New English Translation
Deuteronomy 29:23
23The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.
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
21The Lord will single him out for judgment from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law. 22The generation to come – your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places – will see the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. 24Then all the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger all about?” 25Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
Read all of Deuteronomy 29Deuteronomy 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 18:15Fire resides in his tent; over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.
- Isaiah 34:9Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch and her soil into brimstone; her land will become burning pitch.
- Luke 17:29but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
- Revelation 19:20Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.
- Judges 9:45Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled the city and spread salt over it.
- Psalms 107:34and a fruitful land into a barren place, because of the sin of its inhabitants.
- Jeremiah 17:6They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen. It will be as though they were growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.
- Ezekiel 47:11But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty.
- Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, “be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.”
- Luke 14:34“Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored?
- Genesis 14:2went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
- Genesis 19:24Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord.
- Jeremiah 20:16May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.
- Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! All my tender compassions are aroused!
- Amos 4:11“I overthrew some of you the way God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!
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
In the dictionaries
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries