a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
English Standard Version (ESV)
What's so striking here isn't just that God punishes wickedness, but how He does it. He can literally turn a thriving, fruitful land into a desolate, salty wasteland, mirroring the judgment on places like Sodom. This shows His power isn't limited to social or spiritual realms; He has authority over the very earth we live on, making it inherently unproductive as a consequence of human sin.
a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse appears within a psalm celebrating God's deliverance and steadfast love, recounting how God can bring people out of hardship, even turning desolate places into fertile ones. The passage describes God's power to reverse such transformations, specifically mentioning how He can turn a once fruitful land into a barren, salty wasteland, directly linking this devastating change to the wickedness of the people living there. This serves as a stark example within the psalm of God's judgment against sin, paralleling the fate of places like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Ever seen a place that once thrived but is now desolate? This verse paints a stark picture of that transformation. What does it mean when God turns a land 'fruitful' into a 'salty waste'?
This imagery isn't just about physical decay; it speaks to a profound spiritual judgment. The phrase 'into saltness' evokes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a place so utterly ruined that nothing could grow there.
Why would God afflict an entire land? The Bible is clear: it's not random. The cause is deeply rooted in the actions of the people living there.
This verse points to a crucial theological principle: God holds people accountable for their sin, and this accountability can extend to the land they occupy.
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Understand the original words
ra'ah · Hebrew Noun
The ethical state of rebellion against God, moral perversity, or wickedness that disrupts the created order and invites divine judgment.
This verse draws a powerful parallel between the literal desolation of lands punished for wickedness, like Sodom, and the spiritual barrenness that results from a people's persistent evil, highlighting God's righteous judgment on sin.
~2000 BC
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
The biblical narrative describes the destruction of these cities due to extreme wickedness, with the land becoming a salt waste, as a stark example of divine judgment.
c. 1400 BC - 586 BC
The Land of Canaan/Israel
Throughout Israel's history in the Promised Land, periods of disobedience and sin were often met with divine judgment, including drought and unfruitfulness, as a consequence of turning away from God.
c. 586 BC
Babylonian Exile
The Babylonian conquest and exile of Judah, driven by the nation's persistent sin, led to the land being left desolate and its people scattered, illustrating the profound impact of widespread disobedience.
c. 600 BC - 500 BC
Prophetic Warnings of Judgment
Prophets like Jeremiah issued strong warnings, predicting that continued sin would lead to the land becoming a 'salt waste' and uninhabitable, a concept echoed in Psalm 107.
c. 600 BC - 500 BC— this verse
Psalm 107 Written
This psalm, likely written during or shortly after the Babylonian exile, reflects on God's faithfulness through Israel's history, contrasting their deliverance with the consequences of sin that led to desolation.
c. AD 70
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
The Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple further exemplifies the consequence of continued rebellion against God, leaving the Jewish heartland devastated.
This passage directly links the desolation of the land to the wickedness of its inhabitants, specifically referencing the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah, which serves as a prime example of a once-fruitful land turned barren.
Deuteronomy 29:22-23This text explicitly describes the consequence of disobedience as turning a fertile land into a wasteland of sulfur and salt, echoing the imagery and cause-and-effect presented in Psalm 107:34.
Jeremiah 17:6This verse parallels the idea of a fruitless land with a curse resulting from turning away from the Lord, highlighting the spiritual barrenness that accompanies turning away from God, similar to the physical barrenness described in the psalm.
Luke 13:6-9Jesus' parable of the barren fig tree speaks to the concept of a land (or a person) given ample opportunity to produce fruit but failing to do so, facing removal and barrenness due to its unproductiveness, reflecting the theme of divine judgment on unfaithfulness.
gillPsalms 107:34: "A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein."
A fruitful land into barrenness,.... Or, "into saltness" (t); as Sodom and the land adjacent became a salt sea; and the land of Canaan was threatened to become brimstone, salt and burning, like Sodom; in which nothing was sown, and which bore no grass; see Genesis 14:3 and so the Targum, "the land of Israel, which brought forth fruit, he hath destroyed, as Sodom was overthrown.'' For the wickedness…
wesleyPsalms 107:34: "A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein."
107:34 For - He doth not inflict these judgments without cause, but for the punishment of sin in some, and the prevention of it in others.
What's so striking here isn't just that God punishes wickedness, but how He does it. He can literally turn a thriving, fruitful land into a desolate, salty wasteland, mirroring the judgment on places like Sodom. This shows His power isn't limited to social or spiritual realms; He has authority over the very earth we live on, making it inherently unproductive as a consequence of human sin.
This verse appears within a psalm celebrating God's deliverance and steadfast love, recounting how God can bring people out of hardship, even turning desolate places into fertile ones. The passage describes God's power to reverse such transformations, specifically mentioning how He can turn a once fruitful land into a barren, salty wasteland, directly linking this devastating change to the wickedness of the people living there. This serves as a stark example within the psalm of God's judgment against sin, paralleling the fate of places like Sodom and Gomorrah.
This verse appears within a psalm celebrating God's deliverance and steadfast love, recounting how God can bring people out of hardship, even turning desolate places into fertile ones. The passage describes God's power to reverse such transformations, specifically mentioning how He can turn a once fruitful land into a barren, salty wasteland, directly linking this devastating change to the wickedness of the people living there. This serves as a stark example within the psalm of God's judgment against sin, paralleling the fate of places like Sodom and Gomorrah.
"a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants." — What's so striking here isn't just that God punishes wickedness, but how He does it. He can literally turn a thriving, fruitful land into a desolate, salty wasteland, mirroring the judgment on plac…
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Last reviewed October 2026