Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven.
- KJV Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
- NKJV Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,
- NASB Yet He commanded the clouds above And opened the doors of heaven;
- NLT But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven.
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
Despite their unbelief, God commanded the skies and opened heaven's doors to provide. His grace exceeded their deserving.
Overview
In striking contrast to their sin, God 'opened the doors of heaven' to send bread. The poetic image pictures heaven itself as a storehouse God freely unlocks. This abundant, undeserved provision foreshadows the grace that pours from heaven in Christ, the true bread come down from above (John 6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Mal 3:10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.
- 2 Kgs 7:19And the officer had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” So Elisha had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!”
- Ps 33:9For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- 2 Kgs 7:2But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
- Isa 5:6I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 78:23 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.