Jeremiah 48:37

37 Every head has been shaved bald, every beard has been clipped short, gashes are on every hand, sackcloth around every waist.

Jeremiah 48:37 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:37

For every head [shall be] bald, and every beard clipped
Men, in times of mourning, used to pluck off the hairs of their head till they made them bald, and shaved their beards; which, as Kimchi says, were the glory of their faces; see ( Isaiah 15:2 ) ; upon all the hands shall be cuttings:
it was usual with the Heathens to make incisions in the several parts of their bodies, particularly in their hands and arms, with their nails, or with knives, in token of mourning; which are forbidden the Israelites, ( Deuteronomy 14:1 ) ; and upon the loins sackcloth;
this is a well known custom for mourners, to put off their clothes, and put on sackcloth; all these things are mentioned, to show how great was the mourning of Moab for the calamities of it.

Jeremiah 48:37 In-Context

35 "Moreover," says ADONAI, "in Mo'av I will put an end to anyone sacrificing on a high place or offering incense to his gods."

36 This is why my heart is moaning for Mo'av like funeral flutes, why my heart moans for the men of Kir-Heres like funeral flutes; for the wealth they produced has vanished.

37 Every head has been shaved bald, every beard has been clipped short, gashes are on every hand, sackcloth around every waist.

38 On all the housetops of Mo'av and in its open places - lamentation everywhere! "For I have broken Mo'av like a pot that nobody wants," says ADONAI.

39 Wail, "How shattered is Mo'av! How shamefully in retreat!" Thus will Mo'av become an object of ridicule and distress to all its neighbors.