Deuteronomy 11:17

17 Then the Lord's anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the Lord is giving you.

Deuteronomy 11:17 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 11:17

And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you
For their idolatry, nothing being more provoking to him than that, it being contrary to his nature and being, as well as to his will, and to his honour and glory:

and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain;
the treasures and storehouses of it there, or the windows of it, the clouds, which when opened let it down, but when shut withhold it; the key of rain is one of the keys which the Jews say ^F11 the Lord keeps in his own hand, and with it he opens and no man shuts, and shuts and no man opens; see ( Deuteronomy 28:12 ) ( Malachi 3:10 )

and that the land yield not her fruit;
which is unavoidably the case when rain is withheld:

and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth
you;
for if the land does not yield its fruits sufficient to support the inhabitants of it, they must in course perish.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Targum Jon. in Deut. xxviii. 12.

Deuteronomy 11:17 In-Context

15 I will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.

16 Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside, worship, and bow down to other gods.

17 Then the Lord's anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the Lord is giving you.

18 "Impress these words of Mine on your hearts and souls, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads.

19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.