Leviticus 26:19

Translations

Modern

I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,

Traditional

And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

Literal

And I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.

Latin

…et conteram superbiam duritiæ vestræ. Daboque vobis cælum desuper sicut ferrum, et terram æneam.

Original

Hebrew

English

I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,

Notes

Leviticus 26:19–20

If God does not send rain, the ground will become hard and unproductive.

Leviticus 26:14–39

God punishes his people to change their behavior and restore their relationship with him. He acts like a perfectly righteous and loving parent would with a disobedient child. The punishments, meant to stop rebellious behavior, gradually increase. This gives Israel a chance to repent at any time (Leviticus 26:18–28). Even when Israel faced exile from the land in 722 and 586 BC, God was working to restore them (see, for example, Isaiah 40–66; Jeremiah 29:10; Amos 9:11–15).

Leviticus 26:3–39

These blessings and curses are similar to a key part of ancient Near Eastern treaties between a suzerain (a powerful king) and a vassal (a lesser king). In these treaties, the suzerain king promised to protect the vassal king and his land. In return, the vassal swore loyalty to the suzerain.

Blessings and curses followed, with curses usually being longer (compare Leviticus 26:3–13 with 26:14–39; see also Deuteronomy 27:15–28:68). These treaties often called upon gods as witnesses and enforcers. Yet, in God's covenant with Israel, God was one of the treaty parties, with Israel as the other. Since God could not swear by anyone greater, he swore by himself (see Hebrews 6:13; Genesis 22:16).

Theme notes and profiles

Ancient Law Codes Blessing Counsel from Others Curses and Blessings Famine God’s Covenants Oppression of God’s People Promised Land Retribution The Dangers of Sin The Land True Success

Related verses

Deuteronomy 28:23
The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
1 Kings 17:1
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
Isaiah 25:11
He will spread out his hands within it, as a swimmer spreads his arms to swim. His pride will be brought low, despite the skill of his hands.
1 Samuel 4:11
The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Zephaniah 3:11
On that day you will not be put to shame for any of the deeds by which you have transgressed against Me. For then I will remove from among you those who rejoice in their pride, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain.
Jeremiah 13:9
“This is what the LORD says: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.
Luke 4:25
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.
Ezekiel 30:6
For this is what the LORD says: The allies of Egypt will fall, and her proud strength will collapse. From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword within her, declares the Lord GOD.
Daniel 4:37
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
Jeremiah 14:1–6
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
Ezekiel 7:24
So I will bring the most wicked of nations to take possession of their houses. I will end the pride of the mighty, and their holy places will be profaned.
1 Samuel 4:3
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”

Leviticus 26:19

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