Jeremiah 48:40

40 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, ¹one shall fly swiftly like an eagle ²and spread 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 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. ”

40 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab;

41 the cities shall be taken and the strongholds seized. The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;

42 Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people, because he magnified himself against the Lord.

Cross References

• 1. 48:40 ch. 49:22; [Deut. 28:49; Ezek. 17:3]
• 2. 48:40 [Isa. 8:8]