Jeremiah 48:39

39 “How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”

Jeremiah 48:39 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:39

They shall howl, [saying], how is it broken down?
&c.] Or, "how is it broken" or "thrown into consternation ^F16? they howl"; that is, they howl out these words, or, while they are howling, say, how is Kirheres or Moab broken all to pieces; their strength, power, and glory; their cities, and their mighty men; and are in the utmost fright and confusion? Jarchi takes it to be an imperative, and paraphrases it,

``howl ye over her ^F17, and say, how is it broken!''

Kimchi says it may be taken either as in the past or in the imperative; how hath Moab turned the back with shame?
not being able to look their enemies in the face, but obliged to flee before them; so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him;
a derision to some, to their enemies, as Israel had been to them, and so they are paid in their own coin; and a consternation to others, their friends, who would fear sharing the same fate, at the hands of the Chaldeans.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 (htx Kya) "quomodo consternata est", Piscator, Schmidt.
F17 (wlylyh) "ululate", Munster, Piscator; "ejulate", Junius & Tremellius.

Jeremiah 48:39 In-Context

37 For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.

38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.

39 “How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”

40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.

41 Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.