The Meaning of Isaiah 34:9 Explained

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.

YLT: And turned have been her streams to pitch, And her dust to brimstone, And her land hath become burning pitch.

Darby: And the torrents thereof shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; yea, the land thereof shall become burning pitch:

ASV: And the streams of Edom'shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Isaiah 34:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 34:1-17 - Reaping The Whirlwind
This chapter is one prolonged description of the judgments which were to befall the nations at the hand of Assyria and Babylon. The imagery employed is borrowed from the destruction of the cities of the plain. Streams of pitch; dust of brimstone; the ever-ascending smoke of a furnace; the scream of the eagle, hawk, and owl; the invasion of palaces by the thistle; the howl of the wolf; the call of the jackal; the arrow-snakes nest; the kite with its mate-such are the illustrations employed to depict the scorching desolations which were impending. Edom is especially mentioned as suffering these awful desolations because of her long-standing hatred of Israel. See Psalms 137:7; Ezekiel 36:5; Lamentations 4:21-22. These terrible and graphic predictions have been literally fulfilled, but they foreshadow those further and eternal disasters which must overtake willful and designed rejection of the divine purposes and laws. Are not all nations at this hour standing before the Son of man and being judged? See Matthew 25:31. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 34

1  The judgments wherewith God revenges his church
11  The desolation of her enemies
16  The certainty of the prophecy

What do the individual words in Isaiah 34:9 mean?

And shall be turned Its streams into pitch and its dust into brimstone and shall become Its land pitch burning
וְנֶהֶפְכ֤וּ נְחָלֶ֙יהָ֙ לְזֶ֔פֶת וַעֲפָרָ֖הּ לְגָפְרִ֑ית וְהָיְתָ֣ה אַרְצָ֔הּ לְזֶ֖פֶת בֹּעֵרָֽה

וְנֶהֶפְכ֤וּ  And  shall  be  turned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: הָפַךְ  
Sense: to turn, overthrow, overturn.
נְחָלֶ֙יהָ֙  Its  streams 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
לְזֶ֔פֶת  into  pitch 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: זֶפֶת  
Sense: pitch, tar, asphalt.
וַעֲפָרָ֖הּ  and  its  dust 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
לְגָפְרִ֑ית  into  brimstone 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: גָּפְרִית  
Sense: brimstone.
וְהָיְתָ֣ה  and  shall  become 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
אַרְצָ֔הּ  Its  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְזֶ֖פֶת  pitch 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: זֶפֶת  
Sense: pitch, tar, asphalt.
בֹּעֵרָֽה  burning 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: בָּעַר 
Sense: to burn, consume, kindle, be kindled.