Jeremiah 49:3

3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and run to and fro by the hedges, for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

Jeremiah 49:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:3

Howl, O Heshbon
Which was a city of Moab, though it formerly belonged to the Amorites; see ( Jeremiah 48:2 ) ( Numbers 21:26 ) ; it was upon the border of Ammon, and near to Ai, now destroyed; and therefore is called upon to howl and lament, because its destruction also was near at hand, and might be expected; hence Kimchi gathers, that the Ammonites were destroyed before the Moabites: but some have thought that Heshbon was a double city, divided by a river, which ran through it; and that that city which was on one side of the river belonged to Moab, and that on the other side to Ammon: for Ai is spoiled;
not that which was near Jericho in the land of Canaan, but a city in the land of Ammon, thought to be the Gaia of Ptolemy; this seems to be the first city in the country of Ammon that Nebuchadnezzar would lay waste: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah;
the royal city before mentioned; (See Gill on Jeremiah 49:2); either the inhabitants of it, particularly the women, especially the younger women, who would be in the utmost distress on hearing the enemy was so near them, and what had befallen Ai; or the villages about Rabbah, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, as the Targum,

``the inhabitants of the villages of Rabbah:''

gird ye with sackcloth;
as a token of calamity and mourning for it, as was usual: lament, and run to and fro by the hedges;
which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand of the enclosures or fences of villages, like those of gardens, fields, and folds, in distinction from walls of cities, and fortified places; but rather it signifies the hedges in the fields, whither, being drove from their habitations, they would seek unto for shelter, and run about among them for safety, lamenting their unhappy case: for their king shall go into captivity;
be taken and carried captive; either their principal governor; or rather Milcom their god, since it follows: [and] his priests and his princes together;
both such as offered sacrifices to him, and attended on and supported his worship: the same is said of Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, ( Jeremiah 48:7 ) .

Jeremiah 49:3 In-Context

1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus hath the LORD said: Does Israel have no sons? does he have no heir? why then does their king inherit Gad and his people dwell in his cities?

2 Therefore, behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be made a desolate heap, and her cities shall be burned with fire; then shall Israel be heir unto those that were his heirs, said the LORD.

3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament and run to and fro by the hedges, for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

4 Why gloriest thou in the valleys? Thy valley has slipped, O backsliding daughter that trusted in her treasures, she that saith, Who shall come against me?

5 Behold, I bring fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of the hosts, from all sides; and ye shall be driven out each man right forth in the direction he is facing; and no one shall gather up him that wanders.