Jeremiah 48

1 Concerning Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Alas for Nebo, it is laid waste! Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; the fortress is put to shame and broken down;

2 the renown of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they planned evil against her: "Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!" You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you.

3 Hark! a cry from Horonaim, "Desolation and great destruction!"

4 "Moab is destroyed!" her little ones cry out.

5 For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping bitterly; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distressing cry of anguish.

6 Flee! Save yourselves! Be like a wild ass in the desert!

7 Surely, because you trusted in your strongholds and your treasures, you also shall be taken; Chemosh shall go out into exile, with his priests and his attendants.

8 The destroyer shall come upon every town, and no town shall escape; the valley shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord has spoken.

9 Set aside salt for Moab, for she will surely fall; her towns shall become a desolation, with no inhabitant in them.

10 Accursed is the one who is slack in doing the work of the Lord; and accursed is the one who keeps back the sword from bloodshed.

11 Moab has been at ease from his youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; therefore his flavor has remained and his aroma is unspoiled.

12 Therefore, the time is surely coming, says the Lord, when I shall send to him decanters to decant him, and empty his vessels, and break his jars in pieces.

13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14 How can you say, "We are heroes and mighty warriors"?

15 The destroyer of Moab and his towns has come up, and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter, says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand and his doom approaches swiftly.

17 Mourn over him, all you his neighbors, and all who know his name; say, "How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious staff!"

18 Come down from glory, and sit on the parched ground, enthroned daughter Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you; he has destroyed your strongholds.

19 Stand by the road and watch, you inhabitant of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping; say, "What has happened?"

20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken down; wail and cry! Tell it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.

21 Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath,

22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,

24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord.

26 Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the Lord; let Moab wallow in his vomit; he too shall become a laughingstock.

27 Israel was a laughingstock for you, though he was not caught among thieves; but whenever you spoke of him you shook your head!

28 Leave the towns, and live on the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove that nests on the sides of the mouth of a gorge.

29 We have heard of the pride of Moab— he is very proud— of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart.

30 I myself know his insolence, says the Lord; his boasts are false, his deeds are false.

31 Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all Moab; for the people of Kir-heres I mourn.

32 More than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches crossed over the sea, reached as far as Jazer; upon your summer fruits and your vintage the destroyer has fallen.

33 Gladness and joy have been taken away from the fruitful land of Moab; I have stopped the wine from the wine presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; the shouting is not the shout of joy.

34 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the Lord, those who offer sacrifice at a high place and make offerings to their gods.

36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the people of Kir-heres; for the riches they gained have perished.

37 For every head is shaved and every beard cut off; on all the hands there are gashes, and on the loins sackcloth.

38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel that no one wants, says the Lord.

39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all his neighbors.

40 For thus says the Lord: Look, he shall swoop down like an eagle, and spread his wings against Moab;

41 the towns shall be taken and the strongholds seized. The hearts of the warriors of Moab, on that day, shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.

42 Moab shall be destroyed as a people, because he magnified himself against the Lord.

43 Terror, pit, and trap are before you, O inhabitants of Moab! says the Lord.

44 Everyone who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and everyone who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the trap. For I will bring these things upon Moab in the year of their punishment, says the Lord.

45 In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stop exhausted; for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, a flame from the house of Sihon; it has destroyed the forehead of Moab, the scalp of the people of tumult.

46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters into captivity.

47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, says the Lord. Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Jeremiah 48 Commentary

Chapter 48

Prophecies against Moab for pride and security. (1-13) For carnal confidence and contempt of God. (14-47)

1-13. The Chaldeans are to destroy the Moabites. We should be thankful that we are required to seek the salvation of men's lives, and the salvation of their souls, not to shed their blood; but we shall be the more without excuse if we do this pleasant work deceitfully. The cities shall be laid in ruins, and the country shall be wasted. There will be great sorrow. There will be great hurry. If any could give wings to sinners, still they could not fly out of the reach of Divine indignation. There are many who persist in unrepented iniquity, yet long enjoy outward prosperity. They had been long corrupt and unreformed, secure and sensual in prosperity. They have no changes of their peace and prosperity, therefore their hearts and lives are unchanged, ( Psalms 55:19 ) .

14-47. The destruction of Moab is further prophesied, to awaken them by national repentance and reformation to prevent the trouble, or by a personal repentance and reformation to prepare for it. In reading this long roll of threatenings, and mediating on the terror, it will be of more use to us to keep in view the power of God's anger and the terror of his judgments, and to have our hearts possessed with a holy awe of God and of his wrath, than to search into all the figures and expressions here used. Yet it is not perpetual destruction. The chapter ends with a promise of their return out of captivity in the latter days. Even with Moabites God will not contend for ever, nor be always wroth. The Jews refer it to the days of the Messiah; then the captives of the Gentiles, under the yoke of sin and Satan, shall be brought back by Divine grace, which shall make them free indeed.

Footnotes

• [a]. The place-name [Madmen] sounds like the Hebrew verb [to be silent]
• [b]. Cn: Heb [he goes]
• [c]. Gk Aquila: Heb [like Aroer]
• [d]. Gk: Heb [works]
• [e]. Heb lacks [like wine]
• [f]. Gk Aquila: Heb [their]
• [g]. Two Mss and Isa 16.8: MT [the sea of Jazer]
• [h]. Cn: Heb [From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh]
• [i]. Or [Kerioth]
• [j]. Gk Syr: Heb [bring upon it]
• [k]. Or [of Shaon]

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 48

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Moab, and of the mourning that should be for it; and not only its destruction in general is predicted, but particular places are mentioned, on which it should fall, Jer 48:1-5; the causes of which were their confidence in their works and riches, their carnal ease and security, and their idolatry, they should now be ashamed of, Jer 48:6-13; and this destruction is represented both as certain and as near, notwithstanding their mighty warriors and choice young men, Jer 48:14-17; and then other cities are particularly named, that should share in the calamity, Jer 48:18-25; and all this because of their insolence to the Lord; their contempt of his people; their pride, arrogance, and haughtiness; their wrath, and their lies, Jer 48:26-30; and this destruction is further exaggerated by the lamentation of the prophet over Moab in general, and over several particular cities; and by the lamentation of the inhabitants of them, because of the spoiling of their vines, their fruits, and their riches, Jer 48:31-39; and this is confirmed by the Lord, as to the swiftness of the enemy that should destroy them; the consternation and fear that should seize them; the flight they should be put to; and the consumption and captivity of them, Jer 48:40-46; and the chapter is concluded with a promise of the return of their captivity in the latter day, Jer 48:47.