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Jeremiah 48

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Judgment Declared Against Moab 1–10

1
Of Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down. ​
2
The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue thee. ​
3
The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!
4
Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5
For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
6
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. ​
7
For, because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together. ​
8
And the destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Jehovah hath spoken.
9
Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
10
Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. ​

Moab's Complacency and Ease 11–13

11
Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed. ​
12
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him them that pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
13
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence. ​

The Destruction and Shame of Moab 14–28

14
How say ye, We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?
15
Moab is laid waste, and they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts. ​
16
The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17
All ye that are round about him, bemoan him, and all ye that know his name; say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod! ​
18
O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds.
19
O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What hath been done?
20
Moab is put to shame; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
21
And judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
22
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,
23
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
24
and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25
The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah. ​
26
Make ye him drunken; for he magnified himself against Jehovah: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. ​
27
For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head. ​
28
O ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest over the mouth of the abyss.

The Divine Condemnation of Moab's Pride 29–39

29
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, and the haughtiness of his heart. ​
30
I know his wrath, saith Jehovah, that it is nought; his boastings have wrought nothing.
31
Therefore will I wail for Moab; yea, I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall they mourn.
32
With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah: thy branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage the destroyer is fallen. ​
33
And gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to cease from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
34
From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, even unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also shall become desolate.
35
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods. ​
36
Therefore my heart soundeth for Moab like pipes, and my heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: therefore the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
37
For every head is bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. ​
38
On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof there is lamentation every where; for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein none delighteth, saith Jehovah.
39
How is it broken down! how do they wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.

Inescapable Doom and Future Hope 40–47

40
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread out his wings against Moab. ​
41
Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42
And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.
43
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
44
He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon him, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah. ​
45
They that fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46
Woe unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away captive, and thy daughters into captivity.
47
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 48

Verse 1

Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled — Hoy, 'woe', is the cry of lament. Nebo and Kiriathaim lay in the land Reuben had settled: 'the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim' (Num 32:37), with Nebo (Num 32:38). Misgab means a high refuge, yet it is 'confounded and dismayed'.

Verse 2

in Heshbon they have devised evil against it — Heshbon was 'the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites' (Num 21:26). The verse plays on sound: 'devised' (chashab) echoes Heshbon, and 'cut down' (damam) echoes Madmen, a name meaning dunghill. 'Cut it off from being a nation' recalls Jer 31:36.

Verse 6

like the heath in the wilderness — The Hebrew is Aroer, a bare juniper shrub, the same word as the town named in v.19. A related form, ar'ar, is the plant of Jer 17:6, 'like the heath in the desert', the man who trusts in man. The command 'Flee, save your lives' is the pattern of Gen 19:17.

Verse 7

trusted in thy works and in thy treasures — Batach, to trust, the confidence the LORD forbids to the rich: 'let not the rich man glory in his riches' (Jer 9:23). Chemosh is Moab's god, 'the people of Chemosh' (Num 21:29), for whom Solomon built 'an high place' (1 Kgs 11:7); here the idol is carried off with priests and princes.

Verse 10

keepeth back his sword from blood — 'Deceitfully' is remiyyah, slackness or treachery. Moab's fall is 'the work of the LORD', carried out by Babylon, 'my servant' (Jer 25:9). Saul spared Agag (1 Sam 15:9) and Ahab let go the man 'appointed to utter destruction' (1 Kgs 20:42); both were judged for half-obedience.

Verse 11

settled on his lees — Shemer, the dregs of wine; wine left on its lees keeps its strength and flavour unchanged. Moab, 'at ease' (sha'an) and never poured 'from vessel to vessel' into exile, kept his old character. Zephaniah uses the same figure of Jerusalem: 'men that are settled on their lees' (Zeph 1:12).

Verse 13

ashamed of Chemosh — Bosh, to be put to shame by a failed hope. 'Confidence' (mibtach) shares its root with 'trusted' in v.7. Israel's shame at Bethel is that of the calf worship: 'Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off' (Hos 8:5). Moab's god will fail Moab as Bethel failed Israel.

Verse 15

the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts — The same title stands in the oracle on Egypt: 'saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts' (Jer 46:18). Moab's 'chosen young men' (bachur) go 'down to the slaughter' (tebach), the figure used of Babylon in Jer 50:27.

Verse 17

the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod — 'Staff' (matteh) is also a ruler's sceptre, and 'strong' is oz, strength; 'beautiful' is tiphe'arah, glory; 'rod' is maqqel. Together they name the power and honour of Moab's rule. The neighbours who 'know his name' are told to take up the lament.

Verse 25

horn… arm — Qeren, horn, the strength of a beast, and zeroa, the arm. Both are the LORD's to break: 'All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted' (Ps 75:10); 'Break thou the arm of the wicked' (Ps 10:15).

Verse 26

he magnified himself against the LORD — Gadal, to make oneself great; the same verb gives the reason again in v.42. 'Make ye him drunken' uses the cup of judgment: 'the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken' (Lam 4:21). 'Derision' (sechoq) is the word of v.27.

Verse 27

was he found among thieves? — Israel had not been caught like a thief, so Moab had no ground for scorn. 'Derision' (sechoq) is the word of v.26, and Moab becomes what he made Israel. 'Skippedst' is nud, the verb rendered 'bemoan' in v.17. Moab and Seir said 'the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen' (Ezek 25:8).

Verse 29

the pride of Moab — Five Hebrew words for pride are piled up: ga'on, ge'eh, gobah, ga'avah and rum, and ga'on occurs twice. The opening is nearly word for word Isa 16:6, 'We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud'. 'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall' (Prov 16:18).

Verse 32

O vine of Sibmah — Sibmah was in the inheritance of Reuben (Josh 13:15, 19). The lament is the LORD's own, 'I will weep for thee', as in Isa 16:9, 'I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah'. 'Summer fruits' (qayits) and 'vintage' (batsir) are the harvests the spoiler seizes.

Verse 35

offereth in the high places — Bamah, a raised place of worship. 'Cause to cease' is shabath, the verb used in v.33 of wine failing. Moab's worship fails with its vintage: 'Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail' (Isa 16:12).

Verse 37

every head shall be bald — Qorchah, baldness, the mourning of Isa 15:2, where 'every beard cut off' belongs to the same lament. Cuttings for the dead were forbidden to Israel: 'Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead' (Lev 19:28; Deut 14:1). Sackcloth 'upon the loins' is Jacob's (Gen 37:34).

Verse 40

fly as an eagle — Nesher, the eagle; 'fly' (da'ah) is to dart. The image goes back to the curse on disobedient Israel: a nation 'as swift as the eagle flieth' (Deut 28:49). The same words are spoken of Edom: 'fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah' (Jer 49:22).

Verse 44

fall into the pit — The three Hebrew words, pachad (fear), pachath (pit) and pach (snare), sound alike. Isaiah has the same sequence against the earth (Isa 24:17–18). 'The year of their visitation' (peqquddah) is the phrase of Jer 11:23, and it means the LORD's appointed time to reckon.

Verse 47

bring again the captivity of Moab — Shub shebut, to turn back the captivity, a promise 'in the latter days' (acharit). It is given also to Ammon (Jer 49:6) and Elam (Jer 49:39). 'Thus far is the judgment of Moab' closes the oracle, with mercy following the sentence.