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Texts -- Jeremiah 48:15-47 (NET)

Context
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. 48:34 Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh will be sounded as far as Jahaz . They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah . For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up. 48:35 I will put an end in Moab to those who make offerings at her places of worship . I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods . I, the Lord , affirm it! 48:36 So my heart moans for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song, my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres . For the wealth they have gained will perish . 48:37 For all of them will shave their heads in mourning. They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow. They will all make gashes in their hands . They will all put on sackcloth . 48:38 On all the housetops in Moab and in all its public squares there will be nothing but mourning . For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar . I, the Lord , affirm it! 48:39 Oh, how shattered Moab will be! Oh, how her people will wail ! Oh, how she will turn away in shame ! Moab will become an object of ridicule , a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her.” 48:40 For the Lord says , “Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab . 48:41 Her towns will be captured . Her fortresses will be taken . At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened like a woman in labor . 48:42 Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation , because she has vaunted herself against the Lord . 48:43 Terror , pits , and traps are in store for the people who live in Moab . I, the Lord , affirm it! 48:44 Anyone who flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit . Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap . For the time is coming when I will punish the people of Moab . I, the Lord , affirm it! 48:45 In the shadows of the walls of Heshbon those trying to escape will stand helpless . For a fire will burst forth from Heshbon . Flames will shoot out from the former territory of Sihon . They will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab , the skulls of those war-loving people . 48:46 Moab , you are doomed ! You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed . Your sons will be taken away captive . Your daughters will be carried away into exile . 48:47 Yet in days to come I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune .” says the Lord . The judgment against Moab ends here .

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 ...

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • Kir-haraseth

    [ebd] built fortress, a city and fortress of Moab, the modern Kerak, a small town on the brow of a steep hill about 6 miles from Rabbath-Moab and 10 miles from the Dead Sea; called also Kir-haresh, Kir-hareseth, Kir-heres (Isa. 16...
    [nave] KIR-HARASETH, called also Kirharesh, Kir-hareseth, and Kir-heres. A city of Moab, 2 Kin. 3:25; Isa. 16:7, 11; Jer. 48:31, 36. Called Kir of Moab, Isa. 15:1.

  • Jahaz

    [ebd] trodden down (called also Jahaza, Josh. 13:18; Jahazah, 21:36; Jahzah, 1 Chr. 6:78), a town where Sihon was defeated, in the borders of Moab and in the land of the Ammonites beyond Jordan, and north of the river Arnon (Num. ...
    [isbe] JAHAZ - ja'-haz (yahats, Isa 16:4; Jer 48:34, yahatsah, or yahtsah, Nu 21:23; Dt 2:32; Josh 13:18; 21:36, the King James Version "Jahazah"; Jdg 11:20; Jer 48:21; 1 Ch 6:78, "Jahzah"): This is the place where in a great battl...
    [nave] JAHAZ, called also Jahaza, Jahazah, and Jahzah. A Levitical city in Reuben, taken from the Moabites, Josh. 13:18; 21:36; Isa. 15:4; Jer. 48:21. Sihon defeated at, Num. 21:23; Deut. 2:32; Judg. 11:20.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Beard

    [ebd] The mode of wearing it was definitely prescribed to the Jews (Lev. 19:27; 21:5). Hence the import of Ezekiel's (5:1-4) description of the "razor" i.e., the agents of an angry providence being used against the guilty nation o...
    [smith] Western Asiatics have always cherished the beard as the badge of the dignity of manhood, and attached to it the importance of a feature. The Egyptians, on the contrary for the most part shaved the hair of the face and head, t...
    [nave] BEARD Worn long by Aaron, Psa. 133:2; Samson, Judg. 16:17; David, 1 Sam. 21:13; Ezek. 5:1. Shaven by Egyptians, Gen. 41:14. Untrimmed in mourning, 2 Sam. 19:24. Plucked, Ezra 9:3. Cut, Isa. 7:20; 15:2; Jer. 41:5; 48:37. ...

  • 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.

  • VINE

    [ebd] one of the most important products of Palestine. The first mention of it is in the history of Noah (Gen. 9:20). It is afterwards frequently noticed both in the Old and New Testaments, and in the ruins of terraced vineyards t...
    [smith] the well-known valuable plant (vitis vinifera) very frequently referred to in the Old and New Testaments, and cultivated from the earliest times. The first mention of this plant occurs in (Genesis 9:20,21) That it was abundan...

  • LAUGHING-STOCK

    [isbe] LAUGHING-STOCK - laf'-ing-stok: Something set up to be laughed at; thrice in the Revised Version (British and American) the translation of sechoq, "laughter," etc. (Job 12:4 twice; Jer 20:7; compare Jer 48:26,27,39; Lam 3:14...

  • 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

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Nimrim

    [isbe] NIMRIM - nim'-rim (me nimrim; Codex Vaticanus Nebrein; Codex Alexandrinus Ebrim (Jer 48:34); to hudor tes Nimreim (Isa 15:6)): The meaning appears to be "pure" or "wholesome water." The name occurs only in Isa 15:6 and Jer 4...
    [smith] (limpid, pure), The waters of, a stream or brook within the country of Moab, which is mentioned in the denunciations of that nation by Isaiah. (Isaiah 15:6) and Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 48:34) We should perhaps look for the site o...
    [nave] NIMRIM, waters on the borders of Gad and Moab, Isa. 15:6; Jer. 48:34.

  • 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).
    [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.

  • SHAME

    [isbe] SHAME - sham (bosh, "to be ashamed," bosheth, "shame," qalon; aischune, "ignominy," atimia, "dishonor," and other words): An oft-recurring word in Scripture almost uniformly bound up with a sense of sin and guilt. It is figu...
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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...
  • 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 ...
  • 41:4-5 Two days after Gedaliah's murder, before the news of it had spread, 80 religious pilgrims came down from the old towns of Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria in northern Israel on their way to Jerusalem. Their dress and other...
  • 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 ...
  • It is not possible to date this oracle exactly, but Jeremiah evidently gave it sometime during Josiah's reign (640-609 B.C.; v. 1).47:1 Jeremiah received a message from the Lord concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh conqu...
  • 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...
  • The Edomites lived to the southeast of Judah, south of Moab. The Zered River was their northern border, the Gulf of Aqabah (about 100 miles to the south) the southern, the Arabah the western, and the desert the eastern border...
  • 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...
  • Ezekiel was also to do something else during the time he was dramatizing the siege of Jerusalem with his model (ch. 4)."After Ezekiel represented the factof the siege (first sign [4:1-3]), the lengthof the siege (second sign ...
  • 17:11-12 Ezekiel was now to tell his rebellious hearers what this story represented.250The first eagle stood for the king of Babylon (cf. Jer. 48:40; 49:22; Dan. 7:4). His invasion of Jerusalem (the specific identity of the L...
  • 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...
  • Ezekiel previously recorded an oracle against Ammon (21:28-32). Its placement there was evidently due to the presence of "sword of the Lord"terminology in that oracle, which the other prophecies in that chapter also contain.2...
  • 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...
  • 8:8 The prophet looked ahead to the time of Israel's judgment. The nation would be swallowed up, as when someone eats grain (v. 7). Israel would become a part of the nations having gone into captivity and lost its own soverei...
  • 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...
  • 13:1 In that day God would open a fountain for the complete spiritual cleansing of the Israelites, both for their moral sins and for their ritual uncleanness (cf. Ezek. 47). The figure of a fountain pictures abundant cleansin...
  • This lamentation should help us realize that the judgment Jesus just announced in such strong language was not something that delighted Him. It broke His heart. This is also clear from His personalizing the people in Jerusale...
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