New Living Translation
Deuteronomy 8:9
9It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.
Deuteronomy 8:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
- New International Version (NIV)a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
- English Standard Version (ESV)a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
- New King James Version (NKJV)a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
Context of Deuteronomy 8:9
7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 8It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. 10When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.
Read all of Deuteronomy 8Deuteronomy 8:9 word by word
אֶ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹ֤א בְמִסְכֵּנֻת֙ תֹּֽאכַל־בָּ֣הּ לֶ֔חֶם לֹֽא־תֶחְסַ֥ר כֹּ֖ל בָּ֑הּ אֶ֚רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲבָנֶ֣יהָ בַרְזֶ֔ל וּמֵהֲרָרֶ֖יהָ תַּחְצֹ֥ב נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- A landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- whereinאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- thou shalt eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- withoutלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- scarcenessמִסְכֵּנֻתmiskênûth · povertyH4544
- thou shalt not lackחָסֵרchâsêr · to lackH2637
- whose stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
- and out of whose hillsהָרָרhârâr · mountainH2042
- thou mayest digחָצַבchâtsab châtsêb · to hewH2672
- brassנְחֹ֫שֶׁתnechôsheth · bronzeH5178
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 8:9
- Deuteronomy 33:25May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze; may you be secure all your days.”
- Joshua 22:8he said to them, “Go back to your homes with the great wealth you have taken from your enemies—the vast herds of livestock, the silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and the large supply of clothing. Share the plunder with your relatives.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:14“I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the Lord—nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver, and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more.
- Job 28:2They know where to dig iron from the earth and how to smelt copper from rock.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 8:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9A land whose stones are iron - Not only meaning that there were iron mines throughout the land, but that the loose stones were strongly impregnated with iron, ores of this metal (the most useful of all the products of the mineral kingdom) being every where in great plenty. Out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass - As there is no such thing in nature as a brass mine, the word נחשת nechosheth should be translated copper; of which, by the addition of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 See Exodus 3:8 note, and the contrast expressed in Deuteronomy 11:10-11, between Palestine and Egypt. The physical characteristics and advantages of a country like Palestine must have been quite strange to Israel at the time Moses was speaking: compare Deuteronomy 3:25 note. To have praised the fertility and excellence of the promised land at an earlier period would have increased the murmurings and impatience of the people at being detained in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Iron was not widely used during this part of the Bronze Age. Only a few cultures knew how to smelt iron (heat the ore to remove metal) and shape it into tools and weapons (see 1 Samuel 13:19–21). Later, Israel learned to use this much stronger metal. They were able to mine it and make tools and weapons from it (see Joshua 17:16–18; 1 Kings 6:7; 2 Kings 6:5; 1 Chronicles 22:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. a land whose stones are iron--The abundance of this metal in Palestine, especially among the mountains of Lebanon, those of Kesraoun, and elsewhere, is attested not only by Josephus, but by Volney, Buckingham, and other travellers. brass--not the alloy brass, but the ore of copper. Although the mines may now be exhausted or neglected, they yielded plenty of those metals anciently (1Ch 22:3; 29:2-7; Is 60:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 8:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 8
- 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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