Chapter Forty-Eight

1–47. Prophecy against Moab.

Jer 48:1-47 The prophet watches as enemy troops move from one place to another, invading Moabite territory. The enemy comes from the north — from Heshbon — and no Moabite city can stand before it. The Moabites flee southward. In this devastation of Moabite country, the prophet sees God’s righteous judgment for the arrogance with which Moab treated the chosen people. Death, loss of possessions, captivity — that is what awaits the Moabites. Yet in the distant future, the prophet sees the restoration of the Moabite state.

Jeremiah 48:1. Concerning Moab, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: woe to Nebo! it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is disgraced and captured; Misgab is disgraced and crushed. Concerning Moab — see Isa 15:1. — Nebo — see Isa 15:2. — Kiriathaim — a city lying ten Roman miles west of Madeba. — Misgab — a stronghold, probably another name for Kir-heres, the main fortress of Moab (Isa 15:1).

Jeremiah 48:2. There is no more glory for Moab; in Heshbon they plot evil against him: “come, let us wipe him out from among the nations.” And you, Madmen, will perish; the sword follows after you. “Heshbon,” an Ammonite city (see Jer 49:3), and formerly a Moabite one (Isa 15:4). From there the enemy sets out to conquer Moabite territory. — “Madmen” — probably the same as Madeba (Isa 15:2).

Jeremiah 48:3. A cry is heard from Horonaim, devastation and great destruction. “Horonaim” — the same as Horonai at Isa 15:5.

Jeremiah 48:4. Moab is crushed; his children raise a cry. “His children” — according to the Hebrew, Zeireiha, but it seems more correct, in agreement with the LXX, to read Zoar — “toward Zoar.” The Moabites cry out and flee to the city of Zoar, which lay in the south of Moabite territory (in Isaiah — Zoar, Isa 15:5).

Jeremiah 48:5. On the ascent to Luhith weeping upon weeping rises up; and on the descent from Horonaim the enemy hears a cry of destruction. See Isa 15:5.

Jeremiah 48:6. Flee, save your lives, and be like the naked tree in the wilderness. See Jer 17:6.

Jeremiah 48:7. Since you trusted in your deeds and your treasures, you yourself will be taken, and Chemosh will go into captivity, together with his priests and his officials. “Chemosh” — the national god of Moab.

Jeremiah 48:8. And a destroyer will come upon every city, and no city will escape; the valley will perish, and the plain will be laid waste, as the Lord has spoken. “As the Lord has spoken” — by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, spoken even earlier by Amos.

Jeremiah 48:10. Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord with negligence, and cursed is the one who withholds his sword from blood! Curse or woe awaits the one who will spare Moab.

Jeremiah 48:11. Moab has been at ease from its youth, settled on its lees and not been poured from vessel to vessel, and has not gone into captivity; therefore his flavor has remained in him, and his fragrance is not changed. Wine loses its original flavor and aroma through being poured from vessel to vessel. The Moabites, whom no one had ever taken into captivity, preserved, like untouched wine, all their distinctive qualities.

Jeremiah 48:13. And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their hope. Bethel was the chief sanctuary of the Israelite kingdom (Amos 3:14).

Jeremiah 48:18. Come down from your glory and sit in thirst, O inhabitants of Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you and will destroy your strongholds. “Dibon” — see (Isa 15:2).

Jeremiah 48:19. Stand by the road and watch, O inhabitants of Aroer, ask the one fleeing and the one escaping: “What has happened? “Aroer” — see Isa 17:2. Some suppose that at Aroer, lying on the bank of the stream Arnon, there was a convenient crossing place over this river, and therefore the Moabites fleeing from the north had to pass by Aroer.

Jeremiah 48:20. Moab is ashamed, for it is crushed; wail and cry out, announce in Arnon that Moab is laid waste. Here is the answer to the question of the inhabitants of Aroer.

Jeremiah 48:21. And judgment has come upon the plains, upon Holon and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath, Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath — cities of the Moabite plain.

Jeremiah 48:22. and upon Dibon and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, Jeremiah 48:23. and upon Kiriathaim and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, “Beth-diblathaim” — the location of this city is unknown. The same must be said of “Beth-gamul.” — “Beth-meon” — southwest of Madeba.

Jeremiah 48:24. and upon Kerioth and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. “Kerioth” — probably the same as Ar-Moab, which is not mentioned here. — “Bozrah” — a Moabite city, which should not be confused with either Edomite Bozrah or Bostra in Hauran.

Jeremiah 48:26. Give him drink, for he has exalted himself against the Lord; let Moab wallow in his vomit, and he himself will become a mockery. To give Moab drink is to give him the wine of God’s wrath (Jer 13:13).

Jeremiah 48:27. Was not Israel a mockery to you? Or was he found among thieves, that whenever you speak of him, you shake your head? If God was angry with Israel, Moab nonetheless had no right to mock the chosen people: he himself was in no way superior to them.

Jeremiah 48:28. Abandon the cities and live on the rocks, inhabitants of Moab, and be like the doves that nest in the mouth of a cave. Wild doves often build their nests on sheer cliffs, over chasms. In the mouth of a cave — more precisely, “on the far side of the chasm,” which separates them from their pursuers.

Jeremiah 48:29. We have heard of the pride of Moab, his excessive pride, his haughtiness and his arrogance, and his boastfulness and the exaltation of his heart. See Isa 16:6.

Jeremiah 48:31. Therefore I will wail for Moab and cry out for all Moab; they will lament for the men of Kir-heres. See Isa 16:7.

Jeremiah 48:32. I will weep for you, vineyard of Sibmah, as I weep for Jazer; your branches extended beyond the sea, they reached to the lake of Jazer; the destroyer has fallen upon your summer fruit and your ripe grapes. A free translation of Isa 16:8-9. “As I weep for Jazer” — that is, like the weeping for Jazer. The lake of Jazer — according to Hebrew, more correctly: the sea of Jazer. Perhaps Jeremiah has in mind here large pools — the Sibmah and Jazer pools — which were formed by the river Jazer (now called the Sîr), flowing into the Jordan, traces of which still exist.

Jeremiah 48:33. Joy and gladness are taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab. I have put an end to wine in the winepresses; they will no longer tread in them with songs; the cry of battle will be, not the cry of joy. Carmel — here a common noun: “fertile hill.” It is a name for the Moabite plain, which was distinguished by its fertility.

Jeremiah 48:34. From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh and to Jahzah they raise their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim, to Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim dry up. See Isa 15:4-6. — “Horonaim” is here called the third Eglah, see Isa 15:5.

Jeremiah 48:35. I will cause to cease in Moab, says the Lord, the one offering sacrifice on the high places and making offerings to his gods. See Isa 16:12.

Jeremiah 48:36. Therefore my heart groans for Moab like a flute; about the inhabitants of Kir-heres my heart groans like a flute, for the riches they have acquired have perished; A free translation of Isa 16:11 and Isa 15:7.

Jeremiah 48:38. On all the roofs of Moab and in all his streets there is universal mourning, for I have broken Moab like a vessel of no value, says the Lord. Compare Isa 15:3.

Jeremiah 48:40. For thus says the Lord: behold, like an eagle he will swoop down and spread his wings over Moab. “The eagle” — the king of Babylon (Ezek 17:3).

Jeremiah 48:43. Dread and pit and snare — for you, inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord. Jeremiah 48:44. Whoever flees from the dread will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare, for I will bring upon him, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, says the Lord. Compare Isa 24:17 and following.

Jeremiah 48:45. In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stand helpless, but fire has come out of Heshbon and flame from the midst of Sihon, and devours the flank of Moab and the crown of the sons of tumult. Here there is a likeness to the book of Num 21:28-29, where there is speech about the flames of war, which from Heshbon (under Sihon) devoured the Moabite country. The same will happen again: from Heshbon destruction will come upon Moab (compare verse 2). — “In the shadow of Heshbon.” The sense of this difficult phrase and what follows is best conveyed as follows: the Moabites will find no salvation. They will approach Heshbon, a strong city, but this city is already occupied by enemies, and from there comes not salvation but fire upon the Moabite land. This city, the ancient dwelling place of King Sihon, will send forth flame (enemy forces, which will have their support point in this city) and this flame will burn Moab — its flank and crown, that is, it will reach the extreme points of Moabite territory and even its most fortified and elevated points. — Sons of tumult — a name for the Moabites, who were constantly ready to attack the Hebrews and cause turmoil among them.

Jeremiah 48:47. But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Moab, says the Lord. Thus far is the judgment on Moab. “The latter days” — see Jer 23:20. Special Remark. How can we explain the close resemblance of many expressions in the prophecy concerning Moab with the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa 15 and Isa 16)? One may suppose that the prophetic utterances about neighboring nations, composed by ancient prophets, were regarded among the Hebrews as common national property and were constantly repeated, so that Jeremiah naturally spoke in his prophecy using these words of Isaiah that were familiar to the ears of the Jews. Just so, he apparently made use of utterances of Moses, Amos, and Zephaniah that were well known to the people. — As for the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s threats, they were realized under Nebuchadnezzar, who in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem subjugated the Ammonites and Moabites (Josephus, Antiquities 10:9,7).