Jeremiah 48:2

2 And full out joying is no more in Moab; they thought evil against Heshbon. Come ye, and lose we it from [the] folk. Therefore thou being still, [thou] shalt be stilled, and sword shall follow thee. (And rejoicing is no longer in Moab; they plotted evil against Heshbon. Come ye, and let us destroy them from being a nation. And so thou shalt be silenced, O town of Madmen, yea, the sword shall follow after thee.)

Jeremiah 48:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:2

[There shall be] no more praise of Moab
It shall be no more commended for a rich, populous, and fruitful country, being now laid waste; though the next phrase, in Heshbon,
or "concerning Heshbon" ^F2, should be read in connection with this; and then the sense is, there shall be none any more in Heshbon to praise the country of Moab, what a fine and fertile country it is, since that city will be destroyed also; or there will be no more a Moabite to boast of his being an inhabitant in Heshbon, such an utter destruction will be made of it; or there will be no more boasting of Moab, or of any Moabite concerning Heshbon, what a famous, opulent, or strong city that is, since it is no more. Of this city (See Gill on Isaiah 15:4); they have devised evil against it;
that is, the Chaldeans devised evil against Heshbon, to besiege it, take and destroy it: there is in the expression a beautiful allusion to the name of the city of Heshbon, which has its name from a word that signifies to devise and consult {c}; come, and let us cut it off from [being] a nation:
this is what the Babylonians consulted together against Heshbon; and not only against that, a principal city; but against the whole country of Moab, to make such an entire desolation of it, that it should be no more a nation: that which the Moabites with others devised against the people of Israel is now devised against them; a just retaliation this; see ( Psalms 83:4-6 ) ; also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen;
or utterly destroyed: it may be rendered, "shall become silent" ^F4; the voice of man shall not be heard in it, especially the voice of praise, of boasting, and rejoicing: there is in this clause also an elegant allusion to the name of the place, which comes from a root that signifies to "cut down", or "be silent" ^F5. This is thought by Grotius to be the Madiama of Ptolemy ^F6: the sword shall pursue thee;
after it has destroyed other cities, it should come in great haste and with great force to Madmen; or it should pursue after the inhabitants, of it, that should make their escape, or attempt to do so. The Targum is,

``after thee shall go out those that slay with the sword.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Nwbvxb bawm tlht dwe Nya) "nulla amplius gloriatio Moab in Chesbon", Calvin; "non ultra laus, Moab in Chesbon", Montanus; to the same purpose Vatablus.
F3 (Nwbvx) a (bvx) "cogitavit", "excogitavit".
F4 (ymdt) "silebis", Montanus; so R. Judah in Ben Melech; "ad silentium redigeris"; so some in Vatablus.
F5 (Nmdm wmdt) .
F6 Geograph. l. 6. c. 7.

Jeremiah 48:2 In-Context

1 To Moab, the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things. Woe on Nebo, for it is destroyed, and shamed; Kiriathaim is taken (captive), the strong city is shamed, and trembled. (About Moab, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things. Woe on Nebo, for it is destroyed; Kiriathaim is shamed, and taken captive; Misgab is shamed, and trembleth.)

2 And full out joying is no more in Moab; they thought evil against Heshbon. Come ye, and lose we it from [the] folk. Therefore thou being still, [thou] shalt be stilled, and sword shall follow thee. (And rejoicing is no longer in Moab; they plotted evil against Heshbon. Come ye, and let us destroy them from being a nation. And so thou shalt be silenced, O town of Madmen, yea, the sword shall follow after thee.)

3 A voice of cry(ing) from Horonaim, destroying, and great sorrow.

4 Moab is defouled, tell ye [out the] cry to (the) little children thereof. (Moab is defiled, tell ye out the cry of its little children.)

5 For a man weeping, ascended with weeping, by the ascending of Luhith; for in the coming down of Horonaim, [the] enemies heard the yelling of (that) sorrow. (For people wept, as they went up by the ascent of Luhith; and on the coming down, or the descent, of Horonaim, their enemies heard their cries of distress.)