Jeremiah 48:28

28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the rock and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.

Jeremiah 48:28 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:28

O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the
rock
Signifying hereby that they would not be in safety in their strongest and most fortified cities, which would be besieged by the enemy, and taken; and therefore are advised to leave them, and flee to the rocks and mountains, that if possible they might be safe there: and be like the dove, [that] maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's
mouth;
which, for fear of birds of prey, makes her nest in the side of a hole, or cleft of a rock, that she and her young may be safe from them; and which being pursued by the hawk, flies into a hollow rock or cavern, as Homer F4 observes: but here it intends the place where it makes its nest; which is for the most part in deserts and rocky places, where great numbers of doves resort, and make their nests, as Diodorus Siculus F5 relates; and especially in the holes and clefts of rocks, to which the allusion is in ( Song of Solomon 2:14 ) . The Targum is,

``and be as a dove that leaves her dove house, and comes down and dwells in the bottom of a pit,''
or ditch.
FOOTNOTES:

F4 Iliad. 21. v. 495.
F5 Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 92.

Jeremiah 48:28 In-Context

26 Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against the LORD; Moab shall also wallow in his vomit, and be in derision.
27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee, as if he were found among thieves? for since thou hast spoken of him, thou hast slipped.
28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the rock and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.
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 have no effect; his lies shall not be to his advantage.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010