Deuteronomy 29:23

Deuteronomy 29:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
• New International Version (NIV)The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.
• English Standard Version (ESV)the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath—
• New King James Version (NKJV)‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’

Context of Deuteronomy 29:23

21and single him out for harm from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law. 22“Future generations of your children who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant country will see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses the Lord has inflicted on it. All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord demolished in his fierce anger. 24All the nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this intense outburst of anger?’ 25Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 29:23 word by word

גָּפְרִ֣ית וָמֶלַח֮ שְׂרֵפָ֣ה כָל־אַרְצָהּ֒ לֹ֤א תִזָּרַע֙ וְלֹ֣א תַצְמִ֔חַ וְלֹֽא־יַעֲלֶ֥ה בָ֖הּ כָּל־עֵ֑שֶׂב כְּֽמַהְפֵּכַ֞ת סְדֹ֤ם וַעֲמֹרָה֙ אַדְמָ֣ה וּצְבוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר֙ הָפַ֣ךְ יְהוָ֔ה בְּאַפּ֖וֹ וּבַחֲמָתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the whole landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• brimstoneגׇּפְרִיתgophrîyth · brimstoneH1614
• and saltמֶ֫לַחmelach · saltH4417
• burningשְׂרֵפָהώerêphâh · fireH8316
• it is not sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• nor bearethצָמַחtsâmach · to springH6779
• nor any grassעֵ֫שֶׂב‛eώeb · vegetationH6212
• growethעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• therein, like the overthrowמַהְפֵּכָהmahpêkâh · overthrowH4114
• of Sodomסְדֹםsedôm · SodomH5467
• and Gomorrahעֲמֹרָה‛ămôrâh · GomorrahH6017
• Admahאַדְמָה'admâh · AdmahH126
• and Zeboimצְבֹיִיםtsebô'îym tsebîyîym tsebîyim · ZeboiimH6636
• which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• overthrewהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• in his angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639
• and in his wrathחֵמָהchêmâh chêmâ' · rageH2534

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 29:23

• Job 18:15Nothing he owned remains in his tent. Burning sulfur is scattered over his home.
• Isaiah 34:9Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her soil into sulfur; her land will become burning pitch.
• Luke 17:29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all.
• Revelation 19:20But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
• Judges 9:45So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
• Psalms 107:34and fruitful land into salty wasteland, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
• Jeremiah 17:6He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.
• Ezekiel 47:11Yet its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be left for salt.
• Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as I live — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel — Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah: a place overgrown with weeds, a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.
• Luke 14:34“Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty?
• Genesis 14:2waged war against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, and King Shemeber of Zeboiim, as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
• Genesis 19:24Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord.
• Jeremiah 20:16Let that man be like the cities the Lord demolished without compassion. Let him hear an outcry in the morning and a war cry at noontime
• Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred!
• Amos 4:11I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick snatched from a fire, yet you did not return to me — This is the Lord’s declaration.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 29:23

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The description is borrowed from the local features of the Dead Sea and its vicinity. The towns of the vale of Siddim were fertile and well watered (compare Genesis 13:10) until devastated by the wrath of God Genesis 19:24-25. The ruin of Israel and its land should be of the like sort (compare Leviticus 26:31-32; Psalm 107:34; Zephaniah 2:9). The desolate state of Palestine at present, and the traces of former fertility and prosperity, are attested by…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-28Verses 22-28 Idolatry would be the ruin of their nation. It is no new thing for God to bring desolating judgments on a people near to him in profession. He never does this without good reason. It concerns us to seek for the reason, that we may give glory to God, and take warning to ourselves. Thus the law of Moses leaves sinners under the curse, and rooted out of the Lord's land; but the grace of Christ toward penitent, believing sinners, plants them…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23like … Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim: During the time of Abraham and Lot, God destroyed these cities because of their extreme immorality. Their destruction involved fiery sulfur and salt (Genesis 19:23–28).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-2910-29. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God--The whole congregation of Israel, of all ages and conditions, all--young as well as old; menials as well as masters; native Israelites as well as naturalized strangers--all were assembled before the tabernacle to renew the Sinaitic covenant. None of them were allowed to consider themselves as exempt from the terms of that national compact, lest any lapsing into idolatry might prove a root of…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 29:23

• Admah
• Backsliders
• Brimstone
• Gomorrah
• Judgments
• Sodom
• Zeboim

In the dictionaries

• Gomorrah
• Sodom
• Admah
• Covenant
• Moses
• Root
• Secret
• Smoke
• Zeboim
• Brimstone

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 29

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings