Skip to content
Translation
King James Version
Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Ask
KJV (with Strong's)
Yet will I bring again H7725 the captivity H7622 of Moab H4124 in the latter H319 days H3117, saith H5002 the LORD H3068. Thus far H2008 is the judgment H4941 of Moab H4124.
Ask
Complete Jewish Bible
Yet I will end Mo'av's exile in the acharit-hayamim," says ADONAI. This is the judgment on Mo'av.
Ask
Berean Standard Bible
Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity,” declares the LORD. Here ends the judgment on Moab.
Ask
American Standard Version
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Ask
World English Bible Messianic
Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, says the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Ask
Geneva Bible (1599)
Yet will I bring againe the captiuitie of Moab in the latter dayes, sayeth the Lord. Thus farre of the iudgement of Moab.
Ask
Young's Literal Translation
And I have turned back to the captivity of Moab, In the latter end of the days, An affirmation of Jehovah! Hitherto is the judgment of Moab.
Ask

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Jeremiah 48:47 concludes the extended prophecy of judgment against Moab, a nation historically opposed to Israel, with a surprising and profound promise of future restoration. This divine oracle from the LORD declares that despite the severe and comprehensive judgment detailed throughout the chapter, God's sovereign plan includes a time in the "latter days" when Moab's fortunes will be reversed, signifying a return from desolation and a renewed existence. It stands as a powerful testament to God's ultimate mercy and His redemptive purposes that extend beyond immediate punitive actions, hinting at a broader scope of divine grace for all nations.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Jeremiah 48 presents a sustained and detailed oracle of judgment against Moab, standing as one of the longest and most comprehensive prophecies against a foreign nation within the book of Jeremiah. The preceding verses Jeremiah 48:1-46 meticulously describe the utter devastation, humiliation, and destruction destined to befall Moab, outlining the fall of its cities, the widespread mourning of its people, and the shame of its national idol, Chemosh. This relentless pronouncement of doom makes the concluding verse, Jeremiah 48:47, a striking and unexpected shift in tone. It functions as an epilogue, drawing a definitive close to the specific judgments against Moab ("Thus far is the judgment of Moab") while simultaneously introducing a glimmer of future hope. This pattern—where judgment is often followed by a promise of restoration, even for gentile nations—is a common prophetic device, highlighting the depth of God's sovereignty, which encompasses both severe justice and ultimate mercy.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: Moab was an ancient kingdom situated east of the Dead Sea, tracing its lineage back to Lot, as recorded in Genesis 19:37. Throughout Israel's history, Moab frequently acted as an adversary, known for its profound pride (as highlighted in Jeremiah 48:29) and its fervent worship of the national god Chemosh, to whom child sacrifices were sometimes offered (see 2 Kings 3:27). The Moabites often oppressed Israel, and their territory held significant strategic importance. The prophecy in Jeremiah 48 likely reflects the geopolitical turmoil of the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, a period marked by the rise and fall of various regional powers, most notably Babylon. The "captivity" mentioned in the verse would have resonated deeply with the common experience of nations being conquered and their populations deported during this era, a fate Israel itself experienced with the Babylonian exile. The promise of restoration for Moab, an enemy nation, is particularly remarkable given this backdrop of historical animosity and divine judgment.
  • Key Themes: Jeremiah 48:47 encapsulates several profound themes. Firstly, it underscores Divine Sovereignty and Mercy, demonstrating that God's dominion extends over all nations, not solely Israel, and that His ultimate purposes include compassion even for those who have been His adversaries. This universal scope of God's authority is a recurring motif in prophetic literature, as seen in passages like Amos 9:7. Secondly, the verse introduces the theme of Hope Beyond Judgment. Despite the severe pronouncements of destruction, God's judgments are not always final; rather, they often serve a redemptive purpose, leading to a future of restoration. This pattern is also evident in God's dealings with Israel, where exile is consistently followed by promises of return (e.g., Jeremiah 29:10-14). Thirdly, the phrase "in the latter days" (Hebrew: 'achărîyth hayyāmîm) points to a distant, unspecified future, emphasizing God's Long-Term Redemptive Plan that transcends immediate historical events and points towards a broader eschatological hope. Finally, the promise to "bring again the captivity" (Hebrew: shuv shĕbûwth) highlights God's consistent Pattern of Restoration, an idiom frequently used for reversing a nation's fortunes and restoring them from exile or desolation, underscoring the breadth of God's redemptive purposes for all humanity, as also seen in the restoration of other nations like Elam in Jeremiah 49:39.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • bring again (Hebrew, shûwb', H7725): This primitive root signifies "to turn back," "to return," or "to restore." When combined with "captivity" (shᵉbûwth), it forms the significant idiomatic phrase, shuv shᵉbûwth, which denotes a profound reversal of fortunes, a restoration to a former state of prosperity or well-being, or a return from exile. It implies a direct divine action to undo a state of desolation or ruin.
  • captivity (Hebrew, shᵉbûwth', H7622): This noun refers to "exile," "prisoners," or, figuratively, "a former state of prosperity." In the context of the idiom shuv shᵉbûwth, it specifically denotes the state of being exiled or in a desolate condition, from which God promises to bring about restoration. It does not always imply a literal return of captives but rather a general reversal of national misfortune and a return to a more favorable condition.
  • latter (Hebrew, ʼachărîyth', H319): Derived from a word meaning "after," this term signifies "the last," "the end," or "the future." When combined with "days" (yôwm), it forms the phrase "latter days," which points to a distant, often unspecified future period. This phrase frequently carries eschatological implications, indicating a time beyond immediate historical events when God's ultimate purposes will unfold.

Verse Breakdown

  • "Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD.": This clause introduces a radical and unexpected shift from the preceding verses of relentless judgment. The divine speaker, "the LORD" (Yᵉhôvâh), declares His sovereign intention to reverse Moab's fortunes, employing the idiomatic phrase "bring again the captivity." This signifies a comprehensive restoration from their state of desolation, exile, or national ruin. The timing, "in the latter days," points to a future, perhaps distant, period, emphasizing that God's redemptive plan extends far beyond the immediate historical context of judgment. This is a profound promise of sovereign mercy and renewal, highlighting God's ultimate redemptive character.
  • "Thus far [is] the judgment of Moab.": This concluding statement serves as a definitive marker, indicating the completion and finality of the specific prophecies of doom and destruction directed against Moab within this chapter. It acts as a summary and a conclusive word on the pronouncements of God's punitive justice for this nation, effectively drawing a line under the immediate prophetic oracle. Its placement immediately after the promise of restoration creates a powerful contrast, emphasizing that even the most severe judgment has a divine boundary and can be followed by an unexpected future.

Literary Devices

Jeremiah 48:47 employs several significant literary devices that amplify its profound message. The most prominent is Juxtaposition, as this verse stands in stark contrast to the preceding 46 verses, which meticulously detail relentless and severe judgment against Moab. This sudden pivot from utter destruction to a promise of future restoration creates a powerful dramatic effect, underscoring the unexpected and sovereign nature of divine mercy. The phrase "saith the LORD" functions as a Divine Oracle Formula, authenticating the prophecy as a direct, authoritative word from God, thereby emphasizing its certainty and divine origin. Furthermore, the expression "bring again the captivity" (Hebrew: shuv shĕbûwth) is a well-known Idiom in biblical prophecy. While it literally means to "return the captivity," it is a technical term signifying a profound reversal of fortune, a restoration from desolation or exile, or a return to a former state of prosperity. Its application to Moab, an enemy nation, powerfully underscores the universal and sovereign scope of God's redemptive purposes, extending beyond His covenant people.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Jeremiah 48:47 offers a profound theological statement about the character of God and the expansive breadth of His redemptive plan. It reveals a God whose justice, though severe and unwavering against sin and pride, is ultimately tempered by a sovereign capacity for mercy and restoration, even for nations outside of the specific covenant people of Israel. This unexpected promise to Moab demonstrates that God's purposes are not merely punitive but also redemptive, aiming for a future where His glory is revealed through the restoration of all creation. It hints at a universal scope of salvation, foreshadowing the inclusion of Gentiles into God's family, and underscores the eschatological hope that God's long-term plan extends beyond immediate historical cycles of judgment and blessing, moving towards a grander, all-encompassing redemption.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Jeremiah 48:47 provides a powerful lens through which to view God's character and His dealings with humanity. For believers, it serves as a profound reminder that even in the midst of severe judgment or personal desolation, God's ultimate plan is often one of restoration and hope. Just as Moab, a long-standing adversary, was promised a future beyond its immediate destruction, so too can individuals and communities find solace in the assurance that God's grace extends to all, offering new beginnings even after periods of profound brokenness or consequence. This verse encourages us to look beyond our immediate circumstances and trust in God's long-term, redemptive purposes, which are often far more expansive and merciful than we can initially perceive. It challenges us to embrace a hopeful perspective, recognizing that God's judgments are not always final and can serve as a prelude to His restorative work, inviting us to participate in His mission of reconciliation and renewal for all peoples and in all aspects of life.

Questions for Reflection

  • How does the promise of restoration for Moab, an enemy nation, challenge your understanding of God's justice and mercy?
  • In what areas of your life or in the world around you do you need to trust in God's "latter days" restoration, even amidst current judgment or desolation?
  • What does this verse teach us about the universal scope of God's redemptive plan, and how might that influence our approach to evangelism or missions?
  • How does the unexpected hope in this verse encourage you to persevere when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges or consequences?

FAQ

Does "bring again the captivity" mean Moab will literally be restored to its former glory?

Answer: While the phrase "bring again the captivity" (Hebrew: shuv shᵉbûwth) often implies a literal return from exile and restoration of national fortunes, its primary meaning in prophetic literature is a reversal of a nation's desolate state and a return to a state of well-being or prosperity. For Moab, it signifies that despite the severe judgment detailed in Jeremiah 48, God's long-term plan includes a future where the nation would not be utterly annihilated but would experience a form of renewal or re-establishment, even if not to its exact historical prominence. This promise is more about God's sovereign mercy and redemptive purpose than a precise geopolitical prediction of Moab's future borders or power.

When are the "latter days" mentioned in this verse?

Answer: The phrase "latter days" (Hebrew: 'achărîyth hayyāmîm) in biblical prophecy refers to a distant, often unspecified future period. While it can sometimes carry eschatological significance, pointing to the end times or the Messianic era (e.g., Daniel 10:14), in contexts like Jeremiah 48:47, it primarily emphasizes a time beyond the immediate historical judgment. It suggests that God's redemptive purposes for Moab would unfold long after the immediate devastation, perhaps in the broader sweep of history leading up to the coming of Christ or even in the ultimate new creation. The exact timing is left open, highlighting the sovereign and long-term nature of God's plan, which transcends immediate historical horizons.

Why would God promise restoration to Moab, an enemy of Israel?

Answer: God's promise of restoration to Moab, an historical adversary of Israel, profoundly underscores the universal scope of His sovereignty and grace. It demonstrates that God's redemptive plan is not limited to one nation but extends to all peoples. While God's covenant with Israel is unique, His compassion and ultimate authority encompass all humanity. This promise hints at a broader theological truth: that God's judgments, though severe, are often intended to bring about repentance and ultimately lead to restoration, even for those who have opposed Him. It foreshadows the New Testament inclusion of Gentiles into God's family through Christ, showing that God's mercy is not confined by human divisions or historical animosities, but is expansive and all-encompassing.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Jeremiah 48:47, with its surprising promise of restoration for Moab, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While the immediate context refers to a historical or future restoration of a physical nation, the theological trajectory points directly to the radical inclusion of all nations into God's redemptive plan through the Gospel. Just as God declared His intention to "bring again the captivity of Moab," so too has Christ, through His atoning sacrifice and glorious resurrection, broken the spiritual captivity of sin and death for all who believe, regardless of their ethnic or national origin. The "latter days" of Moab's restoration prefigure the "last days" inaugurated by Christ's first coming, where the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile was torn down and peace was proclaimed (as declared in Ephesians 2:14-16). Through Christ, the "judgment of Moab" and indeed the judgment upon all humanity for sin, was borne on the cross, allowing for a new covenant of grace and a universal invitation to reconciliation with God. The restoration of Moab, a nation characterized by pride and idolatry, becomes a powerful Old Testament echo of the New Testament truth that God's grace extends to the chief of sinners and to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (as envisioned in Revelation 7:9-10). In Christ, the hope for Moab's renewal expands to encompass the spiritual renewal of all humanity, culminating in the new heavens and new earth where all things are made new (as promised in Revelation 21:5), and the Lamb of God reigns over a redeemed people from every corner of the earth.

Copy as

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.
Copy as
Aphrahat the Persian SageAD 345
DEMONSTRATIONS 21:6
It is written that when Jeremiah caused the nations and kingdoms to drink the cup of wrath, he said concerning each one of the cities, that after they shall drink the cup, I will turn back the captivity of Elam, of Tyre, of Sidon, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab and of Edom.
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.
Copy as

Continue studying Jeremiah 48:47 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.

TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.