Jeremiah 48:37

37 ¹"For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. ²On all the hands are gashes, and ³around the waist is sackcloth.

Jeremiah 48:37 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:37

For every head [shall be] bald, and every beard clipped
Men, in times of mourning, used to pluck off the hairs of their head till they made them bald, and shaved their beards; which, as Kimchi says, were the glory of their faces; see ( Isaiah 15:2 ) ; upon all the hands shall be cuttings:
it was usual with the Heathens to make incisions in the several parts of their bodies, particularly in their hands and arms, with their nails, or with knives, in token of mourning; which are forbidden the Israelites, ( Deuteronomy 14:1 ) ; and upon the loins sackcloth;
this is a well known custom for mourners, to put off their clothes, and put on sackcloth; all these things are mentioned, to show how great was the mourning of Moab for the calamities of it.

Jeremiah 48:37 In-Context

35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the LORD, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god.

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

37 "For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is 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 for which no one cares, declares 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 that are around him."

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 15:2, 3
• 2. [Jeremiah 47:5]
• 3. Jeremiah 49:3; Lamentations 2:10; See Jeremiah 4:8