God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 28:23
23The sky above will look like bronze, and the ground below will be as hard as 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 send one plague after another on you until he wipes you out of the land you’re about to enter and take possession of. 22The Lord will strike you with disease, fever, and inflammation; heat waves, drought, scorching winds, and ruined crops. They will pursue you until you die. The sky above will look like bronze, and the ground below will be as hard as iron. 24The Lord will send dust storms and sandstorms on you from the sky until you’re destroyed. 25The Lord will let your enemies defeat you. You will attack them from one direction but run away from them in seven directions. You will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms in the world.
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 crush your arrogance. You will have no rain, and your land will be as hard as cement.
- 1 Kings 17:1Elijah, who was from Tishbe but had settled in Gilead, said to Ahab, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord God of Israel whom I serve lives, there will be no dew or rain during the next few years unless I say so.”
- 1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was particularly severe in Samaria.
- Jeremiah 14:1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah about the drought.
- Amos 4:7I stopped the rain from falling three months before the harvest. I sent rain on one city and not on another. One field had rain. Another field had none and dried up.
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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