the Week of Proper 23 / Ordinary 28
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Green's Literal Translation
Deuteronomy 28:23
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And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron.
And your heaven that is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
The sky above will be like bronze, and the ground below will be like iron.
The sky above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron.
And thy heaven that [is] over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that [is] under thee [shall be] iron.
Your sky that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.
"The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze [giving no rain and blocking all prayers], and the earth which is under you, iron [hard to plow and yielding no produce].
Heuene which is aboue thee be brasun; and the erthe which thou tredist be yrun.
`And thy heavens which [are] over thy head have been brass, and the earth which [is] under thee iron;
The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
And the heaven over your heads will be brass, and the earth under you hard as iron.
And the heauen that is ouer thy head shalbe brasse, and the earth that is vnder thee, iron.
"The sky over your head will be brass and the earth under you iron.
And thy heavens which are over thy head shall be brass, and the earth which is under thee, iron.
There will be no clouds in the sky—the sky will look like polished brass. And the ground under you will be hard like iron.
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
And the heauen that is ouer thy head shall be brasse, and the earth that is vnder thee shall be yron.
The heavens above your head will be brass. And the earth under you will be iron.
The sky over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you iron.
And thy heavens which are over thy head shall become bronze, - and the earth which is under thee iron.
And thine heauen that is ouer thine head, shall be brasse, and the earth that is vnder thee, yron.
And the heaven that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.
No rain will fall, and your ground will become as hard as iron.
Be the heaven, that is over thee, of brass: and the ground thou treadest on, of iron.
And the heavens over your head shall be brass, and the earth under you shall be iron.
And thou shalt have over thine head a sky of brass, and the earth under thee shall be iron.
The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
Your sky that is over your head shall be brass, and the eretz that is under you shall be iron.
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron.
Thy heauen, that is ouer thy heade, shalbe of brasse, and the earth vnder the, of yron.
The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate.
"The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.
And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.
The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.
"The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.
And the heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
The language here is remarkable: "Thy heaven;" that part of the atmosphere which was over Judea, instead of being replenished with aqueous vapours, should become, with respect to moisture, like brass, and consequently their land would become as hard as iron, and wholly incapable of cultivation; while the clouds might give showers in abundance, and the earth be moist and fruitful in other regions. Leviticus 26:19, 1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 18:2, Jeremiah 14:1-6, Amos 4:7
Reciprocal: Genesis 4:12 - it Deuteronomy 11:17 - shut up Ruth 1:1 - a famine 1 Kings 8:35 - heaven 2 Chronicles 6:26 - the heaven Psalms 68:6 - the rebellious Isaiah 5:6 - also Jeremiah 3:3 - the showers Jeremiah 5:25 - General Jeremiah 14:4 - the ground Haggai 1:10 - General Zechariah 10:1 - rain in Zechariah 14:17 - even
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And the heaven that [is] over thy head shall be brass,.... Or like brass, not for its clearness, brightness, and splendour, or for its being spread out like a molten looking glass which was of brass, Job 37:18; but for its dryness and hardness, no moisture being in it, or passing through it; no showers of rain nor dew being let down from it:
and the earth that is under thee [shall be] iron; or like iron, hard and impenetrable, into which the plough and spade will not enter; nor anything spring out of it, for want of rain and dew to moisten and soften it. The same is said in Leviticus 26:19; only there is an inversion of the figures; there the heaven is said to be as iron, and the earth like brass, but signify the same thing.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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 28:20-68.
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 original is used Deuteronomy 7:23; 1 Samuel 14:20 for the panic and disorder with which the curse of God smites His foes.
Deuteronomy 28:22
“Blasting” denotes (compare Genesis 41:23) the result of the scorching east wind; “mildew” that of an untimely blight falling on the green ear, withering it and marring its produce.
Deuteronomy 28:24
When the heat is very great the atmosphere in Palestine is often filled with dust and sand; the wind is a burning sirocco, and the air comparable to the glowing heat at the mouth of a furnace.
Deuteronomy 28:25
Shalt be removed - See the margin. The threat differs from that in Leviticus 26:33, which refers to a dispersion of the people among the pagan. Here it is meant that they should be tossed to and fro at the will of others, driven from one country to another without any certain settlement.
Deuteronomy 28:27-37
Second series of judgments on the body, mind, and outward circumstances of the sinners.
Deuteronomy 28:27
The “botch” (rather “boil;” see Exodus 9:9), the “emerods” or tumors 1Sa 5:6, 1 Samuel 5:9, the “scab” and “itch” represent the various forms of the loathsome skin diseases which are common in Syria and Egypt.
Deuteronomy 28:28
Mental maladies shah be added to those sore bodily plagues, and should Deuteronomy 28:29-34 reduce the sufferers to powerlessness before their enemies and oppressors.
Blindness - Most probably mental blindness; compare Lamentations 4:14; Zep 1:17; 2 Corinthians 3:14 ff.
Deuteronomy 28:30-33
See the marginal references for the fulfillment of these judgments.
Deuteronomy 28:38-48
Third series of judgments, affecting every kind of labor and enterprise until it had accomplished the total ruin of the nation, and its subjection to its enemies.
Deuteronomy 28:39
Worms - i. e. the vine-weevil. Naturalists prescribed elaborate precautions against its ravages.
Deuteronomy 28:40
Cast ... - Some prefer “shall be spoiled” or “plundered.”
Deuteronomy 28:43, Deuteronomy 28:44
Contrast Deuteronomy 28:12 and Deuteronomy 28:13.
Deuteronomy 28:46
Forever - Yet “the remnant” Romans 9:27; Romans 11:5 would by faith and obedience become a holy seed.
Deuteronomy 28:49-58
Fourth series of judgments, descriptive of the calamities and horrors which should ensue when Israel should be subjugated by its foreign foes.
Deuteronomy 28:49
The description (compare the marginal references) applies undoubtedly to the Chaldeans, and in a degree to other nations also whom God raised up as ministers of vengeance upon apostate Israel (e. g. the Medes). But it only needs to read this part of the denunciation, and to compare it with the narrative of Josephus, to see that its full and exact accomplishment took place in the wars of Vespasian and Titus against the Jews, as indeed the Jews themselves generally admit.
The eagle - The Roman ensign; compare Matthew 24:28; and consult throughout this passage the marginal references.
Deuteronomy 28:54
Evil - i. e. grudging; compare Deuteronomy 15:9.
Deuteronomy 28:57
Young one - The “afterbirth” (see the margin). The Hebrew text in fact suggests an extremity of horror which the King James Version fails to exhibit. Compare 2 Kings 6:29.
Deuteronomy 28:58-68
Fifth series of judgments. The uprooting of Israel from the promised land, and its dispersion among other nations. Examine the marginal references.
Deuteronomy 28:58
In this book - i. e. in the book of the Law, or the Pentateuch in so far as it contains commands of God to Israel. Deuteronomy is included, but not exclusively intended. So Deuteronomy 28:61; compare Deuteronomy 27:3 and note, Deuteronomy 31:9.
Deuteronomy 28:66
Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee - i. e. shall be hanging as it were on a thread, and that before thine own eyes. The fathers regard this passage as suggesting in a secondary or mystical sense Christ hanging on the cross, as the life of the Jews who would not believe in Him.
Deuteronomy 28:68
This is the climax. As the Exodus from Egypt was as it were the birth of the nation into its covenant relationship with God, so the return to the house of bondage is in like manner the death of it. The mode of conveyance, “in ships,” is added to heighten the contrast. They crossed the sea from Egypt with a high hand. the waves being parted before them. They should go back again cooped up in slaveships.
There ye shall be sold - Rather, “there shall ye offer yourselves, or be offered for sale.” This denunciation was literally fulfilled on more than one occasion: most signally when many thousand Jews were sold into slavery and sent into Egypt by Titus; but also under Hadrian, when numbers were sold at Rachel’s grave Genesis 35:19.
No man shall buy you - i. e. no one shall venture even to employ you as slaves, regarding you as accursed of God, and to be shunned in everything.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Deuteronomy 28:23. Thy 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 Lord.
