Deuteronomy 29:23

21 and single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

22 Then the generation to come—your sons who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land—will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses the LORD has inflicted on it.

All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.

24 So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’

25 And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
KJV
And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
WEB
that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.
ASV
[and that] the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
DARBY
[that] the whole ground thereof is brimstone and salt, [and] burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, and no grass groweth in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger and in his fury:
BLB
Of sulfur and salt [is] all the land burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there—like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which YHWH overthrew in His anger and His wrath.
ÅB
- svovel og salt, hele dets jord brent opp, så den ikke kan tilsåes og ikke gi grøde, og ingen urt kan vokse der, en ødeleggelse som Sodomas og Gomorras, Admas og Sebo'ims, dengang Herren ødela dem i sin vrede og harme - da skal de si,
OTB
Hele landet vil være et brennende avfall av salt og svovel—ingenting sådd, ingenting spirende, ingen vegetasjon som vokser på det. Det vil være som ødeleggelsen av Sodoma og Gomorra, Adma og Seboim, som Herren omstyrtet i voldsom vrede.
B1930
- svovel og salt, hele dets jord opbrent, så den ikke kan tilsåes og ikke gi grøde, og ingen urt kan vokse der, en ødeleggelse som Sodomas og Gomorras, Admas og Sebo'ims, dengang Herren ødela dem i sin vrede og harme - da skal de si,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Zephaniah 2:9

    Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”

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  • Jeremiah 17:6

    He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

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  • Genesis 19:24–25

    Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 20:16

    May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,

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  • Isaiah 34:9

    Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.

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  • Genesis 14:2

    went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

    Read in context
  • Hosea 11:8–9

    How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!

    Read in context
  • Judges 9:45

    And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

    Read in context