Judgment · Moab and the shaming of Chemosh

Jeremiah 48:1-47

Jeremiah · ~595 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.”
King James Version · the opening of the passage — the whole of it is condensed below
This prophecy turns at 48:47

Jeremiah's oracle against Moab — her cities destroyed, her god Chemosh shamed, with a closing promise to restore Moab's fortunes in the latter days.

The prophecy, condensed

Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD. Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Jeremiah 48:1-47 · King James Version · condensed from 1173 words · every cut marked …
Commentary — not Scripture
Forty-six verses on Moab - a nation Israel had every reason to despise - and then the last verse turns: 'Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days.' Mercy to a Gentile enemy, in a single line, after all that. Quote any other verse in this chapter and it disappears.
Read the full prophecy — all 47 verses

48:1Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

48:2There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

48:3A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

48:4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

48:5For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

48:6Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

48:7For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

48:8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.

48:9Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

48:10Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

48:11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

48:12Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

48:13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

48:14How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

48:15Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

48:16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

48:17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

48:18Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

48:19O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

48:20Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; and tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

48:21And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

48:22And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,

48:23And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,

48:24And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

48:25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.

48:26Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

48:27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

48:28O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth.

48:29We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

48:30I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

48:31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kir-heres.

48:32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

48:33And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

48:34From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

48:35Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

48:36Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

48:37For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

48:38There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.

48:39They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

48:40For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

48:41Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

48:42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.

48:43Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.

48:44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

48:45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

48:46Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

48:47Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Fulfillment References

Isaiah 15:1-16:14 Ezekiel 25:8-11 Zephaniah 2:8-11 Numbers 21:29

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalChemosh is shamed before the one true God, whose judgment and mercy together govern the nations.
JewishJudgment on Moab for pride and hostility, with the notable closing hope of restoration 'in the latter days.'
CatholicThe humbling of the proud nation and the shaming of its idol, tempered by a promise of eventual mercy.
ProtestantA fulfilled judgment on Moab; the 'latter days' restoration is read variously as historical or eschatological.
OrthodoxGod's judgment on idolatry and pride, with mercy held out.
DispensationalFulfilled history; the 'latter days' restoration of Moab is read as a literal future blessing.
AcademicMuch of Jeremiah 48 parallels Isaiah 15-16; scholars note Moab's absorption after the Babylonian/Persian periods and discuss the shared oracle traditions and the Mesha Stele's witness to Moab-Israel conflict.
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