אִם־לְשֵׁ֥בֶט אִם־לְאַרְצ֑וֹ אִם־לְ֝חֶ֗סֶד יַמְצִאֵֽהוּ׃
Kung para sa pagpaparusa, o para sa Kanyang lupain, o para sa kagandahang-loob, ay ipinararating Niya ito.
Rashi
Whether for the rod Whether for the punishment of men, He lets them fall on mountains and hills, which are not places for sowing.
Malbim
Divine Governance has three modes: correctional, routine (earthly) and merciful. In His Wisdom, God governs through the basic laws of Nature. For example, using them to adjust the rainfall in order to punish, to preserve or to favor, as the case may be.
Rashi
whether for His land To let them fall as originally decreed, neither for the rod nor within the boundary of justice [i.e., for more benefit than strict justice warrants], but midway between [these two extremes].
Rashi
or for kindness If the generation became more righteous than they were on Rosh Hashanah, then the rain which was decreed to fall in an average manner, shall be turned about by the guidance of their circuits to fall, with kindness, in their season and upon the land that requires them, so that not a drop of them should go to waste.
Rashi
that He cause it to come The rain, in one of these ways.