TRV
Translation
King James Version
And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
KJV (with Strong's)
Complete Jewish Bible
If you do, the anger of ADONAI will blaze up against you. He will shut up the sky, so that there will be no rain. The ground will not yield its produce, and you will quickly pass away from the good land ADONAI is giving you.
Berean Standard Bible
or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
American Standard Version
and the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah giveth you.
World English Bible Messianic
and the LORD’s anger be kindled against you, and he shut up the sky, so that there is no rain, and the land doesn’t yield its fruit; and you perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD gives you.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And so the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and he shut vp the heauen, that there be no raine, and that your lande yeelde not her fruit, and yee perish quickly from the good land, which the Lord giueth you.
Young's Literal Translation
and the anger of Jehovah hath burned against you, and He hath restrained the heavens, and there is no rain, and the ground doth not give her increase, and ye have perished hastily from off the good land which Jehovah is giving to you.
See also
In the KJVVerse 5,226 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Deuteronomy 11 verses 8–17
8 ¶ Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;
9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:
12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
Still Moses urges the same subject, as loth to conclude till he had gained his point. "If thou wilt enter into life, if thou wilt enter into Canaan, a type of that life, and find it a good land indeed to thee, keep the commandments: Keep all the commandments which I command you this day; love God, and serve him with all your heart."
I. Because this was the way to get and keep possession of the promised land. 1. It was the way to get possession (Deu 11:8): That you may be strong for war, and so go in and possess it. So little did they know either of hardship or hazard in the wars of Canaan that he does not say they should go in and fight for it; no, they had nothing in effect to do but go in and possess it. He does not go about to teach them the art of war, how to draw the bow, and use the sword, and keep ranks, that they might be strong, and go in and possess the land; no, but let them keep God's commandments, and their religion, while they are true to it, will be their strength, and secure their success. (2.) It was the way to keep possession (Deu 11:9): That you may prolong your days in this land that your eye is upon. Sin tends to the shortening of the days of particular persons and to the shortening of the days of a people's prosperity; but obedience will be a lengthening out of their tranquillity.
II. Because the land of Canaan, into which they were going, had a more sensible dependence upon the blessing of heaven than the land of Egypt had, Deu 11:10-12. Egypt was a country fruitful enough, but it was all flat, and was watered, not as other countries with rain (it is said of Egypt, Zac 14:18, that it has no rain), but by the overflowing of the river Nile at a certain season of the year, to the improving of which there was necessary a great deal of the art and labour of the husbandman, so that in Egypt a man must bestow as much cost and pains upon a field as upon a garden of herbs. And this made them the more apt to imagine that the power of their own hands got them this wealth. But the land of Canaan was an uneven country, a land of hills and valleys, which not only gave a more pleasing prospect to the eye, but yielded a greater variety of soils for the several purposes of the husbandman. It was a land that had no great rivers in it, except Jordan, but drank water of the rain of heaven, and so, 1. Saved them a great deal of labour. While the Egyptians were ditching and guttering in the fields, up to the knees in mud, to bring water to their land, which otherwise would soon become like the heath in the wilderness, the Israelites could sit in their houses, warm and easy, and leave it to God to water their land with the former and the latter rain, which is called the river of God (Psa 65:9), perhaps in allusion to, and contempt of, the river of Egypt, which that nation was so proud of. Note, The better God has provided, by our outward condition, for our ease and convenience, the more we should abound in his service: the less we have to do for our bodies the more we should do for God and our souls. 2. So he directed them to look upwards to God, who giveth us rain form heaven and fruitful seasons (Act 14:17), and promised to be himself as the dew unto Israel, Hos 14:5. Note, (1.) Mercies bring with them the greatest comfort and sweetness when we see them coming from heaven, the immediate gifts of divine Providence. (2.) The closer dependence we have upon God the more cheerful we should be in our obedience to him. See how Moses here magnifies the land of Canaan above all other lands, that the eyes of God were always upon it, that is, they should be so, to see that nothing was wanting, while they kept close to God and duty; its fruitfulness should be not so much the happy effect of its soil as the immediate fruit of the divine blessing; this may be inferred from its present state, for it is said to be at this day, now that God has departed from it, as barren a spot of ground as perhaps any under heaven. Call it not Naomi: call it Marah.
III. Because God would certainly bless them with an abundance of all good things if they would love him and serve him (Deu 11:13-15): I will give you the rain of your land in due season, so that they should neither want it when the ground called for it nor have it in excess; but they should have the former rain, which fell at seed-time, and the latter rain, which fell before the harvest, Amo 4:7. This represented all the seasonable blessings which God would bestow upon them, especially spiritual comforts, which should come as the latter and former, rain, Hos 6:3. And the earth thus watered produced, 1. Fruits for the service of man, corn and wine, and oil, Psa 104:13-15. 2. Grass for the cattle, that they also might be serviceable to man, that he might eat of them and be full, Deu 11:15. Godliness hath here the promise of the life that now is; but the favour of God shall put gladness into the heart, more than the increase of corn, and wine, and oil will.
IV. Because their revolt from God to idols. would certainly be their ruin: Take heed that your hearts be not deceived, Deu 11:16, Deu 11:17. All that forsake God to set their affection upon, or pay their devotion to, any creature, will find themselves wretchedly deceived to their own destruction; and this will aggravate it that it was purely for want of taking heed. A little care would have prevented their being imposed upon by the great deceiver. To awaken them to take heed, Moses here tells them plainly that if they should turn aside to other gods, 1. They would provoke the wrath of God against them; and who knows the power of that anger? 2. Good things would be turned away from them; the heaven would withhold its rain, and then of course the earth would not yield its fruit. 3. Evil things would come upon them; they would perish quickly form off this good land. And the better the land was the more grievous it would be to perish from it. The goodness of the land would not be their security, when the badness of the inhabitants had made them ripe for ruin.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 8–17. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Deuteronomy 11:17 delivers a solemn warning within Moses' climactic address to the Israelites, outlining the severe divine consequences of covenantal disobedience. This verse specifically describes God's righteous indignation leading to a divinely orchestrated drought, where the heavens are sealed, preventing rain, and the land fails to yield its fruit. The ultimate and swift outcome of such rebellion is the perishing of the people from the "good land" graciously bestowed by the LORD, unequivocally underscoring the conditional nature of their inheritance and God's absolute sovereignty over their sustenance and destiny.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Deuteronomy 11:17 stands as the stark culmination of a pivotal section in Moses' second major discourse to Israel, delivered on the plains of Moab just prior to their entry into the Promised Land. This passage, specifically Deuteronomy 11:13-17, forms a direct and powerful antithesis to the preceding promises of blessing for obedience. Following the foundational call to love and obey God, which spans from Deuteronomy 11:1 through Deuteronomy 11:12, Moses explicitly articulates the direct correlation between Israel's faithfulness and their prosperity in the land. Verses Deuteronomy 11:13-15 promise abundant rain—both the "early and the latter rain"—and bountiful harvests as a direct result of their obedience. Verse 17 then presents the dire alternative, a vivid and terrifying picture of the curses that would befall them should they turn away from God, serving as a powerful deterrent and a reminder of the covenant's binding and non-negotiable nature. This immediate context underscores the conditional framework upon which their entire national existence and enjoyment of the Promised Land depended.
Historical & Cultural Context: Ancient Israel was fundamentally an agrarian society, and their very survival in the semi-arid region of Canaan was profoundly dependent on the timely and sufficient provision of seasonal rainfall. Unlike Egypt, which relied on the predictable annual inundation of the Nile River for irrigation, Canaanite agriculture was almost entirely rain-fed. The "early rains" typically fell in autumn, preparing the ground for sowing, while the "latter rains" in spring were crucial for ensuring a good harvest. Consequently, God's absolute control over the heavens and His power to either provide or withhold rain was the most tangible and immediate sign of His favor or disfavor. A prolonged drought, as vividly described in this verse, would inevitably lead to widespread crop failure, devastating famine, rampant disease, and ultimately, societal collapse, potentially resulting in their literal "perishing quickly." The threat of being "perished quickly from off the good land" also resonated deeply with the constant geopolitical instability of the ancient Near East, where weakened nations were highly susceptible to conquest, forced displacement, and exile—a fate that would indeed befall Israel centuries later.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching and foundational themes woven throughout Deuteronomy and the broader Old Testament narrative. Firstly, it emphatically reinforces the theme of Covenantal Obedience and Consequences, which is central to Deuteronomic theology. This theological principle posits that Israel's national well-being, prosperity, and continued inhabitation of the land are directly and inextricably contingent upon their faithful adherence to God's commands. Secondly, it highlights Divine Sovereignty over Creation, particularly God's absolute and unchallengeable control over natural phenomena like rain. This demonstrates His immense power to bless or to curse based on human response, a theme echoed profoundly in passages such as 1 Kings 8:35-36, where Solomon explicitly prays for rain after a drought, acknowledging God's sovereign hand. Thirdly, the verse underscores the Conditional Land Tenure of Israel, emphasizing that the "good land which the LORD giveth you" was not an unconditional, inalienable gift, but an inheritance whose retention was directly tied to their fidelity to the covenant. This concept is foundational to understanding Israel's entire history, including the later devastating exiles, as seen in Jeremiah 25:9-11. Finally, it speaks powerfully to the Justice and Righteousness of God, portraying Him as a faithful covenant-keeper who rewards obedience and justly punishes rebellion, demonstrating His unwavering commitment to His holy character.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Deuteronomy 11:17 employs several potent literary devices to convey its urgent and severe warning. The entire passage functions as a Conditional Clause within a larger framework of covenant stipulations, establishing a clear "if-then" relationship between Israel's potential actions (disobedience, implied from the preceding verses) and God's certain response (judgment). The vivid imagery of "the LORD'S wrath be kindled" is a powerful example of Anthropomorphism, attributing a human emotion (anger, specifically the kindling of a fire) to God. This device makes His righteous displeasure relatable and impactful, while simultaneously emphasizing the just, active, and consuming nature of His judgment. The phrase "shut up the heaven" functions as a striking Metaphor for divine control over natural phenomena, depicting God as actively sealing off the source of life-sustaining rain, thereby demonstrating His absolute sovereignty. Furthermore, the entire verse stands in stark Contrast to the preceding promises of abundant rain and fruitfulness for obedience in Deuteronomy 11:13-15, heightening the dramatic tension and emphasizing the two divergent and consequential paths Israel could take. The warning to "perish quickly" also contains an element of Intensification, underscoring the severity, immediacy, and devastating finality of the impending judgment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Deuteronomy 11:17 profoundly articulates the principle of divine justice and the serious consequences of covenantal disobedience. It reveals a God who is not distant or indifferent but actively and intimately involved in the affairs of His people, faithfully upholding His covenant with both blessings and curses. This verse establishes a foundational theological truth: while God's grace is abundant in giving the land, His holiness demands obedience, and rebellion will not go unpunished. It underscores that true prosperity—both physical and spiritual—is inextricably linked to faithful adherence to God's revealed will. The concept of the land's conditional tenure is a recurring theme throughout Israel's history, culminating in the exiles, serving as a constant reminder that God's promises are fulfilled within the framework of His covenant. This passage teaches us that God's wrath is not capricious or arbitrary but a righteous response to sin, designed ultimately to bring about repentance and restore relationship, even through severe discipline.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
While the immediate context of Deuteronomy 11:17 speaks directly to ancient Israel's physical well-being in the Promised Land, its underlying spiritual principles remain profoundly relevant for believers today. This verse serves as a powerful reminder that God takes our obedience seriously and that there are indeed consequences for turning away from His commands. It challenges us to examine the areas of our lives where we might be disobedient, complacent, or spiritually lukewarm, recognizing that such attitudes can lead to a "spiritual drought"—a lack of God's manifest blessing, fruitfulness, and vibrant presence in our lives. We are called to acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty over all aspects of our existence, trusting in His provision while simultaneously living in humble submission to His will. This passage should cultivate a healthy, reverential fear of God, not a terror that paralyzes, but an awe that motivates us to walk in integrity and seek His face, knowing that His ultimate desire is for our flourishing and not our destruction. It is a call to continuous repentance and a renewed, wholehearted commitment to living a life pleasing to Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is God's wrath a sign of an unloving God?
Answer: No, God's wrath, as depicted in Deuteronomy 11:17 and consistently throughout Scripture, is not a capricious or uncontrolled emotion akin to human anger. Instead, it is a holy, righteous, and just response to sin, rebellion, and covenant breaking. It demonstrates God's unwavering commitment to His perfect holiness and justice, and His absolute opposition to all that is evil. Far from being unloving, God's wrath often serves a redemptive purpose, aiming to bring about repentance and restore His people to a right relationship with Him, as seen in passages like Romans 1:18 and Hebrews 12:5-11. It is precisely because God is love that He must also be just in dealing with sin that separates humanity from Him and defiles His creation.
Does this mean God directly controls all weather events as a form of judgment or blessing today?
Answer: While God is absolutely sovereign over all creation and can certainly use natural phenomena for His purposes (as affirmed in Psalm 104:13 and Job 38:25-27), the direct, immediate, and covenantal cause-and-effect relationship between specific national obedience/disobedience and rain/drought described in Deuteronomy 11:17 was primarily characteristic of the Mosaic Covenant with ancient Israel. This unique covenant established a physical, tangible link between their national prosperity in the land and their faithfulness. For believers today under the New Covenant, while God's sovereignty remains, the focus shifts more to spiritual principles and consequences. Our "blessings" and "curses" are primarily spiritual, though God can still use physical circumstances to draw us closer to Him, to discipline us, or to demonstrate His power and glory.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Deuteronomy 11:17, with its stern warning of divine wrath, drought, and expulsion for disobedience, finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound transformation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Mosaic Covenant, under which Israel lived, was inherently conditional, promising blessing for obedience and curses for rebellion. Humanity, however, proved utterly incapable of perfect obedience, consistently incurring the very "wrath" and threat of "perishing" described here. Jesus Christ, as the perfect Lamb of God, entered into this broken covenant, not to condemn, but to redeem. He perfectly fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law, living a life of complete and unwavering obedience where Israel repeatedly failed. More profoundly, He bore the full weight of the "LORD'S wrath" and the "curse of the law" on the cross, becoming a curse for us, as powerfully articulated in Galatians 3:13. Through His sacrificial death, the ultimate "shutting up of heaven"—the spiritual separation from God that humanity deserved—was averted for all who believe. He is the true "rain" and "fruit" for our souls, offering living water that quenches eternal thirst (as promised in John 4:13-14) and the bread of life that sustains eternally (as declared in John 6:35), ensuring that we "perish quickly" no more. Our "good land" is no longer a physical territory but the spiritual inheritance of eternal life and the Kingdom of God, secured not by our imperfect obedience, but by Christ's perfect righteousness imputed to us (as revealed in 2 Corinthians 5:21). In Him, we find the true and lasting Sabbath rest, a promise of an inheritance that will never be lost or forfeited (as beautifully expounded in Hebrews 4:9-11).