and life. The verse highlights a dramatic reversal: God can turn a wilderness into a pool of water and dry ground into flowing springs.

This verse is part of a psalm where the writer, likely addressing the people of Israel, recounts how God rescues and restores those in desperate situations. The imagery of wilderness and water points to God’s ability to provide for people when hope seems lost, showing that nothing is too hard for Him to change.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 107:35

  • "wilderness" (מִדְבָּר, midbar): This word often refers to an uninhabited, desolate place, not just a sandy desert but any barren region. The use here emphasizes how lifeless the setting is before God acts.
  • "standing" (אֲגַם, agam): This word means a pool or a body of still water. It suggests not just a trickle but a substantial, lasting source of water where there was none before.
  • "watersprings" (מַיִם, mayim; מוֹצָא, motsa): The combination here points to both the water itself and its source or outlet—implying not just surface water but a continual, renewing supply.

Why Psalms 107:35 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that God’s help is only spiritual or symbolic; the language points to real, physical transformation in the world.
  • The verse emphasizes God’s creative power and care for people in hopeless situations, connecting to the psalm’s theme of rescue and restoration.
  • In the wider context, it shows a pattern: God repeatedly takes what is empty or ruined and brings new life, encouraging trust in His ability to change any circumstance.

Where else these words appear

“standing” Hebrew H98 · used in 9 verses

  • Exodus 7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
  • Psalms 114:8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.
  • Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

“dry” Hebrew H6723 · used in 16 verses

  • Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
  • Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
  • Jeremiah 51:43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

“watersprings” Hebrew H4161 · used in 26 verses

  • Numbers 30:12 But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:30 This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
  • Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.