Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.
Parallel translations
- WEB Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, And its land will become burning pitch.
- KJV And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
- NKJV Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.
- NASB Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.
- NLT The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire.
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
Edom's land becomes burning pitch and sulfur, an image of permanent desolation.
Overview
The streams and soil turning to pitch and sulfur recall the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, marking Edom for lasting ruin. The imagery conveys the thoroughness of God's judgment on a proud and hostile nation. It serves as a warning of the enduring consequences of opposing God and underscores the seriousness of his holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Deut 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
- Ps 11:6On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
- Gen 19:28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
- Luke 17:29But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
- Job 18:15Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.
- Rev 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- Jude 1:7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
- Rev 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 34:9 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
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