Deuteronomy 29:23

29:23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. ¹ 

Deuteronomy 29:1

Narrative Interlude

29:1 (28:69) ²  These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. ³ 

Deuteronomy 12:25

12:25 You must not eat it so that it may go well with you and your children after you; you will be doing what is right in the Lord’s sight. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ⁵  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 3:25

3:25 Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River – this good hill country and the Lebanon!” ⁷ 

Psalms 107:34

107:34 and a fruitful land into a barren place, ⁸ 

because of the sin of its inhabitants.

Ezekiel 47:11

47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty.

Zephaniah 2:9

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,

“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.

They will be overrun by weeds, ⁹ 

filled with salt pits, ¹⁰ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ¹¹  will plunder their belongings; ¹² 

those who are left in Judah ¹³  will take possession of their land.”

James 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ¹⁴  judgment.

[29:23]  ¹ tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” This construction is a hendiadys intended to intensify the emotion.

[29:1]  ² sn Beginning with 29:1, the verse numbers through 29:29 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:1 ET = 28:69 HT, 29:2 ET = 29:1 HT, 29:3 ET = 29:2 HT, etc., through 29:29 ET = 29:28 HT. With 30:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[29:1]  ³ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (which some English versions substitute here for clarity, cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[12:25]  ⁴ tc Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.” The LXX adds “your God” to create the common formula, “the Lord your God.” The MT is preferred precisely because it does not include the stereotyped formula; thus it more likely preserves the original text.

[12:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

[12:2]  ⁶ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

[3:25]  ⁷ tn The article is retained in the translation (“the Lebanon,” cf. also NAB, NRSV) to indicate that a region (rather than the modern country of Lebanon) is referred to here. Other recent English versions accomplish this by supplying “mountains” after “Lebanon” (TEV, CEV, NLT).

[107:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “a salty land.”

[2:9]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.

[2:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ¹² tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

[2:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.