15:2 They went up to the temple, 1
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 2
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 3 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 4
48:18 Come down from your place of honor;
sit on the dry ground, 5 you who live in Dibon. 6
For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you;
he will destroy your fortifications.
1 tn Heb “house.”
2 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
3 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
4 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
5 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.
6 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.