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Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
Haggai 1:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
  • BSB Therefore, on account of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth has withheld its crops.
  • NKJV Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
  • NASB Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.
  • NLT It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops.

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

Because of the people's neglect, the heavens withhold rain and the ground withholds its produce. Creation itself reflects God's displeasure.

Overview

The withholding of dew and crops fulfills the covenant warnings of Deuteronomy 28:23-24. God, sovereign over nature, links the land's barrenness directly to the people's spiritual neglect. The verse teaches that all of creation serves the purposes of its Maker, including His discipline of His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • 1 Kgs 8:35When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
  • Lev 26:19And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
  • 1 Kgs 17:1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
  • Deut 28:23–24And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
  • Joel 1:18–20How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
  • Jer 14:1–6The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
  • Hos 2:9Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Haggai videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Haggai 1:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HaggaiMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promise that the latter glory of the temple will exceed the former, and that God will shake the nations and bring 'the desire of all nations,' is fulfilled when Christ enters his temple.

How Haggai 1:10 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.