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Texts -- Jeremiah 48:1-33 (NET)

Context
Judgment Against Moab
48:1 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all spoke about Moab . “Sure to be judged is Nebo ! Indeed , it will be destroyed ! Kiriathaim will suffer disgrace . It will be captured ! Its fortress will suffer disgrace . It will be torn down ! 48:2 People will not praise Moab any more . The enemy will capture Heshbon and plot how to destroy Moab, saying, ‘Come , let’s put an end to that nation !’ City of Madmen , you will also be destroyed . A destructive army will march against you. 48:3 Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim , ‘Oh, the ruin and great destruction !’ 48:4 “Moab will be crushed . Her children will cry out in distress. 48:5 Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith , weeping continually as they go . For on the road down to Horonaim they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction . 48:6 They will hear, ‘Run ! Save yourselves ! Even if you must be like a lonely shrub in the desert !’ 48:7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches . So you too will be conquered . Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials . 48:8 The destroyer will come against every town . Not one town will escape . The towns in the valley will be destroyed . The cities on the high plain will be laid waste . I, the Lord , have spoken ! 48:9 Set up a gravestone for Moab , for it will certainly be laid in ruins! Its cities will be laid waste and become uninhabited .” 48:10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work ! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction ! 48:11 “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed . It has never been taken into exile . Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs , never poured out from one jar to another . They are like wine which tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged . 48:12 But the time is coming when I will send men against Moab who will empty it out . They will empty the towns of their people, then will lay those towns in ruins . I, the Lord , affirm it! 48:13 The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh . They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel . 48:14 How can you men of Moab say , ‘We are heroes , men who are mighty in battle ?’ 48:15 Moab will be destroyed . Its towns will be invaded . Its finest young men will be slaughtered . I, the King , the Lord who rules over all , affirm it! 48:16 Moab’s destruction is at hand . Disaster will come on it quickly . 48:17 Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it, all of you nations that know of its fame . Mourn and say , ‘Alas , its powerful influence has been broken ! Its glory and power have been done away!’ 48:18 Come down from your place of honor ; sit on the dry ground , you who live in Dibon . For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you; he will destroy your fortifications . 48:19 You who live in Aroer , stand by the road and watch . Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping . Ask them, ‘What has happened ?’ 48:20 They will answer, ‘Moab is disgraced , for it has fallen ! Wail and cry out in mourning! Announce along the Arnon River that Moab has been destroyed .’ 48:21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain : on Holon , Jahzah , and Mephaath , 48:22 on Dibon , Nebo , and Beth Diblathaim , 48:23 on Kiriathaim , Beth Gamul , and Beth Meon , 48:24 on Kerioth and Bozrah . It will come on all the towns of Moab , both far and near . 48:25 Moab’s might will be crushed . Its power will be broken . I, the Lord , affirm it! 48:26 “Moab has vaunted itself against me. So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath until he splashes around in his own vomit , until others treat him as a laughingstock . 48:27 For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel ? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them? 48:28 Leave your towns , you inhabitants of Moab . Go and live in the cliffs . Be like a dove that makes its nest high on the sides of a ravine . 48:29 I have heard how proud the people of Moab are, I know how haughty they are. I have heard how arrogant , proud , and haughty they are, what a high opinion they have of themselves. 48:30 I , the Lord , affirm that I know how arrogant they are. But their pride is ill-founded . Their boastings will prove to be false . 48:31 So I will weep with sorrow for Moab . I will cry out in sadness for all of Moab . I will moan for the people of Kir Heres . 48:32 I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea . They reached as far as the town of Jazer . The destroyer will ravage her fig, date , and grape crops . 48:33 Joy and gladness will disappear from the fruitful land of Moab . I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses . No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy. The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers, not the shouts of those making wine.

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Moabites

    [nave] MOABITES Descendants of Lot through his son Moab, Gen. 19:37. Called the people of Chemosh, Num. 21:29. The territory E. of Jordan, bounded on the N. by the river Arnon, Num. 21:13; Judg. 11:18. Children of Israel command...

  • PALESTINE, 3

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 3 - IV. Palestine in the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Job: In Job the scene is distinctively Edomite. Uz (Job 1:1; compare Gen 22:21 the English Revised Version; Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21) and Buz (Job ...

  • Chemosh

    [ebd] the destroyer, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the Moabites (Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46). The worship of this god, "the abomination of Moab," was introduced at Jerusalem by Solomon (1 Kings 11:7), but was abolished by Jo...
    [isbe] CHEMOSH - ke'-mosh (kemosh; Chamos): 1. Moabites, the People of Chemosh 2. Solomon and Chemosh Worship 3. Josiah Putting Down Chemosh Worship 4. Chemosh and Ammonites 5. Moabite Stone 6. Mesha's Inscription and the Old Testa...
    [smith] (subduer), the national deity of the Moabites. (Numbers 21:29; Jeremiah 48:7,13,46) In (Judges 11:24) he also appears as the god of the Ammonites. Solomon introduced, and Josiah abolished, the worship of Chemosh at Jerusalem....
    [nave] CHEMOSH, an idol of the Moabites and Ammonites, 1 Kin. 11:7, 33; 2 Kin. 23:13; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46; and Amorites, Judg. 11:24.

  • Horonaim

    [ebd] two caverns, a city of Moab to the south of the Arnon, built, apparently, upon an eminence, and a place of some importance (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:3, 5, 34).
    [isbe] HORONAIM - hor-o-na'-im (~choronayim]; Aronieim; in Jeremiah Oronaim, "the two hollows"): an unidentified place in the South of Moab. It is named in Jer 48:5. Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:3) speak of "the way to Horanaim";...
    [smith] (two caverns), a town of Moab, possibly a sanctuary, named with Zoar and Luhith. (Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:3,5,34)
    [nave] HORONAIM, a town of Moab, Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:3, 5, 34.

  • Nebo

    [ebd] proclaimer; prophet. (1.) A Chaldean god whose worship was introduced into Assyria by Pul (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 48:1). To this idol was dedicated the great temple whose ruins are still seen at Birs Nimrud. A statue of Nebo found ...
    [smith] A town of Reuben on the east side of Jordan. (Numbers 32:3,38) In the remarkable prophecy adopted by Isaiah, (Isaiah 15:2) and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 48:1,26) concerning Moab, Nebo is mentioned in the same connection as before,...
    [nave] NEBO 1. A city allotted to Reuben, Num. 32:3, 38; 1 Chr. 5:8. Prophecies concerning, Isa. 15:2; Jer. 48:1, 22. 2. A mountain range E. of the Jordan. Moses views Canaan from, Deut. 32:49, 50; dies on, Deut. 34:1. 3. A city...

  • Kerioth

    [ebd] cities. (1.) A town in the south of Judah (Josh. 15:25). Judas the traitor was probably a native of this place, and hence his name Iscariot. It has been identified with the ruins of el-Kureitein, about 10 miles south of Hebr...
    [isbe] KERIOTH - ke'-ri-oth, -oth (qeriyoth): (1) A city of Moab, named with Beth-meon and Bozrah (Jer 48:24,41). Here was a sanctuary of Chemosh, to which Mesha says (M S, l. 13) he dragged "the altar hearths of Davdoh." It may po...
    [smith] (cities). A name which occurs among the lists of the towns in the southern district of Judah. (Joshua 15:25) Supposed by some to have been the birthplace of Judas Iscariot. A city of Moab, named by Jeremiah only, (Jeremiah 4...
    [nave] KERIOTH 1. A city of Judah, Josh. 15:25. 2. Called also Kirioth. A city of Moab, Jer. 48:24, 41; Amos 2:2.

  • Kirjathaim

    [ebd] two cities; a double city. (1.) A city of refuge in Naphtali (1 Chr. 6:76). (2.) A town on the east of Jordan (Gen. 14:5; Deut. 2:9, 10). It was assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:37). In the time of Ezekiel (25:9) it ...
    [nave] KIRJATHAIM, 1. Called also Kiriathaim. A city of Reuben, Num. 32:37; Josh. 13:19. Prophecies concerning, Jer. 48:1, 23; Ezek. 25:9. 2. A Levitical city in Naphtali, 1 Chr. 6:76.

  • Misgab

    [ebd] height, a town of Moab, or simply, the height=the citadel, some fortress so called; or perhaps a general name for the highlands of Moab, as some think (Jer. 48:1). In Isa. 25:12, the word is rendered "high fort."
    [isbe] MISGAB - mis'-gab (ha-misgabh; Codex Vaticanus Amath; Codex Alexandrinus to krataioma): Named with Nebo and Kiriathaim in the denunciation of doom against Moab (Jer 48:1). No trace of any name resembling this has been found....
    [smith] (height), a place in Moab. (Jeremiah 48:1) It appears to be mentioned also in (Isaiah 25:12) thorough there rendered in the Authorized Version "high fort."
    [nave] MISGAB, an unknown place mentioned in Jer. 48:1.

  • Dibon

    [smith] (wasting). A town on the east side of Jordan, in the rich pastoral country, which was taken possession of and rebuilt by the children of Gad. (Numbers 32:3,34) From this circumstance it possibly received the name of DIBON-GA...
    [nave] DIBON 1. Called also Dibon-gad and Dimon. A city on the northern banks of the Arnon, Num. 21:30. Israelites encamp at, Num. 33:45. Allotted to Gad and Reuben, Num. 32:3, 34; Josh. 13:9, 17. Taken by Moab, Isa. 15:2, 9; Je...

  • Pride

    [nave] PRIDE. Ex. 18:10, 11; Lev. 26:19; Deut. 8:11-14, 17-20; Judg. 9:14, 15; 1 Sam. 2:3-5; 1 Kin. 20:11; 2 Kin. 14:9, 10 2 Chr. 25:18, 19. Job 11:12; Job 12:2, 3; Job 13:2, 5; Job 15:1-13; Job 18:3, 4; Job 21:31, 32; Job 32:9-13...

  • Wine

    [ebd] The common Hebrew word for wine is yayin, from a root meaning "to boil up," "to be in a ferment." Others derive it from a root meaning "to tread out," and hence the juice of the grape trodden out. The Greek word for wine is ...
    [smith] The manufacture of wine is carried back in the Bible to the age of Noah, (Genesis 9:20,21) to whom the discovery of the process is apparently, though not explicitly, attributed. The natural history and culture of the vine are...
    [nave] WINE Made from grapes, Gen. 40:11; 49:11; Isa. 25:6; Jer. 40:10, 12; from pomegranates, Song 8:2. Kept in jars, Jer. 13:12; 48:12; in skins, Josh. 9:4, 13; Job 32:19; Matt. 9:17; Luke 5:37, 38; in bottles, Josh. 9:4, 13; Jo...

  • Bozrah

    [ebd] enclosure; fortress. (1.) The city of Jobab, one of the early Edomite kings (Gen. 36:33). This place is mentioned by the prophets in later times (Isa. 34:6; Jer. 49:13; Amos 1:12; Micah 2:12). Its modern representative is el...
    [isbe] BOZRAH - boz'-ra (botsrah, "sheepfold"; Bosorrha, Bosor): (1) The capital of Edom, a city of great antiquity (Gen 36:33; 1 Ch 1:44; Isa 34:6; 63:1; Jer 49:13; Am 1:12). It may be identical with Buceirah, which lies about 7 m...
    [smith] (fortress). In Edom, the city of Jobab the son of Zerah, one of the early king of that nation. (Genesis 36:33; 1 Chronicles 1:44) Mentioned by Isaiah, (Isaiah 34:6; 63:1) in connection with Edom, and by Jeremiah, (Jeremia...
    [nave] BOZRAH 1. A city of Edom, Gen. 36:33. Sheep of, Mic. 2:12. Prophecies concerning, Isa. 34:6; 63:1; Jer. 49:13, 22; Amos 1:12. 2. A town of Moab, Jer. 48:24.

  • MOAB; MOABITES

    [isbe] MOAB; MOABITES - mo'-ab, mo'-ab-its (Moab, mo'abh, Moabite Stone, M-'-B; Greek (Septuagint) Moab, he Moabeitis, Moabitis; Moabite, mo'abhi; Moabites, bene mo'abh): 1. The Land: Moab was the district East of the Dead Sea, ext...

  • Moab

    [ebd] the seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), of incestuous birth. (2.) Used to denote the people of Moab (Num. 22:3-14; Judg. 3:30; 2 Sam. 8:2; Jer. 48:11, 13). (3....

  • Holon

    [isbe] HOLON - ho'-lon (cholon or chowlon): (1) One of the towns in the hill country of Judah (Josh 15:51) assigned to the Levites 21:15). In 1 Ch 6:58 (Hebrew 43), it is HILEN (which see). The site may be the important ruins of Be...
    [smith] (sandy). A town in the mountains of Judah. One of the first group, of which Debir was apparently the most considerable. (Joshua 15:51; 21:15) [HILEN] A city of Moab. (Jeremiah 48:21) only. No identification of it has yet tak...
    [nave] HOLON Josh. 15:51; 21:15; Jer. 48:21

  • Beth-gamul

    [ebd] camel-house, a city in the "plain country" of Moab denounced by the prophet (Jer. 48:23); probably the modern Um-el-Jemal, near Bozrah, one of the deserted cities of the Hauran.
    [isbe] BETH-GAMUL - beth-ga'-mul (beth gamul; oikos Gaimol; Codex Sinaiticus, Gamola): A city in Moab named with Dibon, Kiriathaim and Beth-meon (Jer 48:23). Conder places it at Umm el-Jamal, toward East of the plateau, S. of Medeb...
    [nave] BETH-GAMUL, a city of Moab, Jer. 48:23.

  • Luhith

    [ebd] made of boards, a Moabitish place between Zoar and Horonaim (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:5).
    [smith] (made of tables or boards), The ascent of, a place in Moab, occurs only in (Isaiah 15:5) and the parallel passage of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 48:5) In the days of Eusebius and Jerome it was still known, and stood between Areopolis...
    [nave] LUHITH, a city of Moab, Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:5.

  • MOABITE STONE

    [isbe] MOABITE STONE - A monument erected at Dibon (Dhiban) by Mesha, king of Moab (2 Ki 3:4,5), to commemorate his successful revolt from Israel and his conquest of Israelite territory. It was discovered, August 19, 1868, by a Ger...

  • Heshbon

    [ebd] intelligence, a city ruled over by Sihon, king of the Amorites (Josh. 3:10; 13:17). It was taken by Moses (Num. 21:23-26), and became afterwards a Levitical city (Josh. 21:39) in the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:37). After the E...
    [isbe] HESHBON - hesh'-bon (cheshbon; Hesebon): The royal city of Sihon king of the Amorites, taken and occupied by the Israelites under Moses (Nu 21:25 f, etc.). It lay on the southern border of Gad (Josh 13:26), and was one of th...
    [nave] HESHBON A city of the Amorites, Num. 21:25-35; Deut. 1:4. Built by Reuben, Num. 32:37. Allotted to Gad, Josh. 21:38, 39. Fish-pools at, Song 7:4. Prophecy concerning, Isa. 16:8; Jer. 48:2, 34, 35; 49:1-3.

  • Baal-meon

    [ebd] lord of dwelling, a town of Reuben (Num. 32:38), called also Beth-meon (Jer. 48:23) and Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17). It is supposed to have been the birth-place of Elisha. It is identified with the modern M'ain, about 3 mil...
    [isbe] BAAL-MEON - ba'-al-me'-on ba`al me`on; Beelmeon: A town built by the children of Reuben along with Nebo, "their names being changed" (Nu 32:38), identical with Beon of Nu 32:3. As Beth-baal-meon it was given by Moses to the ...
    [nave] BAAL-MEON A city of the Reubenites, Num. 32:38; 1 Chr. 5:8; Ezek. 25:9. Called Beth-meon, Jer. 48:23; Beth-baal-meon, Josh. 13:17; Beon, Num. 32:3.
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Arts

Questions

  • They were the descendants of Lot and were neighbors of the Amorites on the opposite side of the River Arnon (Num. 21:13). They were governed by kings and possessed many great cities (Num. 21:28-30; Is. 15:1; Num. 23:7). They ...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Another instance of incomplete obedience followed the great victory God gave His people and the military commanders' sacrificial, voluntary worship of Yahweh.32:1-19 Maybe the leaders of Reuben and Gad concluded that their br...
  • Often warring armies in the ancient Near East carried images of their gods into battle to help secure victory (cf. 2 Sam. 5:21; 1 Chron. 14:12). When one army defeated the other the victors would take the images of their defe...
  • Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.Bromiley, Geoffrey W. God and Marriage. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980.Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poe...
  • The recurrence of the Hebrew word massa', translated "oracle"or "burden,"prescribes the boundaries of this section of text.140These chapters present the nations over which Immanuel is ruler, and they expand the idea of God's ...
  • This section of Isaiah on "The Lord's redemption of His servant [Israel]"(44:23-47:15) has included an announcement of redemption (44:23-28), the identification of the instrument of redemption, Cyrus (45:1-13), and a reminder...
  • Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
  • The Book of Jeremiah is not theologically organized in the sense that it develops a certain theological emphasis as it unfolds, as Isaiah does. Rather it presents certain theological truths in greater or lesser degree through...
  • I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • The first series of prophetic announcements, reflections, and incidents that comprise this part of the book deals with Jeremiah's ministry to his own people.64The second main division of the book contains oracles against fore...
  • This prophecy about Israel's neighbors anticipates chapters 46-51, which contain oracles against Gentile nations.12:14 The Lord promised to judge Judah's neighbor nations that had robbed His people of what the Lord had given ...
  • In Jeremiah, prophecies concerning foreign nations come at the end of the book. In the other major prophets, Isaiah and Ezekiel, they come after oracles against Israel and or Judah and before oracles dealing with Israel's res...
  • This chapter on Egypt contains three separate prophecies that Jeremiah delivered about the fate of that nation. Their purpose seems to have been to discourage King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.) and the pro-Egyptian party in Judah ...
  • This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
  • The Ammonites lived north of the Moabites, north of the Arnon River for most of their history, and east of the tribal territories of Gad and Reuben. However, the Ammonites had taken over some Israelite territory in Transjorda...
  • Elam was the land of the Elamites who lived in Mesopotamia somewhat east of the Babylonians (in modern southwest Iran). We know little about the history of the Elamites, and their inclusion in a collection of judgments agains...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • This chapter ties in very closely with the preceding one. Evidently all the messages in these two chapters date from the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (24:1-2). Even though this chapter begins a series of mes...
  • 25:8 The residents of Moab and Seir (Edom) had regarded Judah as just one of the other nations even though the Judahites were blood relatives of theirs (cf. Jer. 48:27; Zeph. 2:8-9). This attitude reflected disrespect for Yah...
  • 29:17 Ezekiel received another message from the Lord about Egypt's judgment in 571 B.C. (on his New Year's day). This was probably the second to the last recorded prophecy of Ezekiel, and the prophet would have been about 50 ...
  • 8:2 Evidently Daniel was in Babylon when he had this vision, but what he saw, including himself, was in Susa (Shushan, AV; cf. Ezek. 8:3; 40:1).293Daniel probably knew where he was in his vision because he had visited Susa. I...
  • An oracle is a message of judgment. Amos proceeded to deliver eight of these, seven against Israel's neighbors including Judah (1:3-2:5) and one against Israel (2:6-6:14).12The order is significant. The nations mentioned firs...
  • Yahweh promised not to revoke His punishment of Moab, another nation descended from Lot (cf. Gen. 19:30-38), because of its brutal treatment of an Edomite king's corpse (cf. 2 Kings 3:26-27). Burning the bones of a dead perso...
  • 2:8 Probably Zephaniah linked Moab and Ammon because both nations descended from Lot (Gen. 19:30-38) as well as because both lay to Judah's east. Both nations had taunted and reviled the Israelites from their earliest history...
  • 7:1 Another prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in 518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the fol...
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