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Jeremiah 48

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Judgment Declared Against Moab 1–10

1
Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. ​
2
There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. ​
3
A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
4
Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5
For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a 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 shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. ​
8
And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.
9
Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.
10
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, 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 remained in him, and his scent is not changed. ​
12
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.
13
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence. ​

The Destruction and Shame of Moab 14–28

14
How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?
15
Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. ​
16
The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17
All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! ​
18
Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.
19
O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?
20
Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
21
And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22
And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,
23
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,
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 the LORD. ​
26
Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also 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 since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy. ​
28
O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.

The Divine Condemnation of Moab's Pride 29–39

29
We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. ​
30
I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.
31
Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.
32
O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. ​
33
And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.
34
From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.
35
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. ​
36
Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.
37
For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. ​
38
There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
39
They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

Inescapable Doom and Future Hope 40–47

40
For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab. ​
41
Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in 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 the LORD.
43
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
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 it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. ​
45
They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46
Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.
47
Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · 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 — Aroer in the Hebrew: 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: 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: 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.