Read
Psalm 107:34
and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
32Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
34and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
36There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
Notice
A fruitful land becomes a salt waste under God's judgment, confronting the reader with the reach of human wickedness into the ground a community depends on.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does the change from fruitful land to salt waste challenge your sense of security?
Write on thisWhat do you notice about God's rule over the land in verses 33–36?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Proverbs 14:34Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.Both passages connect a people's sin with consequences that reach beyond one person into their shared life.
Jeremiah 5:25“Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good from you.Both passages name human wrongdoing as the reason good things are lost or withheld.
Jeremiah 23:10“For the land is full of adulterers; for because of the curse the land mourns. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course is evil, and their …Both passages connect the evil of a land's inhabitants with the devastation of the land itself.
Genesis 6:17I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is on the earth …Both describe God bringing devastation to the earth, though Genesis names a flood and the psalm a salt waste.
Jeremiah 12:4How long will the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? Because of the wickedness of those who dwell therein, the animals and birds are …Both name the wickedness of those dwelling in the land as the cause of its ruin.
Haggai 1:6You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is …Both describe the loss of agricultural abundance, though Haggai's supplied words describe scarcity without stating its cause.
Genesis 13:10Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden …Both connect fruitful land with destruction by God; Genesis describes the well-watered plain before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 14:3All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea).The shared detail is salt in the landscape; Genesis names the Salt Sea without explaining its origin.
Genesis 19:25He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.Both describe devastation extending across inhabited land and reaching what grows on the ground.
Psalm 68:6God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.Both connect rebellion or wickedness with people dwelling in land marked by barrenness.
Jeremiah 22:6For the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are Gilead to me, the head of Lebanon. Yet surely I will make you a wilderness, cities which …Both portray God turning a valued place into a desolate landscape.
Job 39:6whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?Both describe salt land under God's rule, though Job presents it as a dwelling place without naming judgment.
Where this verse fits
Sermon or Bible study notes. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The salt waste is a severe judgment with a stated cause. This does not explain every personal loss. God rules over the land, and the surrounding verses show him restoring its fruitfulness.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 107:34. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).