Deuteronomy 28:24
in Deuteronomy 28The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah will make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
KJV
The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe rain of thy land powder and dust - As their heavens - atmosphere, clouds, etc., were to be as brass - yielding no rain; so the surface of the earth must be reduced to powder; and this, being frequently taken up by the strong winds, would fall down in showers instead of rain.
This site's exposition
thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass
on Deuteronomy 28:23-24
Leviticus 26:19 had the heaven as iron and the earth as brass, and here the two metals trade places, brass overhead and iron underfoot. Both images say the sky will give nothing and the ground will take nothing, and the swap suggests two chapters drawing on a shared stock of covenant language rather than one copying the other exactly. Verse 24 turns rain into powder and dust, which Adam Clarke connected with the dust the desert wind carries into that country.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Thy heaven over thy head, that part that is over thy land, shall be as dry as brass, while the heavens over other countries shall distil their dews; and, when the heaven is as brass, the earth of course will be as iron, so hard and unfruitful.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the rain of thy land powder and dust--an allusion probably to the dreadful effects of tornadoes in the East, which, raising the sands in immense twisted pillars, drive them along with the fury of a tempest. These shifting sands are most destructive to cultivated lands; and in consequence of their encroachments, many once fertile regions of the East are now barren deserts.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִתֵּ֧ן | yiten | he will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְטַ֥ר | metar | [the] rain of | H4306 → | 38 times |
| אַרְצְךָ֖ | ʾartzekha | land your | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אָבָ֣ק | ʾavak | dust | H80 → | |
| וְעָפָ֑ר | veafar | and dust | H6083 → | 110 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| יֵרֵ֣ד | yered | it will come down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| עָלֶ֔יךָ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הִשָּׁמְדָֽךְ׃ | hishamedakh | being destroyed you | H8045 → | 90 times |
יִתֵּ֧ןhe will make
yitenH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מְטַ֥ר[the] rain of
metarH4306 →38 times
אַרְצְךָ֖land your
ʾartzekhaH776 →2504 times
אָבָ֣קdust
ʾavakH80 →
וְעָפָ֑רand dust
veafarH6083 →110 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
יֵרֵ֣דit will come down
yeredH3381 →381 times
עָלֶ֔יךָon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הִשָּׁמְדָֽךְ׃being destroyed you
hishamedakhH8045 →90 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 28:12The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 15:6
When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.
- Joel 2:23–24
Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as…
- Deuteronomy 11:14
then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
- Leviticus 26:4
I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
- Deuteronomy 15:10
Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything…
- Deuteronomy 15:6
Through
Genesis 19:24Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 29:23
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
- Isaiah 13:19
Through
Amos 4:11“Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Zechariah 3:2
And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?”
- Zechariah 3:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.