Isaiah 34 9

Isaiah 34:9 kjv

And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

Isaiah 34:9 nkjv

Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.

Isaiah 34:9 niv

Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!

Isaiah 34:9 esv

And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch.

Isaiah 34:9 nlt

The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch,
and the ground will be covered with fire.

Isaiah 34 verses

Isaiah 34 9 Meaning

Isaiah 34:9 speaks of the turning of Edom's land into burning pitch, dry ground, and impassable thickets, signifying utter devastation and permanent abandonment. It signifies a divine judgment upon a nation for its unrighteousness. The imagery evokes a complete transformation of the land from potentially fertile to barren and unusable.

Isaiah 34 9 Context

Isaiah 34 describes a powerful oracle of judgment against all the nations. Following pronouncements against specific entities like Babylon, this chapter focuses on the devastation awaiting the world that opposes God's people. Verses 1-8 lay the groundwork for this specific judgment by calling all nations to witness God's wrath. The preceding verses detail a universal war and bloodshed. This verse, Isaiah 34:9, directly follows the statement that the land itself will be affected by this judgment. It sets the stage for a complete environmental and social ruin, a divine overthrow that leaves no remnant of prosperity or inhabitation. The target of this immediate prophecy is strongly implied to be Edom, given the close parallels with prophetic judgments against them elsewhere in scripture and the specific mention of Mount Seir.

Isaiah 34 9 Word Analysis

• whn(vhp) - (Hebrew: vĕhēpēk): "And it shall be turned." This conjunctive particle "and" links this verse to the preceding divine action, and the verb pākah (to turn, overturn, overthrow) signifies a radical transformation or inversion.

• hmr(hzry) - (Hebrew: hašûmĕrōh): "pitch." The root šômēr relates to "fatness" or "thick oil," used here for bitumen or asphalt, a highly combustible and sticky substance.

• q$ (hwh`) - (Hebrew: qû‘ôh): "sulfur." The noun qô‘elet refers to sulfur or brimstone, often associated with volcanic activity and divine judgment.

• dry(dbr) - (Hebrew: yabbāšâh): "dry ground." This adjective denotes a state of aridity, desolation, and unfruitfulness.

• wh$wh(d$h) - (Hebrew: wešālōh): "and a salt pit." This compound emphasizes a desolate and uninhabitable condition, a land rendered sterile and unusable.

• w’ym hv’hv(ydm) - (Hebrew: wĕ‘êyn tiḵōpēm): "and it shall not be sown." The negation emphasizes the complete cessation of agricultural activity and human endeavor.

• wlj w (vdv) - (Hebrew: welō‘ ya‘ălâh): "nor shall grass grow." This extends the desolation to the natural growth of vegetation, signaling a total loss of life.

• kbl (kwlw) - (Hebrew: kĕma‘ădô nêkě’lāh): "like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah." This is a simile pointing to an unprecedented level of destruction and divine intervention, likening it to the judgment on these infamous cities for their wickedness.

• ’dv (’dy) - (Hebrew: ’ĕḏōm): "Edom." While the chapter speaks generally of nations, Edom is the most strongly implied recipient of this specific judgment within the broader prophetic context of Isaiah and other Old Testament prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

• nwlw (nwvvw) - (Hebrew: nô‘āh): "where the Lord is wrathful." This connects the environmental devastation directly to God's divine anger and active judgment.

• Words group by words:

  • "Turn its rivers into pitch" (vĕhēpēk heḇelêhem lešēm) signifies a profound transformation of a life-giving water source into a source of destruction and impossibility.
  • "its soil into sulfur, and dry ground" (‘apērâ lĕqô‘elet wĕyabbāšâh) means the very foundation of the land, its soil, becomes toxic and arid, losing its ability to sustain life.
  • "and salt pit" (wešālōh) reinforces the concept of absolute desolation and sterility.
  • "like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah" (kĕma‘ădô nêkĕ’lāh) is a critical benchmark, implying a divinely ordained, absolute destruction mirroring the obliteration of those cities for their extreme wickedness.
  • "the Lord is wrathful" (Adonai Yahweh beqadamoh) is the direct attribution of this catastrophic event to God’s active, uncontained anger.

Isaiah 34 9 Bonus Section

The imagery of pitch and sulfur evokes apocalyptic scenarios. This verse highlights that divine judgment affects not only human endeavors but also the natural environment itself. It points to a finality in God’s judgment, where the land itself bears the scars of rebellion and the effects of divine justice, becoming a perpetual monument to God’s power and wrath against iniquity. This passage resonates with later apocalyptic descriptions where environmental devastation accompanies the final judgment of wickedness.

Isaiah 34 9 Commentary

Isaiah 34:9 vividly illustrates the consequence of divine wrath unleashed upon unrighteousness. The land, once perhaps a flowing river system or a productive territory, becomes a wasteland of burning pitch and arid, salty earth. This is not mere decline but an intentional, supernatural inversion of natural order, driven by God's judgment. The comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah emphasizes the completeness and severity of the destruction, signifying an act of divine power that renders the place uninhabitable for all time. Edom, historically an adversary to Israel, serves as a specific example of how God deals with those who practice violence and oppression. The judgment is total, affecting the very substance of the land and preventing any future sowing or growth, signifying God's ultimate sovereignty over all creation and His unwavering justice against sin.