Isaiah 34:9

Isaiah 34:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
• New International Version (NIV)Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.

Context of Isaiah 34:9

7He will kill their wild oxen and their young bulls. Blood will pour over Edom's land. Fat will feed their soil. 8The Lord has chosen a day for punishment. It will be a time when he punishes Zion's enemies, because they have attacked his people. The water in Edom's streams will become tar. Its soil will become sulphur. Its whole land will become tar that is burning. 10That fire will burn through the days and the nights. Its smoke will always continue to rise up. The land will be empty from one century to the next. Nobody will ever travel through it again. 11Owls, hawks and hedgehogs will live there, as well as all kinds of wild animals and wild birds. The Lord will carefully measure the whole land, so that he can destroy it. It will become like an empty desert.

Isaiah 34:9 word by word

וְנֶהֶפְכ֤וּ נְחָלֶ֙יהָ֙ לְזֶ֔פֶת וַעֲפָרָ֖הּ לְגָפְרִ֑ית וְהָיְתָ֣ה אַרְצָ֔הּ לְזֶ֖פֶת בֹּעֵרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the streamsנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
• thereof shall be turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• into pitchזֶ֫פֶתzepheth · pitchH2203
• and the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• thereof into brimstoneגׇּפְרִיתgophrîyth · brimstoneH1614
• and the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• thereof shall become burningבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: burnH1197

Cross-references for Isaiah 34:9

• Genesis 19:28He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley. He saw thick dark smoke that was rising from the land. It was the smoke from a big fire.
• Job 18:15Other people will live in his tent. They have used sulphur to burn all his things.
• Psalms 11:6He will send hot coal and sulphur to fall like rain on wicked people. A dangerous wind will be the punishment that they deserve.
• Luke 17:29But one day Lot went away from Sodom. On that same day, God caused it to rain fire and burning stones from the sky. This killed all the people in Sodom.
• Jude 1:7Also, remember what happened to the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities that were near them. Like those bad angels, the people who lived in those places were also doing evil things. They were having sex with people who were not their husbands or their wives. They liked to have sex in other ways that are not right. God destroyed their cities. He has punished them with fire that never stops burning. That is an example of what will happen to wicked people like them.
• Revelation 19:20But the rider and his army caught the wild animal. They also caught the false prophet who had done miracles to help the wild animal. He used those miracles to deceive the people who had the wild animal's mark on them. Those people worshipped his image. Now the rider and his army threw the wild animal and the false prophet into the lake of fire. They were still alive when they threw them into the lake that burns with sulphur.
• Revelation 21:8But I will punish other people. They include: people who are afraid of trouble; people who do not believe in Jesus; people who do disgusting things; people who murder other people; people who have sex in a wrong way; people who use magic to hurt people; people who worship idols; people who tell lies. All these people will go into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. That is the second death for people.’

Commentaries on Isaiah 34:9

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And the streams thereof - The idea here is, that there would be as great and awful a destruction as if the streams everywhere should become pitch or resin, which would be set on fire, and which would fill the land with flame. This image is very striking, as we may see by supposing the rivers and streams in any land to flow not with water, but with heated pitch, turpentine, or tar, and that this was all suddenly kindled into a flame. It cannot be supposed…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his Spirit will perform. And let us…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Edom’s judgment was similar to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24; see also Jeremiah 49:17–18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Images from the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 19:24-28; so De 29:23; Jr 49:17, 18).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 34:9

• Pitch
• Punishment
• Slime
• Volcanoes
• War

In the dictionaries

• Brimstone
• Pitch
• Scroll
• Seek
• Isaiah
• Obadiah, Book of
• Slime; Slime Pits
• sulfur, sulfurous

Commentaries on Isaiah 34

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings