Jeremiah 48:36

36 Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab, And like flutes My heart shall wail For the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished.

Jeremiah 48:36 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 48:36

Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes
That are sounded on mournful occasions, as at funerals, and the like; see ( Matthew 9:23 ) . This the prophet said, as Kimchi observes, in the person of the people, the inhabitants of Moab; whose hearts would yearn and sound for the calamities of their country like the doleful sound of minstrels. So the Targum,

``therefore the Moabites shall sound in their hearts like a harp:''

and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres;
as for the country of Moab in general, so for this principal city, and the inhabitants of it, in particular; (See Gill on Isaiah 16:11); because the riches [that] he hath gotten is perished;
either Moab or Kirheres; the abundance of goods they had got together were now lost, falling into the hands of the enemy; and which was matter of lamentation. The Targum is,

``for the rest of their substance they had got were spoiled.''

Some understand it of the residue of men that escaped the sword; these perished by famine, or other means; see ( Isaiah 15:7 ) .

Jeremiah 48:36 In-Context

34 "From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh and to Jahaz They have uttered their voice, From Zoar to Horonaim, Like a three-year-old heifer; For the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate.

35 "Moreover," says the Lord, "I will cause to cease in Moab The one who offers sacrifices in the high places And burns incense to his gods.

36 Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab, And like flutes My heart shall wail For the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished.

37 "For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped; On all the hands shall be cuts, and on the loins sackcloth--

38 A general lamentation On all the housetops of Moab, And in its streets; For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure," says the Lord.