All the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done all this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
Parallel translations
- WEB even all the nations will say, “Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?”
- KJV Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
- BSB So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- NKJV “All nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’
- NLT “And all the surrounding nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why was he so angry?’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The nations will ask why God brought such fierce wrath on his land. God's judgments raise questions that demand a true answer.
Overview
Observers will wonder aloud at the severity of God's anger against his own land and people. The question, 'Why has Yahweh done thus?', sets up the explanation that follows. It shows that God's dealings are not arbitrary but have a clear moral cause, vindicating his justice before the nations and inviting reflection on covenant faithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jer 22:8–9“Many nations will pass by this city, and they will each ask his neighbor, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this great city?’
- 1 Kgs 9:8–9Though this house is so high, yet everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land, and to this house?’
- 2 Chr 7:21–22This house, which is so high, everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?’
- Lam 4:12The kings of the earth didn’t believe, neither did all the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
- Lam 2:15–17All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
- Ezek 14:23They will comfort you, when you see their way and their doings; and you will know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Rom 2:5But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 29:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.