Christian Standard Bible
Deuteronomy 28:23
23The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
Deuteronomy 28:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
- New International Version (NIV)The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.
Context of Deuteronomy 28:23
21The Lord will make pestilence cling to you until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess. 22The Lord will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought, blight, and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish. The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. 24The Lord will turn the rain of your land into falling dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed. 25The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Read all of Deuteronomy 28Deuteronomy 28:23 word by word
וְהָי֥וּ שָׁמֶ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ֖ נְחֹ֑שֶׁת וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ בַּרְזֶֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 28:23
- Leviticus 26:19I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,
- 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”
- 1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.
- Jeremiah 14:1This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
- Amos 4:7I also withheld the rain from you while there were still three months until harvest. I sent rain on one city but no rain on another. One field received rain while a field with no rain withered.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 28:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Thy heaven - shall be brass, and the earth - iron - The atmosphere should not be replenished with aqueous vapours, in consequence of which they should have neither the early nor the latter rain; hence the earth - the ground, must be wholly intractable, and, through its hardness, incapable of cultivation. God shows them by this that he is Lord of nature; and that drought and sterility are not casualties, but proceed from the immediate appointment of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-68Verses 15-68 The curses correspond in form and number Deuteronomy 28:15-19 to the blessings Deuteronomy 28:3-6, and the special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations Deuteronomy 28:20-26 First series of judgments. The curse of God should rest on all they did, and should issue in manifold forms of disease, in famine, and in defeat in war. Deuteronomy 28:20 Vexation - Rather, confusion: the word in the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-44Verses 15-44 If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23This graphic picture of drought and famine shows the sky holding back the rain, which makes the earth dry and barren.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. heaven ... brass ... earth ... iron--strong Oriental figures used to describe the effects of long-continued drought. This want of regular and seasonable rain is allowed by the most intelligent observers to be one great cause of the present sterility of Palestine.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 28:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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