Commentary
Old Testament : Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
![](images/minus.gif)
Text -- Jeremiah 48:1-47 (NET)
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Strongs On/Off
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.
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 .
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Moabites |
PALESTINE, 3 |
Chemosh |
Horonaim |
Heshbon |
Kerioth |
Nebo |
Bozrah |
Kir-haraseth |
Pride |
Wine |
Kirjathaim |
Dibon |
Jahaz |
Misgab |
Holon |
Idolatry |
Moab |
MOAB; MOABITES |
MOABITE STONE |
more
![](images/cmt_minus_head.gif)
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Jer 48:1; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:1; Jer 48:2; Jer 48:2; Jer 48:2; Jer 48:2; Jer 48:2; Jer 48:4; Jer 48:5; Jer 48:5; Jer 48:5; Jer 48:6; Jer 48:7; Jer 48:7; Jer 48:8; Jer 48:8; Jer 48:8; Jer 48:9; Jer 48:10; Jer 48:11; Jer 48:11; Jer 48:12; Jer 48:12; Jer 48:13; Jer 48:13; Jer 48:15; Jer 48:15; Jer 48:15; Jer 48:17; Jer 48:17; Jer 48:17; Jer 48:18; Jer 48:18; Jer 48:18; Jer 48:19; Jer 48:21; Jer 48:25; Jer 48:25; Jer 48:26; Jer 48:26; Jer 48:27; Jer 48:27; Jer 48:27; Jer 48:28; Jer 48:29; Jer 48:30; Jer 48:30; Jer 48:31; Jer 48:32; Jer 48:32; Jer 48:32; Jer 48:32; Jer 48:32; Jer 48:33; Jer 48:33; Jer 48:33; Jer 48:34; Jer 48:34; Jer 48:35; Jer 48:35; Jer 48:37; Jer 48:37; Jer 48:38; Jer 48:39; Jer 48:40; Jer 48:40; Jer 48:41; Jer 48:41; Jer 48:42; Jer 48:43; Jer 48:43; Jer 48:43; Jer 48:44; Jer 48:44; Jer 48:44; Jer 48:45; Jer 48:45; Jer 48:46; Jer 48:46; Jer 48:47; Jer 48:47
NET Notes: Jer 48:1 For the meaning of the verb here see BDB 369 s.v. חָתַת Qal.1 and compare usage in Isa 7:8; 30:31.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:2 Heb “A sword will follow after you.” The sword is again figurative of destructive forces, here the army of the Babylonians.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:4 The reading here follows the Qere צְעִירֶיהָ (tsÿ’ireha) which is the same noun...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:5 Heb “the distresses of the cry of destruction.” Many commentaries want to leave out the word “distresses” because it is missin...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:6 The meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation follows one reading of the Hebrew text. The Greek version reads “Be like a wild donkey in...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:7 The practice of carrying off the gods of captive nations has already been mentioned in the study note on 43:12. See also Isa 46:1-2 noted there.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:8 Heb “which/for/as the Lord has spoken.” The first person form has again been adopted because the Lord is the speaker throughout (cf. v. 1)...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:9 Or “Scatter salt over Moab for it will certainly be laid in ruins.” The meaning of these two lines is very uncertain. The Hebrew of these ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:10 Heb “who withholds his sword from bloodshed.” This verse is an editorial aside (or apostrophe) addressed to the Babylonian destroyers to b...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:11 The picture is that of undisturbed complacency (cf. Zeph 1:12). Because Moab had never known the discipline of exile she had remained as she always wa...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:15 Heb “Oracle of the King whose name is Yahweh of armies.” The first person form has again been adopted because the Lord is the speaker thro...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:17 Heb “How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod.” “How” introduces a lament which is here rendered by “Alas.̶...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:18 Dibon was an important fortified city located on the “King’s Highway,” the main north-south road in Transjordan. It was the site at ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:19 Aroer is probably the Aroer that was located a few miles south and west of Dibon on the edge of the Arnon River. It had earlier been the southern bord...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:21 See the study note on Jer 48:8 for reference to this tableland or high plain that lay between the Arnon and Heshbon.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:26 The meaning of this word is uncertain. It is usually used of clapping the hands or the thigh in helpless anger or disgust. Hence J. Bright (Jeremiah [...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:27 The reading here presupposes the emendation of דְבָרֶיךָ (dÿvarekha, “your words̶...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:28 Heb “in the sides of the mouth of a pit/chasm.” The translation follows the suggestion of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 321. The point of the ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:29 Heb “We have heard of the pride of Moab – [he is] exceedingly proud – of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his haughtiness, and th...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:30 The meaning of this verse is somewhat uncertain: Heb “I know, oracle of the Lord,/ his arrogance and [that it is?] not true; // his boastings ac...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:31 The translation is based on the emendation of the Hebrew third masculine singular (יֶהְגֶּה, yehggeh) ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:32 Heb “her summer fruit.” See the translator’s note on 40:10 for the rendering here. According to BDB 657 s.v. נָפ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:33 Heb “shouts will not be shouts.” The text has been expanded contextually to explain that the shouts of those treading grapes in winepresse...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:34 Elealeh was about two miles (3.3 km) north of Heshbon. Jahaz was about twenty miles (33 km) south of it. These three cities were in the north and Zoar...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:37 The actions referred to here were all acts that were used to mourn the dead (cf. Isa 15:2-3).
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:40 Conquering nations are often identified with a swiftly flying eagle swooping down on its victims (cf. Deut 28:49). In this case the eagle is to be ide...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:41 Heb “The heart of the soldiers of Moab will be like the heart of a woman in labor.”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Jer 48:45 This verse and the next are an apparent adaptation and reuse of a victory song in Num 21:28-29 and a prophecy in Num 24:17. That explains the referenc...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)