Discovery BoxJeremiah 48:33
Context48:33 Joy and gladness will disappear
from the fruitful land of Moab. 1
I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses.
No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy. 2
The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers,
not the shouts of those making wine. 3
Jeremiah 51:14
Context51:14 The Lord who rules over all 4 has solemnly sworn, 5
‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers.
They will swarm over it like locusts. 6
They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’
[48:33] 1 tn Heb “from the garden land, even from the land of Moab.” Comparison with the parallel passage in Isa 16:10 and the translation of the Greek text here (which has only “the land of Moab”) suggest that the second phrase is appositional to the first.
[48:33] 2 tn Heb “no one will tread [the grapes] with shout of joy.”
[48:33] 3 tn Heb “shouts will not be shouts.” The text has been expanded contextually to explain that the shouts of those treading grapes in winepresses will come to an end (v. 33a-d) and be replaced by the shouts of the soldiers who trample down the vineyards (v. 32e-f). Compare 25:30 and 51:41 for the idea.
[51:14] 4 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.
[51:14] 5 tn Heb “has sworn by himself.” See the study note on 22:5 for background.
[51:14] 6 tn Heb “I will fill you with men like locusts.” The “you” refers to Babylon (Babylon is both the city and the land it ruled, Babylonia) which has been alluded to in the preceding verses under descriptive titles. The words “your land” have been used because of the way the preceding verse has been rendered, alluding to people rather than to the land or city. The allusion of “men” is, of course, to enemy soldiers and they are here compared to locusts both for their quantity and their destructiveness (see Joel 1:4). For the use of the particles כִּי אִם (ki ’im) to introduce an oath see BDB 475 s.v. כִּי אִם 2.c and compare usage in 2 Kgs 5:20; one would normally expect אִם לֹא (cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b[2]).
