May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Your bars will be iron and brass. As your days, so your strength will be.
- KJV Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
- NKJV Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be.
- NASB “Your bars will be iron and bronze, And as your days, so will your strength be.
- NLT May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze; may you be secure all your days.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Asher is promised secure defenses and strength that matches his days. God provides protection and sufficient strength for every season of life.
Overview
"Bars of iron and brass" picture strong, secure gates, and the promise "as your days, so your strength" assures strength proportioned to whatever each day brings. This is one of the most quoted comforts in Deuteronomy, assuring God's people of grace sufficient for daily need. It anticipates the New Testament promise that God's strength is made perfect in weakness and His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 41:10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
- Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Col 1:11being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- Isa 40:29He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
- Ps 138:3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
- 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
- Eph 6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- 2 Cor 12:9–10But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- Deut 32:47For they are not idle words to you, because they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
- Deut 8:9a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.
- Deut 4:40Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
- 1 Cor 10:13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
- Luke 15:22But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
- Eph 6:15and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 33:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.