Jeremiah 49:3

3 Yell, ye Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with hair-shirts, wail ye, and compass by hedges; for why Malcham shall be led into passing over, the priests thereof and princes thereof together. (Yell, ye Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with hair-shirts, wail ye, and go around by the hedges; for Milcom shall be led into captivity, together with its priests and its princes, or its leaders.)

Jeremiah 49:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:3

Howl, O Heshbon
Which was a city of Moab, though it formerly belonged to the Amorites; see ( Jeremiah 48:2 ) ( Numbers 21:26 ) ; it was upon the border of Ammon, and near to Ai, now destroyed; and therefore is called upon to howl and lament, because its destruction also was near at hand, and might be expected; hence Kimchi gathers, that the Ammonites were destroyed before the Moabites: but some have thought that Heshbon was a double city, divided by a river, which ran through it; and that that city which was on one side of the river belonged to Moab, and that on the other side to Ammon: for Ai is spoiled;
not that which was near Jericho in the land of Canaan, but a city in the land of Ammon, thought to be the Gaia of Ptolemy; this seems to be the first city in the country of Ammon that Nebuchadnezzar would lay waste: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah;
the royal city before mentioned; (See Gill on Jeremiah 49:2); either the inhabitants of it, particularly the women, especially the younger women, who would be in the utmost distress on hearing the enemy was so near them, and what had befallen Ai; or the villages about Rabbah, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, as the Targum,

``the inhabitants of the villages of Rabbah:''

gird ye with sackcloth;
as a token of calamity and mourning for it, as was usual: lament, and run to and fro by the hedges;
which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand of the enclosures or fences of villages, like those of gardens, fields, and folds, in distinction from walls of cities, and fortified places; but rather it signifies the hedges in the fields, whither, being drove from their habitations, they would seek unto for shelter, and run about among them for safety, lamenting their unhappy case: for their king shall go into captivity;
be taken and carried captive; either their principal governor; or rather Milcom their god, since it follows: [and] his priests and his princes together;
both such as offered sacrifices to him, and attended on and supported his worship: the same is said of Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, ( Jeremiah 48:7 ) .

Jeremiah 49:3 In-Context

1 To the sons also of Ammon. The Lord saith these things. Whether no sons be of Israel, either an heir is not to it? why therefore wielded Malcham the heritage of Gad, and the people thereof dwelled in the cities of Gad? (And about the Ammonites, the Lord saith these things. Did Israel have no children, or hath he not left an heir? and so why did Milcom possess the inheritance of Gad, and his people live in the cities of Gad?)

2 Lo! days come, saith the Lord, and I shall make the gnashing of battle heard on Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; and it shall be destroyed into noise, and the villages thereof shall be burnt with fire, and Israel shall wield his wielders, saith the Lord. (Lo! days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make the gnashing of battle heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be destroyed unto heaps of rubble, and its villages shall be burned down, and then Israel shall overcome his overcomers, saith the Lord.)

3 Yell, ye Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with hair-shirts, wail ye, and compass by hedges; for why Malcham shall be led into passing over, the priests thereof and princes thereof together. (Yell, ye Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with hair-shirts, wail ye, and go around by the hedges; for Milcom shall be led into captivity, together with its priests and its princes, or its leaders.)

4 What hast thou glory in valleys? Thy valleys floated away, thou delicate daughter, that haddest trust in thy treasures, and saidest, Who shall come to me? (Why hast thou glory over rich valleys? For thy valleys have floated away, thou delicate daughter, ye who haddest trust in thy treasures, and saidest, Who shall come against me?)

5 Lo! I shall bring in dread on thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, of all men that be in thy compass; and ye shall be scattered, each by himself, from your sight, and none shall be, that gather them that flee. (Lo! I shall bring in terror upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, from all who be around thee; and ye shall be scattered, each person by himself, from your sight, and there shall be no one, who shall gather together them who flee.)