Isaiah 34:9

9 [Edom's] streams will be turned into pitch, her soil into sulfur; her land will become burning pitch.

Isaiah 34:9 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 34:9

And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch
The Septuagint render it, "the valleys"; the word signifying both rivers and valleys, most render it rivers or streams. The Targum is express,

``the rivers of Rome shall be turned into pitch;''

by which may be meant the maritime places belonging to the Romish jurisdiction, the same on which the third vial will be poured, by which the rivers and fountains of waters will become blood; and which refers to this very time, when blood shall be given to the whore of Rome to drink, ( Revelation 16:4-6 ) . The allusion, in this and some following clauses, is to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; see ( Jeremiah 49:17 Jeremiah 49:18 ) :

and the dust thereof into brimstone;
and so easily take fire:

and the land thereof shall become burning pitch:
plainly pointing to the destruction of Rome by fire, ( Revelation 17:16 ) ( 18:8 ) .

Isaiah 34:9 In-Context

7 The wild oxen will be struck down with them, and young bulls with the mighty bulls. Their land will be soaked with blood, and their soil will be saturated with fat.

8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a time of paying back [Edom] for its hostility against Zion.

9 [Edom's] streams will be turned into pitch, her soil into sulfur; her land will become burning pitch.

10 It will never go out-day or night. Its smoke will go up forever. It will be desolate, from generation to generation; no one will pass through it forever and ever.

11 The desert owl and the hedgehog will possess it, and the great owl and the raven will dwell there. [The Lord] will stretch out a measuring line and a plumb line over her for [her] destruction and chaos.