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

7Even men as strong as wild oxen will die— the young men alongside the veterans. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched with fat. 8For it is the day of the Lord’s revenge, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel. The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire. 10This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore. 11It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven. For God will measure that land carefully; he will measure it for chaos and destruction.

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 out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.
• Job 18:15The homes of the wicked will burn down; burning sulfur rains on their houses.
• Psalms 11:6He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds.
• Luke 17:29until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
• Jude 1:7And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.
• Revelation 19:20And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
• Revelation 21:8“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

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