Jeremiah 48:40

40 For thus says Yahweh, "Look, like an eagle he will swoop down, and he will spread out his wings against Moab.

Jeremiah 48:40 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:40

For thus saith the Lord, behold, he shall fly as an eagle,
&c.] The enemy, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with his army; who is compared to an eagle for his strength, swiftness, and greediness after the prey: and shall spread his wings over Moab;
as an eagle spreads its wings, which are very large, over the little birds it seizes upon as its prey; so the king of Babylon would bring a numerous army against Moab, and spread it over his country. The Targum is,

``behold, as all eagle which flies, so a king shall come up with his army, and encamp against Moab.''

Jeremiah 48:40 In-Context

38 On all the roofs of Moab, and in its public squares, [there is] wailing everywhere. For I have broken Moab like a vessel, there is no delight in it," {declares} Yahweh.

39 "How it is filled with terror! [How] they wail! How Moab has turned [his] back! He is disgraced! So Moab has become as a derision, and as a terror for all his surrounding [peoples]."

40 For thus says Yahweh, "Look, like an eagle he will swoop down, and he will spread out his wings against Moab.

41 Kerioth will be taken, and the strongholds will be conquered, and the hearts of the warriors of Moab will be on that day like [the] heart of a woman [who] is in labor.

42 And Moab will be destroyed from [being] a people, because against Yahweh he magnified himself.