Jeremiah 48:23

Translation
King James Version
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,
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KJV (with Strong's)
And upon Kiriathaim H7156, and upon Bethgamul H1014, and upon Bethmeon H1010,
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Complete Jewish Bible
Kiryatayim, Beit-Gamul, Beit-M'on,
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Berean Standard Bible
upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
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American Standard Version
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
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World English Bible Messianic
and on Kiriathaim, and on Beth Gamul, and on Beth Meon,
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Geneva Bible (1599)
And vpon Kiriathaim, and vpon Beth-gamul, and vpon Beth-meon,
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Young's Literal Translation
And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,
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See also
Joshua 13:17Jeremiah 48:1Numbers 32:38Joshua 13:19Genesis 14:5
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Prophecy Against Moab
Prophecy Against Moab View full PDF

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In the KJVVerse 20,104 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Jeremiah 48:23 serves as a precise and poignant declaration within the broader oracle against Moab, meticulously identifying Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, and Bethmeon as specific targets of impending divine judgment. This verse powerfully underscores the comprehensive and inescapable nature of God's righteous wrath against Moab, signaling that no part of the nation—from its prominent urban centers to its deeply entrenched idolatrous strongholds—would escape the devastating consequences of its persistent pride, rebellion, and idolatry against the Lord. It stands as a stark and enduring testament to God's absolute sovereignty over all nations and the unwavering certainty of prophetic fulfillment.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Jeremiah 48 is a sustained and comprehensive prophetic oracle dedicated entirely to the judgment of Moab, a nation situated to the east of the Dead Sea. The chapter commences with a lament over Moab's impending destruction, vividly likening its downfall to a broken vessel and emphasizing its profound humiliation and utter ruin, as depicted in passages like Jeremiah 48:1-10. The prophecy meticulously outlines various facets of this judgment, including widespread devastation, the capture of its fortified cities, and the forced exile of its people. Verses such as Jeremiah 48:11-12 describe Moab's long-standing complacency and its subsequent shattering by divine decree. The precise naming of specific towns in verse 23—Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, and Bethmeon—is part of a larger catalogue of cities enumerated throughout the chapter (e.g., Jeremiah 48:21-25), a literary device employed to emphasize the pervasive and inescapable reach of God's judgment across the entire Moabite territory, ensuring no place remains untouched. This meticulous specificity highlights both the precision of divine prophecy and the totality of the impending disaster.

  • Historical & Cultural Context: Moab was an ancient nation, tracing its lineage back to Lot through his elder daughter (Genesis 19:37). Geographically, it was located to the east of the Dead Sea, a strategic position that often brought it into conflict with Israel. Historically, Moab was characterized by its fierce pride, its deep-seated idolatry—particularly the worship of the national god Chemosh, explicitly mentioned in Jeremiah 48:7—and its occasional oppression of God's chosen people. Culturally, Moab was a settled agricultural society, boasting established cities, a developed economy, and a strong sense of national identity rooted in its perceived strength and self-sufficiency. The prophecy in Jeremiah 48 is generally dated to the late 7th or early 6th century BCE, a tumultuous period marked by the meteoric rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah's prophecies against various surrounding nations, including Moab, consistently portray Babylon as God's divinely appointed instrument of judgment against those who defied Him or oppressed His people. The prophesied destruction of cities like Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, and Bethmeon would have signified the complete dismantling of Moab's economic, social, and religious infrastructure, a common and devastating consequence of ancient warfare and a powerful symbol of national downfall and disgrace.

  • Key Themes: Jeremiah 48:23, situated within the broader context of the Moab prophecy, contributes profoundly to several foundational theological themes. Foremost among these is the theme of Divine Sovereignty and Judgment, unequivocally demonstrating God's absolute and unchallengeable authority over all nations, not merely over Israel. He is revealed as the sovereign Lord of history, capable of raising up and bringing down kingdoms according to His righteous and immutable will. The severe judgment meted out upon Moab serves as a potent example of God's justice against national pride, pervasive idolatry, and direct opposition to His divine purposes, a theme powerfully echoed in other prophetic books such as Isaiah 13 and Ezekiel 25. Another prominent theme is the Specificity and Certainty of Prophecy. The naming of individual cities like Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, and Bethmeon underscores that God's revealed word is not vague or generalized but remarkably precise, indicating His intimate knowledge of the world's affairs and His unwavering commitment to fulfilling His declared intentions. This meticulous specificity provides tangible and irrefutable evidence of the reliability and trustworthiness of biblical prophecy. Finally, the chapter powerfully highlights the Consequences of Rebellion and Pride. Moab's catastrophic downfall is repeatedly and explicitly linked to its inherent arrogance and its misplaced trust in its own works, treasures, and false gods rather than in the one true Lord (Jeremiah 48:7). The complete destruction of its cities symbolizes the total dismantling of its power, identity, and perceived security, serving as a timeless and solemn warning against national or personal hubris that defiantly sets itself against God.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Kiriathaim (Hebrew, Qiryâthayim', H7156): Dual of "city," meaning "double city." This name suggests a significant urban center, possibly fortified or composed of two distinct parts, indicating its prominence. Its inclusion in this list signifies the comprehensive nature of the judgment, extending even to the most notable and established population centers within Moab. Historically, Kiriathaim was an ancient city in Moab, mentioned in earlier biblical texts, such as when it was rebuilt by the Reubenites (Numbers 32:37).
  • Bethgamul (Hebrew, _Bêyth _Gâmûwl'__): From "house" and the passive participle of "to wean," meaning "house of the weaned." This name might allude to a place of early settlement or a community that had grown from humble, dependent beginnings, or perhaps a location associated with pastoral life. Its inclusion highlights that no segment of Moabite society or territory, from its origins to its current state, would escape divine judgment, emphasizing the absolute totality of the impending devastation.
  • Bethmeon (Hebrew, Bêyth Baʻal Mᵉʻôwn'): Derived from "house of Baal of the habitation" or "house of habitation of Baal." This name explicitly and undeniably links the city to the pervasive worship of Baal, a primary Canaanite deity and a significant rival to Yahweh. Its destruction is a direct and righteous consequence of Moab's deep-seated and widespread idolatry, serving as a powerful testament to God's unwavering judgment against false worship and the spiritual rebellion it represents. This city is also known as Baal-Meon in other biblical texts, such as its mention as a rebuilt city in Numbers 32:38.

Verse Breakdown

  • "And upon Kiriathaim": This phrase initiates the precise enumeration of three specific Moabite cities marked for divine judgment. Kiriathaim, a significant "double city," represents a key urban and possibly fortified center whose prophesied destruction underscores the totality and severity of the impending devastation upon Moab. The preposition "upon" conveys the direct, focused, and inescapable impact of God's judgment descending upon this particular location.
  • "and upon Bethgamul": The inclusion of Bethgamul, a name meaning "house of the weaned," further emphasizes the widespread and indiscriminate nature of the judgment. Its mention indicates that even places of seemingly less prominence, or those with more pastoral or domestic associations, would not be spared. This reinforces the profound theological truth that the entire nation, in all its facets and settlements, was subject to this divine reckoning.
  • "and upon Bethmeon": The final mention of Bethmeon, a city explicitly linked to Baal worship, powerfully highlights the profound theological and moral dimension of Moab's judgment. Its destruction is a direct and righteous consequence of Moab's deep-seated idolatry and serves as a potent symbol of God's unwavering wrath against false gods, spiritual apostasy, and the rebellion inherent in worshipping created things rather than the Creator. This final city in the list decisively reinforces the moral and spiritual basis for the divine punishment, underscoring God's jealousy for His own glory.

Literary Devices

Jeremiah 48:23 masterfully employs Enumeration and Specificity as its primary literary devices. By meticulously listing three distinct cities—Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, and Bethmeon—the prophet uses enumeration to create an overwhelming sense of comprehensive and inescapable judgment. This is not a vague or generalized threat against a nebulous nation, but a precise and tangible declaration against specific, identifiable locations within Moabite territory. The profound Specificity of these named places intensifies the impact and gravity of the prophecy, lending it undeniable credibility and powerfully demonstrating the meticulous nature of divine knowledge and judgment. It conveys that God's judgment is neither random nor generalized but is rather targeted, exact, and reaches into every corner of Moabite life and territorial dominion. This precision also serves as a powerful Foreshadowing of the complete and utter destruction detailed throughout the remainder of the chapter, implying that if even these significant and well-known places are irrevocably marked for ruin, then the entire nation is undeniably doomed to a similar fate.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Jeremiah 48:23, through its naming of specific cities destined for judgment, profoundly illustrates God's meticulous justice and His unwavering, absolute sovereignty over all nations. It unequivocally underscores that no earthly entity, however proud, powerful, or seemingly secure, exists beyond the reach of divine accountability. The prophesied destruction of cities explicitly linked to idolatry, such as Bethmeon, powerfully highlights God's righteous and uncompromising opposition to false worship and His non-negotiable demand for exclusive devotion. This passage serves as a solemn reminder that God's word is not empty rhetoric but carries the immutable weight of certain fulfillment, serving as a dire warning against both national and personal hubris and an urgent call to humble submission before the Lord of all the earth.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

While Jeremiah 48:23 primarily describes the ancient judgment upon Moabite cities, its underlying principles resonate with profound relevance for contemporary life. It serves as a powerful and timeless reminder that God's justice is not confined by geography, historical epoch, or cultural boundaries; His immutable moral order applies universally to all nations and individuals. We are thus called to recognize that pride, self-sufficiency, and the misplaced reliance on anything other than the living God ultimately lead to spiritual decay and often tangible ruin. The striking specificity of this prophecy should instill in us a renewed and profound awe for the trustworthiness and precision of God's Word, encouraging us to take His warnings with utmost seriousness and to trust in His promises wholeheartedly. In an age where nations and individuals frequently boast in their achievements, technological prowess, or material wealth, often disregarding divine authority and moral truth, this verse calls us to cultivate genuine humility, to diligently examine our own hearts for any hidden idols, and to align our lives, both individually and corporately, with God's righteous and perfect standards, knowing with certainty that true and lasting security is found only in Him.

Questions for Reflection

  • How does the specificity of God's judgment on these cities challenge my own assumptions about accountability, both in my personal life and within my community or nation?
  • In what subtle or overt ways might I, or the society I inhabit, be trusting in "works and treasures" (like ancient Moab) instead of placing complete and unwavering reliance on God?
  • What "idols"—whether they be material possessions, career achievements, relational dynamics, or even cherished ideologies—might need to be identified and metaphorically "torn down" in my own life, similar to the judgment on Bethmeon?

FAQ

Why are specific cities named in this prophecy against Moab?

Answer: The naming of specific cities like Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, and Bethmeon serves several crucial and interconnected purposes within Jeremiah's prophecy. Firstly, it powerfully emphasizes the comprehensiveness of God's judgment, indicating that no part of Moabite territory, from its most prominent urban centers to its more rural settlements and even its deeply entrenched religious sites, would be spared. Secondly, it highlights the precision and certainty of the prophecy. By identifying actual, known locations, Jeremiah's divine message gains undeniable credibility and powerfully demonstrates God's intimate knowledge and direct, sovereign involvement in human history. It shows that God's word is not a vague or generalized threat but a targeted, inevitable reality that will be fulfilled with exactitude. Finally, and profoundly, in the case of Bethmeon, the naming of a city explicitly linked to Baal worship underscores the deep theological basis for the judgment—it was a direct and righteous consequence of Moab's pervasive idolatry and its profound national pride, particularly their misplaced trust in their false god Chemosh, as highlighted in Jeremiah 48:7.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

While Jeremiah 48:23 speaks of the historical and temporal judgment upon Moab, it finds profound Christ-centered fulfillment and echoes in several significant ways. The specific and comprehensive judgment meted out upon Moab's pride and pervasive idolatry powerfully foreshadows Christ's ultimate, universal, and perfectly righteous judgment against all sin and rebellion. Just as God's wrath descended upon specific cities of Moab, so too will Christ's righteous judgment be meted out with perfect precision against every form of unrighteousness at the culmination of the ages, as vividly described in the scene of the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Furthermore, the destruction of earthly cities built on human pride and false worship points forward to the establishment of a new, eternal city, the New Jerusalem, whose foundations are not earthly but divinely established, and into which no idolatry, sin, or anything unclean can ever enter (Revelation 21:22-27). Most significantly, Jesus himself, as the true Lamb of God, perfectly bore the full weight of God's judgment for humanity's pride, rebellion, and idolatry on the cross, thereby offering salvation from the wrath to come for all who believe (Romans 5:9). Thus, the specific historical judgments in Jeremiah underscore the profound seriousness of sin and God's unwavering justice, while simultaneously pointing to Christ as the one who perfectly fulfills God's righteous demands and graciously offers a way of escape from ultimate condemnation for all who trust in Him (John 3:16-18).

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Commentary on Jeremiah 48 verses 14–47

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

The destruction is here further prophesied of very largely and with a great copiousness and variety of expression, and very pathetically and in moving language, designed not only to awaken them by a national repentance and reformation to prevent the trouble, or by a personal repentance and reformation to prepare for it, but to affect us with the calamitous state of human life, which is liable to such lamentable occurrences, and with the power of God's anger and the terror of his judgments, when he comes forth to contend with a provoking people. In reading this long roll of threatenings, and meditating on the terror of them, it will be of more use to us to keep this in our eye, and to get our hearts thereby possessed with a holy awe of God and of his wrath, than to enquire critically into all the lively figures and metaphors here used.

I. It is a surprising destruction, and very sudden, that is here threatened. They were very secure, thought themselves strong for war and able to deal with the most powerful enemy (Jer 48:14), and yet the calamity is near, and he is not able to keep it off, nor so much as to keep the enemy long in parley, for the affliction hastens fast (Jer 48:16) and will soon come to a crisis. The enemy shall fly as an eagle, so swiftly, so strongly shall he come (Jer 48:40), as an eagle flies upon his prey, and he shall spread his wings, the wings of his army, over Moab; he shall surround it, that none may escape. The strong-holds of Moab are taken by surprise (Jer 48:41), so that all their strength stood them in no stead; and this made the hearts even of their mighty men to fail, for they had not time to recollect the considerations that might have animated them. It requires a more than ordinary degree of courage not to be afraid of sudden fear.

II. It is an utter destruction, and such as lays Moab all in ruins: Moab is spoiled (Jer 48:15), quite spoiled, is confounded and broken down (Jer 48:20); their cities are laid in ashes, or seized by the enemy so that they are forced to quit them, Jer 48:15. Divers cities are here named, upon which judgment has come, and the list concludes with an et cetera - and such like. What occasion was there for him to mention more particulars when it comes upon all the cities of Moab in general, far and near? Jer 48:21-24. Note, When iniquity is universal we have reason to expect that calamity should be so too. The kingdom is deprived of its dignity and authority: The horn of Moab is cut off, the horn of its strength and power, both offensive and defensive; his arm is broken, that he can neither give a blow nor prevent a blow, Jer 48:25. Is the youth of the kingdom the strength and beauty of it? His chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter, Jer 48:15. They went down to the battle promising themselves that they should return victorious; but God told them that they went down to the slaughter; so sure are those to fall against whom God fights. In a word, Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, Jer 48:42. Those that are enemies to God's people will soon be made no people.

III. It is a lamentable destruction; it will be just matter of mourning and will turn joy into heaviness. 1. The prophet that foretels it does himself lament it, and mourns at the very foresight of it, from a principle of compassion to his fellow-creatures and concern for human nature. The prophet will himself howl for Moab; his very heart shall mourn for them (Jer 48:31); he will weep for the vine of Sibmah (Jer 48:32); his heart shall sound like pipes for Moab, Jer 48:36. Though the destruction of Moab would prove him a true prophet, yet he could not think of it without trouble. The ruin of sinners is no pleasure to God, and therefore should be a pain to us; even those that give warning of it should lay it to heart. These passages, and many others in this chapter, are much the same with what Isaiah had used in his prophecies against Moab (Isa 15:1-9, Isa 16:1-14); for, though there was a long distance of time between that prophecy and this, yet they were both dictated by one and the same Spirit, and it becomes God's prophets to speak the language of those that went before them. It is no plagiarism sometimes to make use of old expressions, provided it be with new affections and applications. 2. The Moabites themselves shall lament it; it will be the greatest mortification and grief imaginable to them. Those that sat in glory, in the midst of wealth, and mirth, and all manner of pleasure, shall sit in thirst, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water, no comfort is, Jer 48:18. It is time for them to sit in thirst, and inure themselves to hardship, when the spoiler has come, who will strip them of all, and empty them. The Moabites in the remote corners of the country, that are furthest from the danger, will be inquisitive to know how the matter goes, what news from the army, will ask every one that escapes, What is done? Jer 48:19. And when they are told that all is gone, that the invader is the conqueror, they will howl and cry, in bitterness and anguish of spirit (Jer 48:20); they will abandon themselves to solitude, to lament the desolations of their country; they will leave the cities that used to be full of mirth, and dwell in the rock where they may have their full of melancholy; they shall no more be singing birds, but mourning birds, like the dove (Jer 48:28); the doves of the valley, Eze 7:16. Let those that give themselves up to mirth know that God can soon change their note. Their sorrow shall be so very extreme that they shall make themselves bald and cut themselves (Jer 48:37), which were expressions of a desperate grief, such as tempted men to be even their own destroyers. Job indeed rent his mantle and shaved his head, but he did not cut himself. When the flood of passion rises ever so high wisdom and grace must set bounds to it, set banks to it, to restrain it from such barbarities. The sorrow shall be universal (Jer 48:38): There shall be a general lamentation upon all the house-tops of Moab, where they worshipped their idols, to whom they shall in vain bemoan themselves, and in all the streets, where they conversed with one another, for they shall be free in communicating their grief and fears and in propagating them; for they see all lost: "I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, which shall not be regarded and cannot be pieced again." That which Moab used to rejoice in was their pleasant fruits and the abundance of their rich wines. The delights of sense were all the matter of their joy. Take away these, destroy their gardens and vineyards, and you make all their mirth to cease, Hos 2:11, Hos 2:12. There is great weeping when their plants are transplanted, have gone over the sea (Jer 48:32), are carried into other countries, to be planted there. The spoiler has fallen upon thy summer-fruits and upon thy vintage, and it is this that makes the cry of Heshbon to reach even to Elealeh, Jer 48:34. Take joy and gladness from the plentiful field, and you take it from the land of Moab, Jer 48:33. If the wine fail from the wine-presses, that used to be trodden with acclamations of joy, all their gladness is cut off. Take away that shouting, and there shall be no shouting. Note, Those who make the delights of sense their chief joy, their exceeding joy, since these are things they may easily be deprived of in a little time subject themselves to the tyranny of the greatest grief; whereas those who rejoice in God may do that even when the fig-tree does not blossom and there is no fruit in the vine. These Moabites lost not only their wine, but their water too: Even the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate (Jer 48:34), and therefore their grief grew extravagantly loud and noisy, and their lamentations were heard in all placed like the lowing of a heifer of three years old. The expressions here are borrowed from Isa 15:5, Isa 15:6. 3. All their neighbours are called to mourn with them, and to condole with them on their ruin (Jer 48:17): All you that are about him bemoan him, Let him have that allay to his grief, let him see himself pities by the adjoining countries. Nay, let those at a distance, who do but know his name and have heard of his reputation, take notice of his fall, and say, How is the strong staff broken, whose strength was the terror of its enemies, and the beautiful rod, whose beauty was the pride of its friends! Let the nations take notice of this and receive instruction. Let none be puffed up with or put confidence in their strength or beauty, for neither will be a security against the judgments of God.

IV. It is a shameful destruction and such as shall expose them to contempt: Moab is made drunk (Jer 48:26), and he that is made drunk is made vile; he shall wallow in his vomit, and become an odious spectacle, and shalljustly be in derision. Let the Moabites be intoxicated with the cup of God's wrath till they stagger and fall, and be brought to their wits' end, and make themselves ridiculous by the wildness not only of their passions but of their counsels. And again (Jer 48:39): Moab shall be a derision and a dismaying to all about him; they shall laugh at the fall of the pomp and power he was so proud of. Note, Those that are haughty are preparing reproach and ignominy for themselves.

V. It is the destruction of that which is dear to them, not only of their summer fruits and their vintage, but of their wealth (Jer 48:36): The riches that he has gotten have perished, though he thought he had laid them up very safely, and promised himself a long enjoyment of them, yet they are gone. Note, The money that is hoarded in the chest is as liable to perishing as the summer-fruits that lie exposed in the open field. Riches are shedding things, and, like dust as they are, slip through our fingers even when we are in most care to hold them fast and gripe them hard. Yet this is not the worst; even those whose religion was false and foolish were fond of it above any thing, and, such as it was, would not part with it; and therefore, though it was really a promise, yet to them it was a threatening (Jer 48:35), that God will cause to cease him that offers in the high places, for the high places shall be destroyed, and the fields of offerings shall be laid waste, and the priests themselves, who burnt incense to their gods, shall be slain or carried into captivity, Jer 48:7. Note, It is only the true religion, and the worship and service of the true God, that will stand us in stead in a day of trouble.

VI. It is a just and righteous destruction, and that which they have deserved and brought upon themselves by sin.

1.The sin which they had been most notoriously guilty of, and for which God now reckoned with them, was pride. It is mentioned six times, Jer 48:29. We have all heard of the pride of Moab; his neighbours took notice of it; it has testified to his face, as Israel's did; he is exceedingly proud, and grows worse and worse. Observe his loftiness, his arrogancy, his pride, his haughtiness; the multiplying of words to the same purport intimates in how many instances he discovered his pride, and how offensive it was both to God and man. It was charged upon them Isa, Jer 16:6, but here it is expressed more largely that there. Since then they had been under humbling providences, and yet were unhumbled; nay, they grew more arrogant and haughty, which plainly marked them for that utter destruction of which pride is the forerunner. Two instances are here given of the pride of Moab: - (1.) He had conducted himself insolently towards God. He must be brought down with shame (Jer 48:26), for he has magnified himself against the Lord; and again (Jer 48:42), he shall be destroyed from being a people, for this very reason. The Moabites preferred Chemosh before Jehovah, and thought themselves a match for the God of Israel, whom they set at defiance. (2.) He had conducted himself scornfully towards Israel, particularly in their late troubles; therefore Moab shall fall into the same troubles; into the same hands, and be a derision, for Israel was a derision to him, Jer 48:26, Jer 48:27. The generality of the Moabites, when they heard of the calamities and desolations of their neighbours the Jews, instead of lamenting them, rejoiced in them, they skipped for joy. Many, in such a case, entertain in their minds a secret pleasure at the fall of those they had a dislike to, who yet have so much discretion as to conceal it; it is so invidious a thing. But the Moabites industriously proclaimed their joy, and avowed the enmity they had to Israel, triumphing over every Israelite they met with in distress and laughing at him, which was as inhuman as it was impious and an impudent affront both to man, whose nature they were of, and to God, whose name they were called by. Note, Those that deride others in distress will justly and certainly, sooner or later, come into distress themselves, and be had in derision. Those that are glad at calamities, especially the calamities of God's church, shall not long go unpunished.

2.Besides this they had been guilty of malice against God's people, and treachery in their dealings with them, Jer 48:30. They made a jest of the desolations of Judah and Jerusalem, and pretended, when they laughed at them, that it was but in sport and to make themselves merry; but, says God, "I know his wrath; I know it comes from the old enmity he has to the seed of Abraham and the worshippers of the true God. I know he thinks these calamities of the Jewish nation will end in their utter extirpation. He now tells the Chaldeans what bad people the Jews are, and irritates them against them; but it shall not be so as he expects; his lies shall not so effect it. The nation, whose fall they triumph in, shall recover itself." Some read it, I know his rage. Is it not so? Is he not very furious against the people of God? And his lies I know also. Do they not do so? Do they not belie them? Note, All the fury and all the falsehood of the church's enemies are perfectly known to God, whatever the pretenses are with which they think to cover them, Isa 37:28.

VII. It is a complicated destruction, and by one instance after another will at length be completed; for those that make their escape from one judgment shall perish by another: Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon them, Jer 48:43. There shall be fear to drive them into the pit, and a snare to hold them fast in it when they are in it; so that they shall neither escape from the destruction nor escape out of it. What was said of sinners in general (Isa 24:17, Isa 24:18), that those who flee from the fear shall fall into the pit and those who come up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare, is here particularly foretold concerning the sinners of Moab (Jer 48:44); for it is the year of their visitation, when God comes to reckon with them, and will be known by the judgments which he executes, for he is the King whose name is the Lord of hosts (Jer 48:15); he is not only the King who has authority to give judgment, but he is the Lord of hosts, who is able to do what he has determined. The figurative expressions used Jer 48:44 are explained in one instance (Jer 48:45): Those that fled out of the villages for fear of the enemy's forces put themselves under the shadow of Heshbon, stood there, and supposed they stood safely, as now armies sometimes retire under the cannon of a fortified city, and it is their protection; but here they should be disappointed, for, when they flee out of the pit, they fall into the snare; Heshbon, which they thought would shelter them, devours them as Moses had foretold long since (Num 21:28): A fire has gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the city of Sihon, and devours those that come from all the corners of Moab, and fastens upon the crown of the head of the tumultuous noisy ones, or of the revellers, or children of noise, not meant of the rude clamorous multitude, but of the great men, who bluster, and hector, and make a noise; the judgments of God shall light on them. Shall we hear the conclusion of this whole matter? We have it (Jer 48:46): "Woe be to thee, O Moab! thou art undone; the people that worship Chemosh perish, and are gone; farewell, Moab. Thy sons and daughters, the hopes of the next generation, have gone into captivity after the Jews, whose calamities they rejoiced in."

VIII. Yet it is not a perpetual destruction. The chapter concludes with a short promise of their return out of captivity in the latter days. God, who brings them into captivity, will bring again their captivity, Jer 48:47. Thus tenderly does God deal with Moabites, much more with his own people! Even with Moabites he will not contend for ever, nor be always wrath. When Israel returned, Moab did; and perhaps the prophecy was intended chiefly for the encouragement of God's people to hope for that salvation which even Moabites shall share in. Yet it looks further, to gospel times; the Jews themselves refer it to the days of the Messiah; then the captivity of the Gentiles, under the yoke of sin and Satan, shall be brought back by divine grace, which shall make them free, free indeed. This prophecy concerning Moab is long, but here it ends; it ends comfortably: Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 14–47. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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