Leviticus 26:19

19 I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.

Leviticus 26:19 in Other Translations

KJV
19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
ESV
19 and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.
NLT
19 I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze.
MSG
19 I'll break your strong pride: I'll make the skies above you like a sheet of tin and the ground under you like cast iron.
CSB
19 I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,

Leviticus 26:19 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 26:19

And I will break the pride of your power
Which the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi interpret of the sanctuary, which they were proud of, trusted in, and boasted of; but was broke or destroyed, first by Nebuchadnezzar, then by the Romans: but it may rather signify their country, the glory of all lands for its fruitfulness, which for their sins should become barren, as follows; or the multitude of their forces, and the strength of their mighty men of war, in which they put their confidence; it may take in everything, civil and ecclesiastical, they prided themselves with, and had their dependence on, thinking themselves safe on account of them, but should be broken to shivers, and be of no service to them: and I will make your heaven as iron;
so that neither dew nor rain shall descend from thence to make the earth fruitful; but, on the contrary, an heat should be reflected, which would parch it, and make it barren: and your earth as brass;
that the seed could not be cast into it, nor anything spring out of it, for the service of man and beast, so that a famine must unavoidably follow.

Leviticus 26:19 In-Context

17 I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.
18 “ ‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.
19 I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.
20 Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.
21 “ ‘If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 10:4; Psalms 73:6; Isaiah 16:6; Isaiah 25:11; Isaiah 28:1-3; Jeremiah 13:9; Jeremiah 48:29; Ezekiel 24:21; Amos 6:8; Zephaniah 3:11
  • 2. Deuteronomy 28:23; Job 38:38
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