Jeremiah 48:8

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. ¹ 

I, the Lord, have spoken! ² 

Jeremiah 48:15

48:15 Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded.

Its finest young men will be slaughtered. ³ 

I, the King, the Lord who rules over all, ⁴  affirm it! ⁵ 

Jeremiah 48:18

48:18 Come down from your place of honor;

sit on the dry ground, ⁶  you who live in Dibon. ⁷ 

For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you;

he will destroy your fortifications.

Jeremiah 40:10

40:10 I for my part will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians ⁸  whenever they come to us. You for your part go ahead and harvest the wine, the dates, the figs, ⁹  and the olive oil, and store them in jars. Go ahead and settle down in the towns that you have taken over.” ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “The valley will be destroyed and the tableland be laid waste.” However, in the context this surely refers to the towns and not to the valley and the tableland itself.

² tn 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).

³ tn Heb “will go down to the slaughter.”

⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of the translation and meaning of this title see the study note on 2:19.

⁵ tn 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 throughout this oracle/ these oracles (cf. v. 1).

⁶ tn Heb “sit in thirst.” The abstract “thirst” is put for the concrete, i.e., thirsty or parched ground (cf. Deut 8:19; Isa 35:7; Ps 107:33) for the concrete. There is no need to emend to “filth” (צֹאָה [tso’ah] for צָמָא [tsama’]) as is sometimes suggested.

⁷ tn Heb “inhabitant of Daughter Dibon.” “Daughter” is used here as often in Jeremiah for the personification of a city, a country, or its inhabitants. The word “inhabitant” is to be understood as a collective as also in v. 19.

⁸ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

⁹ tn Heb “summer fruit.” “Summer fruit” is meaningless to most modern readers; dates and figs are what is involved.

¹⁰ tn This plus “Things will go well with you” is in essence the substance of the oath. The pronouns are emphatic, “And I, behold I will stay…and you, you may gather.” The imperatives in the second half of the verse are more a form of permission than of command or advice (cf. NJPS, REB, TEV and compare the usage in 40:4 and the references in the translator’s note there).