Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, May 17th, 2025
the Fourth Week after Easter
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

New Revised Standard

Psalms 107:33

He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Famine;   Wicked (People);   The Topic Concordance - God;   Government;   Poverty;   Righteousness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Deserts;   Fountains and Springs;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Poetry of the Hebrews;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Providence of God;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Discontent;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Wandering;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Water;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Psalms;   Sin;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Psalms the book of;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Dry dried drieth;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ground;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Alliteration and Kindred Figures;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He turns rivers into desert,springs into thirsty ground,
Hebrew Names Version
He turns rivers into a desert, Water springs into a thirsty ground,
King James Version
He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
English Standard Version
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
New Century Version
He changed rivers into a desert and springs of water into dry ground.
New English Translation
He turned streams into a desert, springs of water into arid land,
Amplified Bible
He turns rivers into a wilderness, And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
New American Standard Bible
He turns rivers into a wilderness, And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
World English Bible
He turns rivers into a desert, Water springs into a thirsty ground,
Geneva Bible (1587)
He turneth the floodes into a wildernesse, and the springs of waters into drinesse,
Legacy Standard Bible
He makes rivers into a wildernessAnd springs of water into a thirsty ground;
Berean Standard Bible
He turns rivers into deserts, springs of water into thirsty ground,
Contemporary English Version
If you start doing wrong, the Lord will turn rivers into deserts,
Complete Jewish Bible
He turns rivers into desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,
Darby Translation
He maketh rivers into a wilderness, and water-springs into dry ground;
Easy-to-Read Version
He changed rivers into a desert. He stopped springs from flowing.
George Lamsa Translation
He turns rivers into a wilderness and the water-springs into dry ground,
Good News Translation
The Lord made rivers dry up completely and stopped springs from flowing.
Lexham English Bible
He turns rivers into a wilderness and springs of water into thirsty ground,
Literal Translation
He sets rivers to a wilderness, and watersprings to thirsty ground;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Which turneth the floudes in to drie londe, and drieth vp the water sprynges.
American Standard Version
He turneth rivers into a wilderness, And watersprings into a thirsty ground;
Bible in Basic English
He makes rivers into waste places, and springs of water into a dry land;
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and watersprings into a thirsty ground;
King James Version (1611)
Hee turneth riuers into a wildernesse: and the water springs into dry ground:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He turneth fluddes into a wildernes: and waterspringes into a drye grounde.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He turns rivers into a desert, and streams of water into a dry land;
English Revised Version
He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and watersprings into a thirsty ground;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He hath set floodis in to deseert; and the out goingis of watris in to thirst.
Update Bible Version
He turns rivers into a wilderness, And watersprings into a thirsty ground;
Webster's Bible Translation
He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground;
New King James Version
He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground;
New Living Translation
He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
New Life Bible
He changes rivers into a desert and wells of water into a thirsty ground.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
He turneth Rivers into a desert, and, Springs of Water, into thirsty ground,
Douay-Rheims Bible
(106-33) He hath turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry ground:
Revised Standard Version
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
Young's Literal Translation
He maketh rivers become a wilderness, And fountains of waters become dry land.
THE MESSAGE
God turned rivers into wasteland, springs of water into sunbaked mud; Luscious orchards became alkali flats because of the evil of the people who lived there. Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water, arid earth into springs of water, Brought in the hungry and settled them there; they moved in—what a great place to live! They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards, they reaped a bountiful harvest. He blessed them and they prospered greatly; their herds of cattle never decreased. But abuse and evil and trouble declined as he heaped scorn on princes and sent them away. He gave the poor a safe place to live, treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He changes rivers into a wilderness And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

Contextual Overview

33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. 35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 36 And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; 37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield. 38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease. 39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, 40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 41 but he raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks. 42 The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

turneth: 1 Kings 17:1-7, Isaiah 13:19-21, Isaiah 19:5-10, Isaiah 34:9, Isaiah 34:10, Isaiah 42:15, Isaiah 44:27, Isaiah 50:2, Ezekiel 30:12, Joel 1:20, Nahum 1:4, Zephaniah 2:9, Zephaniah 2:13

watersprings: 1 Kings 18:5, Jeremiah 14:3, Amos 4:7, Amos 4:8

Reciprocal: Judges 6:39 - dry 2 Kings 2:21 - there shall Isaiah 32:15 - the spirit Jeremiah 51:36 - and I will

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He turneth rivers into a wilderness,.... A country abounding with rivers, as the country round about Sodom and the land of Canaan were, Genesis 13:10. Such an one is sometimes, by the just judgment of God, turned into a desert.

And the water springs into dry ground: what was like a well watered garden becomes like dry and barren earth, on which nothing grows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He turneth rivers into a wilderness - He makes great changes in the earth; he shows that he has absolute dominion over it. See the notes at Isaiah 44:26-27. On the word “wilderness,” see the notes at Psalms 107:4. The point here is, that God had such control over nature that he could make the bed of a river dry and barren as the rocky or sandy desert. He could effectually dry up the stream, and make it so dry and parched that nothing would grow but the most stunted shrubs, such as were found in the waste and sandy desert.

And the water-springs into dry ground - The very fountains of the rivers: not only drying up the river itself by leading it off into burning wastes where it would be evaporated by the heat, or lost in the sand - but so directly affecting the “sources” of the streams as to make them dry.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 107:33. He turneth rivers into a wilderness — After having, as above, illustrated the state of the Jews in their captivity, and the deliverance which God wrought for them, he now turns to the general conduct of God in reference to the poor and needy; and his gracious interpositions in their behalf, the providential supply of their wants, and his opposition to their oppressors. On account of the wickedness of men, he sometimes changes a fruitful land into a desert. See the general state of Egypt in the present time: once a fertile land; now an arid, sandy wilderness. Again, by his blessing on honest industry, he has changed deserts into highly fertile ground. And, as for the wickedness of their inhabitants, many lands are cursed and rendered barren; so, when a people acknowledge him in all their ways, he blesses their toil, gives them rain and fruitful seasons, and fills their hearts with joy and gladness.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile