English Standard Version
Deuteronomy 28:23
23And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.
Context of Deuteronomy 28:23
21The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed. 25"The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a 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 26:19and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.
- 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."
- 1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
- Jeremiah 14:1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
- Amos 4:7"I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries