How do we understand this indication that the land that is utterly devastated will become the possession of the remnant of Judah? One could reason that the people of Moab and Ammon are spared, in contrast to the land, and thus it is people, not land, that the remnant of Judah would plunder and possess. But this is unlikely, because if a destruction along the proportions experienced by Sodom and Gomorrah had taken place, neither people nor possessions would be left to pillage.
1 Instead, it is more likely that the prophet simply has mixed his imagery.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”