צפניה, פרק ב׳, פסוק ט׳

God swears a dramatic oath sealing the fate of Ammon and Moab to absolute and eternal ruin. This punishment serves as a historical closure, returning these nations to the destiny that characterized their origins—the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, from which their ancestor Lot originally fled. The comparison to these ruined cities is highly deliberate, pointing directly back to Lot's roots [רש״י]. A precise distinction is drawn between the two nations: Ammon will suffer total annihilation akin to Gomorrah, while Moab's downfall is likened to Sodom, a place from which Lot and his daughters at least managed to escape [מלבי״ם].

The territory of these nations will be transformed into an utter wasteland. The primary approach among commentators envisions a desolate landscape overrun by wild weeds and thorns. Left to grow undisturbed in a place where no human ever passes, these thorns will create a continuous rustling sound as the wind blows them against one another. Alternatively, the thorns will be deeply and immovably rooted in the earth [אבן עזרא], or densely tangled together in impenetrable thickets [מלבי״ם]. The devastation extends to the soil itself, which will become so parched that it turns into a vast salt mine. Anyone digging in the earth will find nothing but salt, much like the ancient plains of Sodom [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם], and the salt will eventually pile up into massive mounds across the land [רד״ק].

Following the collapse of Ammon and Moab, the Israelites will seize the opportunity to plunder their wealth and inherit their territory. The fulfillment of this prophecy is seen as taking place either during the historical return to Zion and the building of the Second Temple, or in the future Messianic era [רד״ק]. A fascinating social distinction emerges in how this conquest is carried out [מלבי״ם]. The elite and prominent members of the Israelites will solely focus on looting the riches, having no desire to settle permanently in a foreign region. In contrast, the common masses of the nation are the ones who will physically remain, settling and inheriting the newly acquired land.